“If I look at the debates we’ve had in Europe about the structuring of offshore companies, many politicians and government’s have intervened. Our regulator the CSSF is also looking at all the banks that are operating here and in the context of the Panama Papers.
“This study is under way, the results are not definite yet but a lot of progress has been made,” he said.
Brexit
Gramegna’s also echoed comments made by Alfi’s deputy director general Anouk Agnes earlier in the week where she said Luxembourg would not engage in a “race to the bottom” with other financial centres to attract UK financial services firms looking to maintain EU passporting rights in light of Brexit.
Referring to British prime minister Theresa May’s announcement last week that the UK government will officially start the process to leave the EU on 29 March when it will trigger Article 50, the finance minister said Britain cannot “have it’s cake and eat it”.
However, he added that events in recent months are making the Brexit process “look even more difficult than it is”.
“It obviously that you cannot have your cake and eat it. You cannot on the one side walk out of the European Union and say I want to stick to all the advantages of the EU single market. which most people have realised is logical.
“In the last month, we’ve been witnessing a kind of drama and tragedy happening in front of us where every country in the EU and the UK have been raising the stakes and making it look even more difficult than it is.
“I don’t think this is useful and I hope that when Article 50 is triggered by the UK government than things will calm down and negotiations are going to start,” said Gramegna.
