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British PM urged to act over British Virgin Islands

A senior Liberal Democrat figure said the leaks showed the secret haven of the BVI "stains the face of Britain", as anti-corruption campaigners called for action. Photo: VINO
By Caribbean News Now contributor

LONDON, England -- Britain’s prime minister David Cameron has come under pressure to act against the secretive offshore industry at June's G8 summit, as leaked evidence continued to mount that politicians and tycoons from all over the world have used the British Virgin Islands to hide funds

The premier of Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili, was the latest to be named, along with prominent Pakistani, Indian, Thai and Indonesian figures – while there was fresh evidence of Britons acting as front directors for companies based in offshore havens such as the BVI, the Guardian newspaper reported.

A senior Liberal Democrat figure said the leaks showed the secret haven of the BVI "stains the face of Britain", as anti-corruption campaigners called for action.

"How can David Cameron keep a straight face calling for the G8 to make big business pay tax when we let the BVI use British law and British protection to suck in billions in dirty money?" said Lord Oakeshott, a former Treasury spokesman.

"How much British aid paid to corrupt countries like Pakistan ends up behind a BVI brass plate?" he asked.

Robert Palmer of the campaign group Global Witness repeated the call for Cameron to act, saying, "The massive cache of leaked documents demonstrates how hidden ownership of shell companies facilitates corruption, tax dodging and other crimes."

He added, "The time to deal with this issue is now. Given that he has pledged to tackle these secretive shell companies at this year's G8 summit in Northern Ireland, he and his fellow leaders must commit to publishing information on the people who ultimately control and own companies."

The names of thousands of owners of secret offshore companies are currently being published by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in collaboration with the Guardian and other international media.

This follows the leak to ICIJ of a hard drive containing 200GB of internal files of offshore incorporation agencies in the BVI, Singapore and the Cook Islands.

13 Responses to “British PM urged to act over British Virgin Islands”

  • Yep (06/04/2013, 12:01) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Serious stuff...
  • regan (06/04/2013, 12:30) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    here they go again
  • qc (06/04/2013, 12:35) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Who To Blame?
  • ... (06/04/2013, 13:21) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    This is getting serious where is the government?
  • UK student (06/04/2013, 19:21) Like (4) Dislike (2) Reply
    I like the VIP they are much better at addressing these kinds of overseas issues…election hurry come
    • Daniel (06/04/2013, 21:49) Like (2) Dislike (46) Reply
      vip--my arse? no way? . nothing wrong with our gov't big countries like usa could not stop wikileaks vip are worse crooks than any we had ever seen. after late mr lavity, you could forget vip for ever. crooks crooks and more crooks. every one who could read and write want to run for election. to take crucial decisions at critical times we need good people and ndp is good.
      • @ daniel (07/04/2013, 08:30) Like (3) Dislike (1) Reply
        Poor you the only person who thinks so! Crooks sorry that is the ndp too thief
      • backwards (07/04/2013, 09:32) Like (3) Dislike (0) Reply
        Daniel go out on a high and don’t embarrass yourself any more
    • @ UK student (09/04/2013, 06:24) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      You sounds like you still in the Primary School. Are you?
  • -------------- (07/04/2013, 07:53) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Some IT Technician leak that hard drive for big bucks!
  • dc (07/04/2013, 12:19) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    Just release all names of people with offshore accounts plus details bank to bank to property
  • show time (08/04/2013, 00:57) Like (1) Dislike (1) Reply
    the BVI have become an INTERNATIONAL disgrace
  • Well............ (08/04/2013, 14:29) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    i don't know that they knew the B.V.I Existed!!!!


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