Displaying items by tag: free ports

The European Commission has said that free ports, the Singapore-style tax-free zones favoured by Boris Johnson, are ‘potentially vulnerable to money-laundering and financing terrorism’ in the European single market. Free ports are ‘the new emerging threat’, said the European justice commissioner, Věra Jourová. ‘This is something we want to focus on more.’ Prime Minister Johnson says he wants ‘about six’ tax-free zones in ports as part of his vision for the UK after Brexit. He has yet to give details on their size and location. EU countries and their dependencies already shelter 80+ free ports, including one on the Isle of Man, a British crown dependency which is neither in the EU nor the UK. The commission’s report warned that the EU has ‘a structural problem’ in preventing the financial system from being used by criminals.