re: London is the global capital of offshore banking, money laundering, and financial secrecy.

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It is in no way outside of British law or control.

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This is a big part of the bait and switch from that kernel of truth in my other post.

Americans hear "it's not part of London and has its own government" and think about our system of government, when the UK is much more national in their system.

Just a bouncier platform from which to jump anywhere in conspiracy land.

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To the point that it’s a capital of money laundering and financial secrecy? 

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I don't know enough to give an opinion on this, but the political structure of the City of London is designed to make its residents and businesses unanswerable to much of parliamentary law, as it retains the privileges of municipal corporations that Parliament and the Crown have almost entirely abolished otherwise.

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The City of London is not in any way outside of British law or Westminster’s jurisdiction, or outside of the United Kingdom.

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They write the Damn laws.

These tax havens enabled the international elite to hide assets and avoid tax obligations, while the government in London repeatedly claimed it had no influence on the financial legislation of these territories – an assertion that is still being put forward today despite being blatantly false.

In order to allow capital to flow from these overseas territories into the regular London financial market, deregulation of the national capital market was urgently needed – and these funds were vital for the UK, as the 1980s were characterised by major crises. Margaret Hodge, former Labour MP, confirms that this is why Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is regarded as the mother of deregulation of the UK capital market, enabling money laundering on a large scale.

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They write the Damn laws.

These tax havens enabled the international elite to hide assets and avoid tax obligations

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In the past, sure, but now?

Look, I don’t doubt that money laundering and tax evasion still happens, it’s a whack-a-mole thing, but you need to wrestle with current AML regimes. To say offhand that places like the City of London or the Cayman Islands are “tax havens” just lets me know that you don’t know what you’re talking about.

It's really mostly HSBC that does all the secrecy and money laundering. They aren't alone in that respect, but they are the primary offender.

Type in city of london offshore banking into Google, and this is what I get on screen.

AI Overview
The City of London acts as the central hub of a global "offshore" network, controlling massive flows of capital through UK Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. Post-1986 "Big Bang" deregulation, it became a, if not the, global center for shadow banking, Eurodollar trading, and tax avoidance, with roughly 40% of the world’s dirty money estimated to flow through the city.

This is well known and documented, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has extensively documented London's role as a global hub for money laundering, frequently highlighting how the city's financial sector and luxury real estate market serve as a "laundromat" for illicit wealth.

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This isn't a conspiracy theory. The City of London isn't a borough of London. While it's geographically part of Greater London, it's a literal corporation (and its own county) with laws, elections and processes that are alien to every other part of Britain.

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Correct. It has a unique government structure.

So what?