IMC
24.10.2018 12:20:09 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
The Investment Migration Council (IMC) understands the motivation behind the OECD’s recent analysis and guidance regarding the purported circumvention of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in both residence-by-investment (RBI) and citizenship-by-investment (CBI) programs.
We entirely agree that individuals should be stopped from using such programs to avoid accurate CRS reporting or, even worse, to engage in financial crimes, including money laundering and terrorist financing.
However, it is important to be clear about four important facts:
- Only a very small percentage of residence or citizenship statuses legitimately obtained through RBI or CBI programs are at issue. For the vast majority of applicants, tax is a non-issue, since they either move completely to their new place of residence and become tax residents there or do not change their tax residence at all.
- Within the EU, the European Economic Area and Switzerland, the freedom of establishment means that any citizen of these countries can freely move to any other one of these countries and does not have to use an RBI or CBI program to establish their tax residence there.
- RBI/CBI programs are only a fraction of the immigration options available to individuals. Most residence permits and citizenships are in fact obtained under other options, which can be equally used or abused for circumventing CRS, while citizenships obtained through EU CBI programs account for less than 0.1% of all the citizenships granted in the EU.
- Of those nearly one million citizenships granted by the EU each year that are not related to CBI programs, there are many high-risk nationalities, including Pakistan, Ukraine, Algeria, Russia, Nigeria, and Somalia, that pose a much more real danger to the international community in terms of criminal activity in the financial system.
Bruno L’ecuyer, Chief Executive of the IMC, says, “The abuse of CRS is contrary to the strategic rationale for and specific design of investment migration programs, which is to facilitate – following a detailed and intensive due diligence process – the legitimate movement of capital and people, which is essential to the contemporary global economic model. The IMC urges the OECD to review and strengthen the CRS due diligence requirements, but not with a sole focus on RBI/CBI programs.”
Read our full response and key recommendations to the OECD here .
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181024005374/en/
Contact:
Bruno L’ecuyer Chief Executive of the IMC media@investmentmigration.org +41 22 533 1333
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Visa Direct and UnionPay International Will Extend Global Money Movement Network to Billions of Cards in Chinese Mainland3.2.2026 13:00:00 CET | Press release
By connecting Visa Direct’s card network to UnionPay International’s (UPI) MoneyExpress platform, Visa Direct will unlock real‑time1 cross‑border money movement in one of the world’s largest remittance corridors At Web Summit Qatar, Visa (NYSE:V) and UnionPay International (UPI) announced an agreement to enable cross-border money movement into Chinese Mainland through Visa Direct. Once fully rolled out, clients will be able to send cross-border remittances and business-to-consumer payouts to more than 95 percent of UnionPay International debit cardholders in Chinese Mainland, through a single connection. By connecting Visa Direct’s global money movement network to UPI’s MoneyExpress platform, Visa will provide a more seamless, secure, and transparent way for consumers and businesses worldwide to send money into Chinese Mainland, one of the world’s largest remittance destinations. This milestone showcases Visa’s commitment to opening global corridors and extending reliable money movemen
China NMPA Approves Promega MSI Detection Kit as Companion Diagnostic for KEYTRUDA®3.2.2026 13:00:00 CET | Press release
The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved the OncoMate® Microsatellite Instability (MSI) Detection Kit as a Class III in vitro diagnostic medical device in China. It is intended for use as a companion diagnostic to identify MSI-High (MSI-H) solid tumor patients for treatment with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA’s anti-PD-1 therapy. This is the first Promega companion diagnostic to receive NMPA approval. “This approval represents a step toward more personalized and effective cancer treatment in China,” says Alok Sharma, Global Clinical Market Director at Promega. “We are proud to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies to deliver global solutions that expand access to innovative technologies and life-saving, effective therapies.” China continues to face one of the world’s highest cancer burdens, with solid tumors representing the vast majority of diagnoses nationwide. Despite advances in oncology care, most patients with advanced so
Rising Global Bullion Market Risks Are Forcing European Investors to Rethink Physical Gold Access3.2.2026 10:35:00 CET | Press release
As volatility reshapes global financial markets, European institutional investors are turning to safe-haven assets. While physical gold remains one of the world's most resilient and attractive store-of-value assets, secure and verifiable access to bullion has become increasingly difficult. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203826775/en/ Illustrative image of physical gold bullion bars. (Photo: AETOSWire) Recent industry developments have placed structural pressure on the gold market. Elevated price levels have heightened concerns around counterfeit bars, fragmented supply chains, and the complexity of cross-border custody. For European institutions operating under strict regulatory oversight, the challenge is no longer whether to allocate to gold — but how to do so safely, transparently, and within established compliance frameworks. To this end, Golden Ark Reserve, operated by Golden Ark General Trading (FZC)
Hyper-Personalization at Scale: Why Brands Must Shift to an Agentic AI Strategy3.2.2026 10:00:00 CET | Press release
As Infobip celebrates 20 years of customer communication innovation, the AI-first company envisions the future of agentic AI Global AI-first cloud communications platform Infobip, celebrating two decades of innovation, predicts an imminent and seismic shift in brand-consumer engagement. Moving away from the current application-to-person (A2P) messaging, Infobip forecasts a widespread shift to an agent-to-person model, eventually leading to a fully autonomous agent-to-agent future by 2030. The Evolution of Engagement Swift AI adoption is driving enterprises toward agentic AI communication models, which drive autonomous customer communications across all touchpoints. This technology enables hyper-personalization across multiple channels, creating highly engaging content tailored to individual needs. Silvio Kutić, Infobip CEO, comments: “How we communicate with brands is constantly evolving. In this new agentic AI world, brands must seize the opportunity to take a holistic approach to com
Corona Cero Unveils Global Roster of Athlete Ambassadors to Champion TIME CERO at Milano Cortina 20263.2.2026 09:00:00 CET | Press release
A First-of-Its-Kind Initiative, In Partnership with International Olympics Committee (IOC), TIME CERO Empowers Athletes to Unwind, Recharge, and Celebrate the Moment Corona Cero Invites Fans to Celebrate Together in Italy with Corona Hotel, Casa Corona, and Other Immersive Activities Corona Cero today unveiled its global roster of brand ambassadors who will champion TIME CERO, the brand’s new initiative created in partnership with the IOC and Athlete365, throughout the Olympic Winter Games. Together, Team Corona Cero will bring the brand’s “For Every Golden Moment” global platform to life, reminding people that meaningful golden moments can happen anytime, anywhere, or in any season. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203205858/en/ Team Corona Cero Central to Corona Cero’s commitment as a Worldwide Olympic Partner, TIME CERO is designed to celebrate Olympians and help them relax, stay present, and embrace bala
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom