In the summer of 2001, newspaper reports announced that offshore banking had arrived on U.S. soil. The idea that the U.S. would accommodate offshore banks within its national borders is ironic considering the well-entrenched reputation of the U.S. as an aggressor against money laundering, which offshore banks are known to facilitate. This new type of financial institution is called a foreign capital depository. This study seeks to explore the public policy implications of creating a foreign capital depository industry in the U.S. Specifically, this study addresses three questions: (1) Will foreign capital depositories compromise the credibility of the U.S. among other nations of the world, (2) Are foreign capital depositories vulnerable to use by financial criminals, and (3) Will the federal governmentıs monitoring of financial crimes be made more difficult with the existence of foreign capital depositories.
