With the benefit of hindsight, those bankers involved in the DIRT scandal may feel they got off lightly. Equally, those still looking over their shoulder as a result of the Ansbacher inquiry may feel even more uncomfortable.

The decision by the French authorities to detain senior businessmen in connection with an alleged tax evasion scheme may finally bring home to some people how serious such matters are treated in certain jurisdictions. The lesson will not have been lost on the founder of Axa, one of Europe's largest insurers and owner of the Republic's leading motor insurer, Guardian PMPA, who was detained overnight along with his successor.