§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer given by Baroness Chalker of Wallasey on 29th October 1996 (WA 11), whether they will describe the steps being taken in each Dependent Territory towards allowing both domestic and foreign law enforcement agencies the same access to otherwise confidential financial information as in the United Kingdom.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyAll the Dependent Territories are introducing anti-money laundering legislation, equivalent to that in the UK, which mandates the reporting of suspicious transactions. All but two of the Dependent Territories with offshore banking systems have already implemented the 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which allows them to co-operate with foreign drugs investigations. The remaining two are doing so. We are encouraging all Dependent Territories to work towards the early introduction of legislation equivalent to the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act, which would extend co-operation to all criminal investigations.