Scotland has seedy role in tax haven scandal
THE Herald has been at the forefront of highlighting the full scale of Scotland’s SLP scandal.
Little had been known about Scotland’s role as a tax haven until June 2015 when a complex fraud which saw almost $1billion removed from banks in one of Europe’s poorest countries was found to have roots in a rundown Edinburgh flat.
An investigation by private investigators Kroll identified 20 UK limited partnerships (LPs) linked to the fraud that saw three of Moldova’s leading banks almost emptied of their funds.
Nineteen were based in Scotland.
How we told of link to criminal conspiracy.
The report traced one company to a flat with another registered in Leith.
Almost 440 firms were legitimately registered at one address, some with ties to the Seychelles.
It emerged that criminal gangs – some with links to the arms trade and pornography – were exploiting a tax loophole.
Chief Reporter David Leask revealed the lack of a
Shell firms were used for motor sport takeover.
requirement to submit financial reports or register for tax by businesses operating oversees opened the door to unscrupulous money launderers.
Our inquiries revealed that Scottish-based shell firms were being promoted across Eastern Europe in money-laundering and tax evasion kits being offered for sale online, with phantom firms even registered at a Scottish Enterprise building in Edinburgh.
Analysis of around 6,000 SLPs found that half were produced by agencies which did not appear to be HMRC registered.
Despite growing calls for action, in March, The Herald revealed that Scottish shell firms had been used to move at least £4bn out of the former Soviet Union as part of the so-called “Laundromat” criminal conspiracy which enabled Russia’s elite to channel at least $20bn from the country.
Our investigations even led to the fast and glamorous world of Formula One.
In April, we revealed how American investors used the “zero tax” shell firms in their £6.4bn takeover of the sports business. Liberty Media sealed the deal with the help of two SLPs which had been registered at an Aberdeen law firm’s HQ.