Robert Morgenthau

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has blamed one of his favorite punching bags - the Cayman Islands - for contributing to the economic meltdown in the United States.The 89-year-old, legendary prosecutor's latest missive about Cayman comprised an editorial headlined "Too Much Money Is Beyond Legal Reach, New York-based funds are abusing 'secrecy jurisdictions'" that was published by The Wall Street Journal on September 30, 2008.

Singling out the Cayman Islands, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has called upon the world's developed countries to impose "severe sanctions" on offshore financial centers. In a letter to the New York Times, Morgenthau claimed that OFCs cost the U. S. alone $70 billion annually in revenue that was lost due to tax evasion.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has called for a ban on U. S.-based financial institutions from doing business with offshore financial centers that have "unreasonable secrecy laws".

Credit cards issued by Bahamas-based Leadenhall Bank & Trust and other offshore banks were used to access over $100 million in 2001 alone by residents of New York's tri-state area, according to Manhattan's District Attorney. Robert M. Morgenthau made the claim in a press release issued on June 26, 2003 when he disclosed that one Leadenhall client had pleaded guilty to tax evasion and another was under investigation.

Two businessmen whose interests have included Bahamas investment firms and a Bermuda reinsurer have been criminally indicted in the United States for their alleged involvement in a massive investment fraud.Jon Knight, 56, and J. Anthony Huggins, 63, stole $6.5 million from an account at the Bank of Butterfield in the name of British Virgin Islands-registered Evergreen Security, according to the complaint.