Switzerland, the United States and the Cayman Islands are the worst offenders of financial secrecy, according to a global ranking released by the Tax Justice Network (TJN) on 30 January.

The Financial Secrecy Index ranks jurisdictions according to their secrecy and the scale of their offshore financial activities. According to the group, financial secrecy is a key facilitator of financial crime, and illicit financial flows including money laundering, corruption and tax evasion

It is estimated that about $21 to $32 trillion of private financial wealth is located, untaxed or lightly taxed, in secrecy jurisdictions around the world.

Top 10 countries in the Financial Secrecy Index 2018 are as below:

  1. Switzerland
  2. USA
  3. Cayman Islands
  4. Hong Kong
  5. Singapore
  6. Luxembourg
  7. Germany
  8. Taiwan
  9. United Arab Emirates (Dubai)
  10. Guernsey

Australia ranks 44th in the index.

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