Publication

This publication contends that the West, with its rule of law and creation of the Western-governed offshore economy, has given corrupt elites in developing countries the tools and capacity to avoid ever establishing the rule of law in their own countries. The text’s author outlines this “rule of law paradox” by examining 1) the history and the modern operation of the offshore economy; 2) the two main drivers of the modern offshore sector: the use of tax-efficient mechanisms by major Western corporations, and the tainted capital flows that come from developing countries, and 3) the harm the extensive offshore system does to developing countries and the West. The publication also sets out a number of solutions to undermine the illegal flows of money.