South Beach, FLORIDA - Private and public sector figures from multiple jurisdictions will gather at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach in Florida next week for The 9th Annual OffshoreAlert Conference.

All aspects of conducting business in Offshore Financial Centers will be discussed in 22 sessions based around three main themes: Fraud & Asset Recovery, Money Laundering & Compliance and Investigations & Intelligence.

Approximately 60% of attendees who have registered so far live in the world's major countries, with the other 40% residing in OFCs, including Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Switzerland and the Turks and Caicos Islands...

The startling claim, following extensive research, was made to OffshoreAlert by Sharesleuth.com, an investigative news web-site controlled by well-known American businessman Mark Cuban.

"Upwards of 400 Chinese companies have gone public on U.S. exchanges through reverse mergers," says Chris Carey, Editor and President of Sharesleuth.com. "We've identified at least 40 deals – or fully 10 percent – that have involved some degree of fraud or deception...

It's all part of the push for "full tax transparency", says Jonathan Sambur, a former IRS attorney who now specializes in Tax Transactions in the Washington, DC office of Mayer Brown law firm.

"Recent public statements by U.S. regulators indicate that U.S. tax avoidance and evasion is not limited to Switzerland," Mr. Sambur told OffshoreAlert...

It seems to be a commonly-held belief in the world's major countries that Offshore Financial Centers are impenetrable fortresses when it comes to obtaining information for criminal and civil investigations.

But the opposite is reality, said Jeremy Walton, a Cayman Islands-based partner of prominent offshore law firm Appleby.

"It is a myth that offshore financial centers are information black-holes and that it is practically impossible to obtain information or relief for the victims of fraud," he told OffshoreAlert.

The program has been developed in collaboration with senior level professionals across the industry to ensure it covers the latest issues and must-know information on OFCs and Serious Financial Crime.

Most conferences about Offshore Financial Centers are either absurdly pro-offshore, where industry practitioners spin fantasy and pat each other on the backs, or anti-offshore...

They're coming from all over the world … for the latest developments in offshore banking, finance and insurance.

With just 12 days to go, I'm thrilled to announce that residents of 28 countries have signed up to attend the 7th Annual OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference , which will take place in Miami Beach on April 26-28, 2009.

The days when U. S. taxpayers could rely on offshore jurisdictions to stymie tax investigations by the IRS are long gone, says a criminal tax defense attorney.

"It no longer takes months or even years for U.S. authorities to obtain cooperation and tax/financial information from foreign jurisdictions," said Robert Bernhoft, whose clients have included actor Wesley Snipes and 'Girls Gone Wild' video producer Joe Francis. "New treaty provisions and Tax Information Exchange Agreements have significantly expedited the process.

"If you have offshore involvements and get audited, you can no longer play the waiting game and see what leads the IRS will follow up. You need to take defensive action immediately..."

Major countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom are simply "passing the buck" by blaming Offshore Financial Centers for the global economic crisis and taking steps to close them down.

That is the view of Sir Ronald Sanders, a former High Commissioner to the UK for Antigua and Barbuda and currently a business consultant, specializing in the Caribbean, who will also be speaking at the OffshoreAlert Conference on April 26th in Miami.

"Lax regulation" by OECD member countries is to blame for the economic mess, yet it is OFCs who are being made to suffer as new legislation targeting them is prepared by the world's biggest countries, Sanders told OffshoreAlert.

Miami Beach, FL - The 7th Annual Financial Due Diligence Conference set to take place April 26th to 28th specializes in cutting edge information and intelligence on Fraud, Money Laundering, Tax Evasion, Compliance, Risk Management & Asset Recovery as they relate to Offshore Financial Centers.

Building on 12 years of exposing serious financial crime, this year's conference will provide an in-depth analysis of issues affecting business transactions involving OFCs and will equip you with the strategies and techniques to successfully navigate them.

Businessmen in offshore financial centers and elsewhere who value client-confidentiality ought to think long and hard before taking laptop computers and other data-storage devices with them on trips to the United States, says Washington, DC-based technology consultant Mark D. Rasch. Learn more about this topic within article here ...

A step-by-step guide to legally obtaining information in OFCs will form part of the 6th OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference, which takes place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on April 13-15, 2008. Two attorneys, a government agent, and a private investigator from offshore and onshore jurisdictions will demonstrate to attendees what is required for successful applications. Read more within....

Recent bank secrecy scandals in Liechtenstein and the Cayman Islands emphasize the need for offshore financial centers to offer something other than secrecy if they are to thrive in the modern era. Learn about this topic and more...

A step-by-step guide to legally obtaining information in OFCs will form part of the 6th OffshoreAlert Financial Due Diligence Conference, which takes place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on April 13-15, 2008. Two attorneys, a government agent, and a private investigator from offshore and onshore jurisdictions will demonstrate to attendees what is required for successful applications. Read more within....