Panama Papers: UK Prime Minister's Father Ran Fund That Paid No UK Tax: Report

LONDON — British Prime Minister David Cameron's late father ran an offshore fund that avoided paying tax in the U.K., according to documents made public as part of the Panama law firm leak revealed Sunday.

According to the Guardian, Ian Cameron was a director of Blairmore Holdings Inc., an investment fund run run out of the Bahamas, which employed a large number of Bahamanians — including a senior local clergyman — to sign off on its activities.

The paper reported that the fund, which is still in business today, has never paid any U.K. tax on its profits, though there is no suggestion that Ian Cameron did anything illegal.

Asked to confirm whether any Cameron family money was still invested in the fund, a spokeswoman quoted by the BBC said it was a “private matter,” adding that the prime minister had taken a range of actions to tackle tax avoidance.

The disclosures are the result of a leak from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm that specializes in offshore work and has been linked to money laundering and corruption, as well as the financial affairs of several world leaders. The so-called Panama Papers were released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and about 100 media outets on Sunday.

In addition to Cameron, Iceland's premier, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, has been damaged by the Mossack Fonseca leak. Documents from the firm suggest that Gunnlaugsson had invested in an offshore company that invested heavily in bonds of major Icelandic banks, which collapsed in 2009, making him a significant creditor. As a result of the revelations, he is facing calls for his resignation from opposition lawmakers.

Pakistan's leader, Prime Minsiter Nawaz Sharif, is also facing pressure in his home country as a result of the revelations, which allegedly showed that his children owned property in London through offshore companies.