FC: Washington Post front-page article on offshore banking privacy

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[There is always a tension between financial privacy and government ability to
conduct surveillance. Obviously the best form of privacy is anonymity, in
which
even your banker doesn't know your real name. But US law prohibits such
accounts, and the US and OECD have more or less succeeded in stamping out
those
practices abroad. Related Bay Area conf info below. --Declan]

******

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-10/11/041l-101199-idx.html

  Caribbean Cash Havens Arouse U.S. Suspicions
  Critics Say Island Banks Shelter Criminal Funds

  By Douglas Farah
  Washington Post Foreign Service
  Monday, October 11, 1999; Page A01 

  ST. JOHN'S, Antigua -- A government Web site on this tiny Caribbean
  island has tried to attract offshore investors by bragging that Antigua is
  bucking moves elsewhere "toward greater disclosure" of financial
  information. "The emphasis on non-disclosure provides a high comfort level,"
  it said.

  The neighboring island of Nevis promises that companies set up on its
  territory need file "no annual return or accounts." Anguilla's Web site said
  companies can incorporate there in just 24 hours, while Dominica boasted of
  the "absence of tax treaties or exchange agreements with any other
  country."

  The small islands of the eastern Caribbean are aggressively trying to expand
  their offshore financial industries by making it even easier for
investors to
  keep their business secret. Several are promoting the ultimate in anonymity:
  They will sell citizenship along with the right to a new name on a new
  passport.

  The trend is arousing growing concern among U.S., British and other
  international law enforcement agencies, which say the new policies are
  attracting more money from drug trafficking and other criminal activities.
  One senior U.S. official said that small countries like Dominica and
Grenada,
  by offering both strict bank secrecy and the easy change of identities, are
  creating havens for "one-stop shopping" for international criminals.

  "The growing use of offshore financial centers and economic citizenships for
  criminal purposes pose a significant threat to the United States," Jonathan
  Winer, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for narcotics and law
  enforcement, said in an interview.

  [...]


********

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 10:57:04 -0700
To: declan () mail well com (Declan McCullagh)
From: "David J. Theroux" <DTheroux () independent org>
Subject: "Virtual Money, Privacy, and the Internet" forum
X-UIDL: 493dc59948bfb9a4bae3f73ac65d70ef

Dear Declan,

For your review, I am adding below information on our upcoming Independent
Policy Forum, "Virtual Money, Privacy, and the Internet."  This program
will be held October 20th, from 6-8 p.m., at our conference center here in
Oakland, California.

In addition, here is the URL to the page on our website for the program:

http://www.independent.org/tii/forums/CurrentIPF.html

Could you be of assistance in those who receive your news alerts of this
upcoming event?  If so, please feel free to utilize all or part in  any
email alert.

Please also advise me with any questions.

Thank you.

Best regards,

David Theroux
The Independent Institute

_____________________________________

Dear Friend of Electronic Privacy,

Will the rapidly approaching world of private, digital finance mean that
few if any purchases will be made with bills, coins, or even checks, with
all transactions made independent of any government?

I am very pleased to invite you to attend the special, upcoming Independent
Policy Forum reception and seminar, "Virtual Money, Privacy, and the
Internet," featuring renowned economist, Dr. RICHARD RAHN, author of the
acclaimed new book, THE END OF MONEY: And the Struggle for Financial
Privacy, and business leader, PETER THIEL, Chairman and CEO, Confinity,
Inc., specializing in providing electronic money services.

The program will be held the evening of October 20th, from 6:00 to 8:00
p.m., at the Independent Institute's conference center in Oakland,
California.

For your review, I am adding below an invitation with further details on
the program.  Since seating is limited, please make your reservations as
soon as possible.  For further information, please contact me or the
Institute's Events Coordinator, Ms. Lynn Caldeiro, at 510-632-1366 X118.

We hope to see you on October 20.

Sincerely,

David J. Theroux
Founder and President
The Independent Institute
100 Swan Way
Oakland, CA 95621-1428
510-632-1366 Phone
510-568-6040 Fax
Dtheroux () independent org
http://www.independent.org

*****************************************

You are cordially invited to attend . . .

"Virtual Money, Privacy, and the Internet" Reception and Seminar

The Independent Policy Forum
Sponsored by The Independent Institute


And, receive a copy of the new book with your admission in attending:

THE END OF MONEY: And the Struggle for Financial Privacy
by Richard W. Rahn


6:00-8:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 20, 1999


Will we soon be making all of our purchases without bills or coins, or even
checks? Will money be issued privately and digitally independent of any
governments? Will inflation become largely a relic of the past? Technology
today has fast outpaced government's ability to maintain control of
communications and finance, making it easy to transfer funds anywhere in
the world almost instantaneously and in complete privacy.  But many
government officials are fiercely resisting these changes.  RICHARD RAHN
and PETER THIEL will discuss the new revolution in electronic money.

SPEAKERS (please see bios below*):

RICHARD W. RAHN, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novecon
Corporation; former Chief Economist, U. S. Chamber of Commerce

PETER A. THIEL, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Confinity, Inc.


RECEPTION: 6:00 p.m.

PROGRAM: 6:30 p.m.


RSVP (limited seating):

$23.00 per person, includes 1 copy of the book, THE END OF MONEY (price
includes California sales tax).  Copies can be reserved for pick-up at the
door or are available for shipping (please add $3 shipping/handling).

OR $5 per person ($4 per person for Independent Institute Members)

Ms. Lynn Caldeiro
Events Coordinator
THE INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE
100 Swan Way
Oakland, CA 94621-1428

E-mail: info () independent org
Phone: 510-632-1366
Fax: 510-568-6040

FOR MAP AND DIRECTIONS, SEE WEBSITE AT:
http://www.independent.org/tii/tii_info/about.html#map

> > From the South:
Go north on Route 880 and exit at Hegenberger before the Oakland Coliseum.
Turn left onto overpass and take Hegenberger west toward the Oakland
Airport.  Go straight through 3 traffic lights, then turn right at
Francesco's Restaurant onto Pardee Drive.  The Independent Institute is
located on the left just past Federal Express, at the corner of Pardee and
Swan Way.  Free parking.

> > From the North:
Go south on Route 880 and take Hegenberger exit near the Oakland Coliseum.
Turn right on Hegenberger.  Go through 2 additional traffic lights then
turn right at Francesco's Restaurant onto Pardee Drive.  The Independent
Institute is located on the left just past Federal Express, at the corner
of Pardee and Swan Way.  Free Parking.


"In THE END OF MONEY, Richard Rahn persuasively argues how the coming
digital money revolution will make lower tax rates and radical tax
simplification inevitable."
- JACK KEMP, former Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development

"Richard Rahn is on to something that could revolutionize busi-ness and
government.  It is radical, liberating and readable."
- GEORGE GILDER, author, Wealth and Poverty and Telecosm

"THE END OF MONEY is a hard-hitting, forward-looking, clearly-written book."
- THE WASHINGTON TIMES

* RICHARD W. RAHN is President and Chief Executive Officer of Novecon Ltd.
and Novecon Management Co., L.P., and serves on the Board of Directors of
Novecon Technologies Corporation, Novecopter SVL, and as Chairman of the
Board of Directors of Novecon Financial Ltd.  Dr. Rahn formerly served as
Vice President and Chief Economist of the Chamber of Commerce of the United
States, Executive Vice President and a member of the Board of the National
Chamber Foundation, and as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Economic
Growth.

Dr. Rahn received his Ph.D. in business economics from Columbia University,
and he has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Pepperdine
University.  Dr. Rahn served as the U.S. co-chairman of the Bulgarian
Economic Growth and Transition Project in 1990, and was a member of the
U.S. Committee to Assist Russian Reform.

Previously, Dr. Rahn has also served as Executive Director of the American
Council for Capital Formation; Washington economic consultant for the New
York Mercantile Exchange; professor of management and head of the graduate
Department of Management, Polytechnic University; President of the National
Capital Chapter of the National Association of Business Economists;
National Executive Director of the Ripon Society; as Member of the
Quadrennial Social Security Advisory Council; and a member of the faculties
at Florida State University, Rutgers University, George Washington
University, and George Mason University.  A member the Board of the
American Council for Capital Formation and the Institute for Research on
the Economics of Taxation, he is an adjunct fellow of both the Hudson
Institute and the Cato Institute and a senior fellow at the Discovery
Institute.

Dr. Rahn is a frequent commentator on such programs as the Today Show, Good
Morning America, Wall Street Week, Newshour and Crossfire.  He has
published more than one hundred articles in newspapers such as the Wall
Street Journal and New York Times, as well as in numerous magazines, books,
and professional journals. He has testified before the U.S. Congress more
than seventy-five times.

PETER A. THIEL is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Confinity, Inc.,
a firm providing electronic financial services, and Research Fellow for The
Independent Institute.  Past president of Thiel Capital International, a
global investment fund, Mr. Thiel has worked as a derivatives trader at
Credit Suisse Financial Products, a securities lawyer for Sullivan &
Cromwell, speechwriter for former Education Secretary William J. Bennett,
and a law clerk for Judge Larry Edmondson of the U. S. Court of Appeals.

Mr. Thiel graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University, where he
received an A.B. in philosophy and a J.D. from Stanford University School
of Law.  He was also the founding editor of The Stanford Review, president
of the Stanford Federalist Society, and editor of the Stanford Law Review.
Mr. Thiel is also co-author (with David Sacks) of The Independent Institute
book, THE DIVERSITY MYTH: Multiculturalism and Political Intolerance on
Campus, and his articles have appeared in such publications as The Wall
Street Journal, Stanford Magazine, National Review, Policy Review, Rocky
Mountain News, Academic Questions, Washington Times, and San Francisco
Chronicle.

He has appeared on such television programs as Firing Line (PBS), Debates
Debates (PBS), Washington Journal (C-SPAN), and Bay-TV Prime (San
Francisco), and he is rated a National Master in the U. S. Chess Federation.



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