Cayman Islands Searching for Friends in High Places

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Fleishman-Hillard (F-H) is busy trying to open doors for Cayman Islands government ministers keen to lobby members of the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. With the U.S. Congress set to discuss the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, the Minister for International Financial Services, Alden McLaughlin, explained that "with all the rhetoric going on – and still going on – with the global financial crisis and offshore centres, we want to get the right messages to the right people before the 2 April meeting of the G-20.” McLaughlin said that F-H lobbyists "measure the temperature of the water and what is needed at any particular time, and right now, it’s ever-more critical." In a December 2008 report (pdf) filed with the U.S. Department of Justice, F-H stated (see page 12) that it had provided advice on the U.S. election campaign and arranged meetings with a U.S. Treasury official, the National Foreign Trade Council, the Private Equity Council and the Managed Funds Association.