Prince Albert meets Angela Merkel

German Chancellor presses Prince for more fiscal transparency 

Monaco’s Sovereign Prince Albert II’s long planned meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel could not have come at a more auspicious moment.Germany is in the middle of a highly publicised investigation into the tax affairs of its wealthy nationals, and yesterday Ms Merkel wasted no time in pressing the Prince on the subject. The neighbouring Principality of Liechstenstein is at the centre of the affair and one respected head has already rolled – the ex-Deutshce Post boss Klaus Zumwinkel – who is accused for evading tax by using banks in the tax haven.

For his Principality’s part, Prince Albert II responded to the Chancellor by pledging to improve bilateral cooperation between the two countries on tax matters, money laundering and corruption.

Monaco is one of the three countries which remain on the list held by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation) of “uncooperative tax havens”. The others are Liechstenstein and Andorra.

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