Social power, offshore financial intermediaries and a network regulatory imaginary

While studies have paid attention to the activities of firms and their financial flows in offshore tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions, there is scant work on role of advanced business services (ABS) intermediary providers in shaping the geography of these jurisdictions. Yet such a study is needed in light of the recent release of the Panama Papers and the fallout of major political figures, celebrities and corporations as a result of the leaks. This paper examines the role of relational ties in mediating and linking high net worth individuals, political elites, corporations, intermediary providers, and, secrecy jurisdictions. By examining the major organizational hubs of social power embedded in network structures, it suggests that regulatory responses to tax avoidance and evasion associated with secrecy jurisdictions may need to move beyond a state-centered model of governance. Transnational governance involves a broader set of auspices and governors that include ABS actors and their social practices which constitute both a source of learning and normative regulation.