Michael Lennard (left), chief of international tax cooperation and trade, Financing for Development Office, United Nations, and George Hodgson (right), deputy chief executive, STEP Worldwide.

The global focus on taxation, anti-money laundering and the call for greater transparency will be discussed at the upcoming International Business & Finance Summit (IBFS) to be held in Bimini February 1-3.

The Transparency and Related Initiatives session will centre on getting the balance right in terms of national development and global community obligations in the current tax cooperation environment.

It will also address the main strands of transparency and the related agenda of both the G20 and the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with a focus also on revised AML regulations as included in the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Revised Recommendations–in particular, the move to define tax crimes as a predicate offence.

Panelists will be Michael Lennard (pictured left), chief of international tax cooperation and trade, Financing for Development Office (FfDO), United Nations, and George Hodgson (right), deputy chief executive, STEP Worldwide.

The session will be moderated by Aliya Allen, chief executive officer & executive director of the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB), which is organizing the event.

“The current Presidencies of the G8 and G20 have identified transparency as a key programme objective, the former intertwining this with tax and trade, while the G20 has confirmed its focus on growth through trust and transparency,” says Allen.

“The IBFS planning committee considered it essential that the agenda include a focus on these critical issues that have such tremendous impact on our sector and the economy at large.”

Now in its 10th year, the three-day IBFS event is being held under the theme: The Bahamas Advantage – Staying Ahead of the Game.