British PM Cameron benefitted from offshore financial industry
David W.D. Cameron and his wife, Samantha, profited from shares they had in a Panamanian-based trust set up by his late father, the British Prime Minister told CNN affiliate ITV News in an exclusive interview.
Cameron, who told ITV he has nothing to hide, said he and his wife had 5,000 shares of Blairmore Investment Trust that they sold in January 2010 for about £30,000 (about $42,200 in U.S. dollars at current exchange rates).
"I paid (UK) income tax on the dividends. There was a profit on it, but it was less than the capital gains tax allowance, so I didn't pay capital gains tax," he told the British broadcaster.
There have been reports that, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Cameron's father, Ian, used the services of the Mossack Fonseca law firm to avoid having his Blairmore Holdings Inc. pay any UK taxes.
When asked Monday about the reports, the Prime Minister said, "I own no shares, no offshore trusts, no offshore funds, nothing like that. And so that, I think, is a very clear description."
The ICIJ reported it analyzed documents that show the firm helped establish secret shell companies and offshore accounts for global power players.
Known as the Panama Papers, the more than 11 million documents reference 12 current or former world leaders, as well as 128 other politicians and public officials.
Cameron became Prime Minister in May 2010 after he and his wife sold their holdings.
He told ITV: "I want to be as clear as I can about the past, about the present, about the future, because frankly I don't have anything to hide."
How did ICIJ get the documents?
An anonymous source gave documents to German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, which shared them with ICIJ. Other media organisations that reported on the documents include the BBC, The Guardian and McClatchy.
The anonymous source "claimed to be concerned about what he or she saw in the documents. Of course, the documents started as a trickle but turned into a flood, a torrent in the end," said Gerard Ryle, the ICIJ's director.
"The person claimed that their life was in danger if they ever became known as the source of this material because of course there are so many powerful people that are being revealed here."
CNN is unable to verify the reports independently and has sought comment from the most prominent figures mentioned. They are spread across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.
23 Responses to “British PM Cameron benefitted from offshore financial industry”
We are still waiting for the government to investigate itself... until the people forget why.
Hillary Clinton Ties Emerge In Panama Papers - www.msn.com
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/hillary-clinton-ties-emerge-in-panama-papers/vp-BBrrLLZ
Names keep coming up slowly but surely
B.V.I provides relevant financial services to its clients which also benefits the world at large. B.V.I. is subject to review by FATF and has tax agreements with several nations. We are above board never mind the noise.
If an Agent is found to be breaking the laws of the B.V.I., they will be fined, or even lose their license to operate here. The money we are supposedly hiding here is right in the banks onshore. We do not have the banking structure here for that. This is a spin to demonize that B.V.I.
Dolly I will tell you something else, about 2012-2013 I heard a prediction from certain quarters that B.V.I, then known as the premier offshore jurisdiction of the world, will be ranked number 5 in the offshore jurisdictions in 5 years and Singapore would be number 1. I wondered what the prediction was based on. I thought to myself something is afoot. Shortly thereafter the first leak came. Now we have a second leak of seemingly epic proportions. It was suggested that information from the first leak might have come from the aforementioned country. It is obvious that this one has its origins in Panama. Dolly these are not random incidences. There is a plot to bring down the B.V.I. You see, like Daniel, we obey all the laws of the king. Onshore cannot point to the error in our ways because we implement everything they ask, much to the annoyance of some of our own players. So onshore, like Haman has devised a plot to bring us down. The plot is to expose the names of all our clients so they lose confidence in us. But in his plot to bring down Daniel, Haman made and error- he built 1 gallows. Onshore has made the same error. Stay tuned!
Along the road to power it is littered with casualties and riches…
Everyone who has something is bad. Yup. This whole fiasco is sounding more and more like jealousy or just
someone in the background trying to take everything from anyone they perceive as having something. More
like sour grapes.