It's not the azure seas and some of the best beaches in the world that has lured barrister John Masters to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
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Masters took the helm as Director of Public Prosecutions two weeks ago, stopping off first in London for a briefing on the state of the 40 low-lying, coral islands and cays that make up the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI).
The archipelago, which sits south-east of the Bahamas and 1000 kilometres from Miami, is a known tax haven, vulnerable to money laundering and corruption.
Masters, 53, is an international expert on white collar crime. As a former financial crime prosecutor in the United Kingdom and the Cayman Islands, his new job is the perfect fit, having landed the position after an international search and a field of 11 applicants.
For Masters, who until recently worked at the private bar in Canberra, it's a drop in salary, but a chance to put his expertise to good use.
TCI is a British Overseas Territory. The economy depends on tourism and the well-developed financial sector, which accounts for almost 30 per cent of gross domestic product.
According to the US Department of State, not only does TCI have a significant offshore financial services sector but its geographic location makes it a "transshipment point for narcotics and traffickers".
The Turks and Caicos seems the perfect location for a spy movie.
English playwright David Hare set the second instalment of his Worricker Trilogy there in a television film released last year. Titled Turks & Caicos, the film, described as a political spy thriller, stars Christopher Walken, Helena Bonham Carter, Winona Ryder and Ralph Fiennes.
Time will tell if Masters gets to star in his own real-life drama and if he'll get the chance to shine a light on the dark side of paradise.
"There's always an element of risk," explains Masters of his work prosecuting money laundering and tax evasion. "In Honduras I was on a bus with members of the Caribbean Financial Task Force, which was set up to stop crime and corruption and they made sure all the lights were green so the bus could fly through the city. So at times you do feel unsafe but that's when you know you're doing some really exciting law."
Masters says anti money laundering crime fighters are targets all over the world, with currently five unexplained murders in France and Taiwan.
"I really enjoy this work but you don't do it if you're scared," he says. "When I worked in the Caymans we were concerned that all they [criminals] had to do was bump two of us off and that would be the end of the money laundering campaign for some time."
Masters attributes much of his work ethos to having grown up in the disadvantaged suburb of Berkeley.
"I think if you're brought up in a culture where you have to be brave, not silly brave, but brave, then you can relate to any circumstance life throws at you.
"Not that I ever had any concerns living in Berkeley. There was a lot of camaraderie in the neighbourhood, everyone had each other's backs."
Masters moved to Berkeley as a seven-year-old and was raised by his mother Maria, a single parent, and sister Jeanette, who was 10 years older. He didn't reconnect with his father until he was 30.
In the '70s, Berkeley was a suburb described as a "nursery for criminals", with regular reports of streets lined with thugs, crime and poverty. It's a reputation that, decades later, is difficult to shake.
For Masters, his family and friends, it was home. Everyone was on struggle street and the community bond was strong.
"Berkeley's bad reputation was undeserved," says Masters. "It's not the wild suburb that people believed it to be. It was a bit rough around the edges. It was no paradise. There was a level of crime but it was far outweighed by community spirit. I don't feel deprived having grown up there at all. In fact, I'm eternally indebted to Berkeley and I reflect fondly on my childhood. At no time did I ever feel unsafe."
Masters describes a happy childhood, roaming the streets and playing cricket using lamp posts as wickets. There was no telephone or washing machine in his house. His mother washed clothes in an old boiler. The stick "doubling for the purposes of discipline".
In the school holidays Masters would be cared for by neighbours while his mother worked long hours at the steelworks.
"Mum sorted through the tin plate to look for defects and she did that for 30 years," he says. "It was an extremely physical job and she was quite a hardy woman. She did what had to be done and she made sure I wanted for nothing."
When his sister married, her husband took on a father figure role.
"He was only in his early 20s but he took me under his wing and taught me to play rugby and drive a car. He taught me how to defend myself," says Masters.
After school he joined the Australian Federal Police while studying for a law degree in Canberra, managing both full time.
"Growing up in Berkeley you knew what hard work was," he says. "Nothing was ever handed to us. But it built a good work ethic that holds true for me today."
He became a lawyer in 1987 and worked as a solicitor in Wollongong before being admitted to the bar. It was former Wollongong Judge Joe Phelan (now deceased) who encouraged him to become a barrister.
During a stint as a Crown Prosecutor in the UK he completed a masters at Cambridge University.
He was then transferred to the specialist Fraud Prosecution Service division and was one of six national crown advocates to prosecute major fraud and money laundering.
He was also appointed as the legal adviser to the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Cayman Islands. He has worked with the United Nations, the FBI and the World Bank.
"I've always been interested in corporate commercial law and again I think it comes back to my days at Berkeley," he says. "Everyone dreams of getting out of their situation. You dream of making it big, of doing some good with your life."
The world of anti money laundering is in itself a community.
"It's very easy to wire money. You press a button and it's gone and you could be tracing it for years," he says. "It's easy to blame the offshore jurisdictions. But the money comes from somewhere else first. Money goes through the US, the UK, Australia. It can go through several countries but they never pick it up when the crime is being committed. So there's a lot of buck-passing."
Master has four grown-up children, three living overseas. His wife is a special needs teacher.
"My family call this a wanderlust," he says of his need to work in financial crime. "It's addictive. But it's an area where you feel that you can make real progress and a contribution and that's a great feeling. It's an absolutely fascinating field of law."
Masters encourages students from disadvantaged areas to embrace where they come from.
"I was one of those kids on the street. I was no different from anyone else. Don't go through life from the starting point of being a victim. Never forget your roots. You're not disadvantaged because you've lived a childhood that your counterparts haven't lived. Be proud of where you come from because achievement feels so much better than if everything was simply handed to you."
Masters is also a regular speaker on international economic crime.