Paradise Papers Leak: From The Queen To Bono, The Highest-Profile Names Revealed

A bevy of leaked financial documents released Sunday unveil how the rich and powerful use offshore accounts to avoid taxes or to obscure investments and assets. The leak, dubbed the Paradise Papers, is a follow-up to last year’s Panama Papers and revealed some notable names in addition to state-run Russian corporations' investments in Facebook and Twitter.

Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Island of Jersey and the British Virgin Islands — where the papers show several famous people’s money being parked — are all notorious tax havens.

The documents come largely from Bermuda-based Appleby, a law firm that provides offshore legal services. The investigation was headed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) whose members include the New York Times, BBC and Vice News.

“ICIJ does not intend to suggest or imply that any persons, companies or other entities have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly,” the group said in a disclaimer posted online. Several noteworthy names include actors, musicians and politicians.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross

Ross, a banker before becoming part of President Donald Trump’s administration, retained investments in a shipping company with ties to Russia even after becoming commerce secretary, the New York Times reported Sunday. The shipper, Navigator Holdings, does a significant amount of business with a Russian energy company, Sibur, which is owned in part by a Russian oligarch currently under U.S. sanctions and Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law.

The Queen of England

Around $13 million of the Queen’s personal estate was invested in off-shore accounts in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. While the Queen is not personally involved in investments, the off-shore funds could have been used to avoid taxes, according to the BBC Sunday.

“Our investment strategy is based on advice and recommendation from our investment consultants and appropriate asset allocation,” said Chris Adcock, the chief financial officer of the Duchy of Lancaster to the BBC. The Duchy provides the Queen with an income and manages her personal fortune.

Madonna

Pop singer Madonna was shown in the papers to have been a shareholder in a Bermudan medical supply company which was shuttered in 2013, according to Business Insider Monday.

Bono

The lead singer of rock band U2 was an investor in a Lithuanian shopping mall through a company based in Malta, which is also a country that foreign investors can use to avoid taxes, according to the Guardian Sunday.

“Bono was a passive, minority investor in…a company that was legally registered in Malta until it was voluntarily wound up in 2015. Malta is a well-established holding company jurisdiction within the EU,” said a spokeswoman for the singer to the Guardian.

Kiera Knightly

The actress famous for roles in movies like “Love Actually,” “Bend It Like Beckham” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” appears to have invested money in a Jersey-based real estate firm, according to Business Insider.