U.K. Lawmakers Urge Tighter Money Rules in Offshore Territories

British lawmakers urged the government
to fasten banking and money laundering regulations in dependent
territories including Bermuda, saying they fall short of
standards applied on the mainland.

The authorities ''must make more than to assist the territories,
especially the littler ones, beef up regulation,'' said , a Conservative Party lawmaker and president of the
parliamentary Populace Accounts Committee, which scrutinizes
government spending.

The panel including lawmakers from the three chief political
parties said in a study published in Greater London today that the
Financial Services Authority, the Foreign Office and other
government federal agencies should supply ''external research workers or
prosecutors'' because the 14 dependent districts ''lack the
investigative capacity to size up money laundering.''

Lawmakers urged the action in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands
and the British Virgin Islands among others, which the report
said are failing to undertake money laundering and other corrupt
practices. The actions could damage London's standing as a
financial service, the study said.

The Treasury Committee of the House of Park yesterday
began an enquiry into offshore fiscal centers, focusing on how
they might endanger London's place as a fiscal capital.

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