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SWEDISH PIRATES SEEK TO BUY SEALAND
A group of Swedish file sharers is trying to buy the Principality of Sealand, a World War 2 observation desk off the Suffolk coast that has been occupied since the 1960s.The Pirate Bay, which hosts one of Sweden's largest file sharing sites, is asking for contributions to buy the Principality and is offering citizenship to anyone who makes a significant contribution.
www.pcauthority.com.au/news.aspx?CIaNID=44329

OFFSHORE GIANT LAUNCHES IN MAURITIUS
Appleby Hunter Bailhache has launched an office in Mauritius, the firm’s fifth offshore location. The two-partner outpost is expected to focus primarily on African and Asian-focused funds, with India a particular target.
www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=123724&d=122&h=24&f=46

BERMUDA: ‘BIGGEST CHANGE TO COMPANY LAW IN HALF A CENTURY’
The most significant change to Bermuda company law in 50 years: that’s how the international business sector is describing amendments to the Companies Act which took effect two weeks ago. The Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA) expressed its support for the changes yesterday, which it said were “e-friendly” and would cut the cost of doing business on the Island.
www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070110/BUSINESS/101100180

ONLINE GAMBLING: FEDS DETAIN NETELLER FOUNDERS IN US
Feds detain NETeller Founders in USNETeller Founders John Lefebvre and Steve Lawrence were detained in the United States on Monday, January 15th, 2006. The news of their detainmentsent shockwaves through the online gambling industry immediately.
NETeller, based out of the Isle of Man, is publicly traded on the London exchange (AIM). The most recent annual report states that the company took in revenues of $172.1 Million. Sources from Costa Rica have reported to Point-Spreads.com that John Lefebvre’s wife was from Southern California and that may have been the residence were he was apprehended.
www.point-spreads.com/news/internet-sportsbooks/online-gambling-feds-detain-neteller-founders-in-us-20070116.html

HONG KONG IS WORLD'S FREEST ECONOMY, SINGAPORE NO. 2
A survey said Hong Kong was the world's freest economy for the 13th straight year, and Singapore was ranked No. 2 in the study released yesterday by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. The next top spots were held by Australia, the United States and New Zealand, respectively, said the survey, which included 157 economies. Two of the world's fastest-growing economies, India and China, ranked near the bottom of the index at 104th and 119th, the study said.
www.kuwaittimes.net/business.asp?dismode=article&artid=2089998243

OFF-SHORE COMPANIES ARE GRADUALLY LEAVING HUNGARY
Though in 2006 the off-shore status and its 4% tax bracket were abolished, offshore companies were kept in the country with a less than 8% corporate tax, and levies on the local business tax. But the recently introduced 4% solidarity tax managed to uproot these companies, since the combined 12% tax is higher than the 10% they have to pay in Cyprus and not significantly lower than the 12.5% in Ireland.
www.bbj.hu/main/news_21401_off-shore+companies+are+leaving.html

PRUDENTIAL GIVEN DUBAI LICENSE
Financial services firm Prudential has announced that it will begin operating in Dubai, having received a license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). As an authorized firm of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Prudential said that it would initially target the growing and "largely untapped" wealth management opportunities that exist within the United Arab Emirates.
www.bobsguide.com/guide/news/17252.html

LONDON: GUERNSEY TRUSTEES CONFERENCE IN APRIL.
Purpose trusts, private trust companies and cell structures will be discussed at the Guernsey Fiduciary Forum 2007 in London. The GuernseyFinance-sponsored event will feature speakers from London, Switzerland and Guernsey. It will also include an interactive debate on blue-sky thinking, image rights and foundations.
www.thisisguernsey.com/code/showbusinessarticle.pl?ArticleID=112853

FOREIGN INTEREST IN BANK OF CYPRUS?
Bank of Cyprus shares are expected to remain well-bid amid reports that new suitors have been attracted to the stock following the recent takeover interest for the bank. Reliable sources told the Financial Mirror that a Russian oligarch with intensive operations in the Ukraine and banking interests in Latvia, a Baltic country and an EU member, has hired a reputable foreign investment bank to give an opinion on whether a bid on Bank of Cyprus is feasible or not.
www.financialmirror.com/more_news.php?id=5836&type=st

FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR ‘ON SOUND FOOTING’
Malta’s financial services sector is healthy and is expected to achieve even better results in 2007, said parliamentary secretary Tonio Fenech yesterday. Mr Fenech said that companies wanting to invest in financial services look for respected jurisdictions. “And Malta is one of them. It has almost become scandalous for a company to be associated with offshore funds. We have moved from being a jurisdiction that used to allow offshore to one that now frowns on it.”
www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=44614

ECUADOR: DOLLARIZATION IN DANGER?
As Rafael Correa assumes Ecuador's presidency, the country's foreign debt is not the only thing in danger, some experts warn. Also Ecuador's dollarization may be affected. Dollarization in Ecuador was formally implemented in September 2000 and helped contain inflation during several years of political instability, experts say. Ecuador's inflation went from 96.1 percent in 2000 to 37.7 percent in 2001 and 12.6 in 2002. In 2005 it reached a historic low of 2.1 percent, which was the lowest in all of Latin America. Last year it reached an estimated 3.3 percent and is expected to end up at 3.0 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=725

BANK OF CHOICE STILL SWISS FOR UBER-RICH
The world's ultra-rich still prefer to park their millions in Switzerland, with banks in the country holding just under a third of the world's private wealth deposited abroad, a study has revealed. Switzerland held 28 per cent of the global private wealth held abroad - so-called offshore capital - which totalled $US5.9 trillion at the end of 2005, a study by the Swiss Bankers Association showed on Monday. Hong Kong and Singapore, two cities flourishing on the back of the rapidly rising number of wealthy clients in Asia, held only 4 and 3 per cent respectively of global offshore wealth, the study also said.
www.smh.com.au/news/business/bank-of-choice-still-swiss-for-uberrich/2007/01/16/1168709751950.html

SWITZERLAND'S BIGGEST CORPORATE TRIAL BEGINS FOR SWISSAIR
The biggest corporate trial in Swiss history began today with 19 former top executives, board members and consultants linked to Swissair facing charges stemming from the collapse of the airline that had been a longtime icon of Switzerland.
www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4473774.html

MERCOSUR-GCC NEGOTIATIONS TO BEGIN AGAIN TODAY IN RIO
Diplomats of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) arrive today (17) in the city of Rio de Janeiro to proceed with negotiations of a free trade agreement with the Mercosur. According to the Brazilian Foreign Office (Itamaraty), negotiations with the bloc that includes Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman are advanced and part of the agreement may be inked during the summit between South American heads of state.
www.anba.com.br/ingles/noticia.php?id=13506

REFCO'S GRANT ACCUSED OF HELPING DEFRAUD INVESTORS
The former president of Refco Inc., the bankrupt futures trading firm, was indicted for helping the company's chief executive hide hundreds of millions of dollars in losses in a 2004 leveraged buyout. Tone Grant's indictment came as federal prosecutors in New York added new bank-fraud charges against Refco Chief Executive Officer Phillip Bennett and former Chief Financial Officer Robert Trosten. Bennett and Trosten were previously charged with securities fraud.
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a2Yd8nDCYUcg&refer=us

JUDGE DROPS SOME CHARGES AGAINST BERLUSCONI AND MILLS
A judge in Milan has thrown out a range of charges against Silvio Berlusconi and David Mills, the estranged husband of Tessa Jowell, culture minister, on the grounds that the offences happened too long ago to be tried. The former Italian prime minister will not go on trial for money-laundering, financial fraud, and tax evasion. Mr Mills will not be tried for receiving stolen goods.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/15/nmills115.xml

FROZEN CUBAN ASSETS ARE TARGET OF MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR LAWSUITS
The day a judge awarded her family $400 million in damages for Cuba's execution by firing squad of her brother, Jeannette Hausler said his death had been vindicated. "We have found justice," she said. But now comes the hard part for Hausler and other family members of Robert Fuller, an American who owned a plantation in Cuba and was tortured and killed on Oct. 16, 1960. They must try to identify Cuban assets frozen in U.S. bank accounts in an effort to collect any money.
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/17/america/NA-FEA-GEN-US-Cuban-Assets-Lawsuits.php

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