Super-rich and celebrities caught up in HSBC tax dodge storm
THE spotlight in the HSBC affair last night fell on links between multi-millionaire Richard Caring and Tina Green – the wife of his close friend and billionaire clothing magnate Sir Philip Green.
Socialite Mr Caring – who owns a string of London restaurants including The Ivy and the nightclub Annabel’s – visited a Geneva branch of the bank and withdrew £2.25 million in cash.
The transaction took place in September 2005 and was not flagged up by the lender.
The bank recorded only that Mr Caring planned to deposit the money ‘in a new a/c (account) with a separate institution in Geneva’.
He last night insisted the money was for a business transaction with people who did not want to use HSBC.
But according to bank files seen by the BBC’s Panorama and The Guardian, funds in the Swiss account originated from accounts in the tax haven of Monaco.
These accounts, it is alleged, were controlled by Mr Caring but were held ‘in trust’ under the name of Tina Green, Sir Philip’s wife.
Leaked records from HSBC note that ‘ RC goes to great length to maintain discretion’, and in July 2005, he had fallen out with the bank over a ‘ currency shortfall’ on one account.
After a ‘lengthy and challenging conversation’, the bank had been aware Mr Caring could send ‘ funds from Monaco at a moment’s notice... However, they would be accompanied by instructions to close the account. He expects us to consider his global relationship.’
In the event, the bank recorded: ‘As we know, until now (Caring) has hesitated from holding the vast majority of his cash assets in his own name, preferring to accept the offer of Mrs Green that she holds them in trust on his behalf.’
The bank also recorded that Mr Caring, 62, held some £65.7million in offshore accounts and was also taking profits from an ‘anonymous’ 22 per cent holding in BHS.
Mr Caring, a former donor to both the Labour and Tory Party, has claimed hereditary ‘ nondomiciled’ tax status through his US-born father, an American GI who settled in England after the Second World War.
This, it has been suggested, enabled Mr Caring not to disclose the existence of his Swiss or Monaco bank accounts to the UK tax authorities, so he could avoid taxes on capital held abroad. Mr Caring has been friends with Sir Philip for many years and gave him a red Ferrari F430 for his 50th birthday.
He once said of his relationship with the clothing tycoon, 62: ‘I speak to him every day. We’re more than friends – I think we’d do anything for each other. We’re like brothers.
‘We’ve grown up together and experienced lots of good times and tough times.’
Sir Philip and his wife are worth more than £5 billion and split their time between London and a Monaco apartment.
Mr Caring formed the International Clothing Designs firm and the business still supplies Sir Philip’s Topshop chain.
Last month the Daily Mail contacted Sir Philip to ask about
rumours he had been listed on the stolen HSBC computer disc as having an offshore account in Geneva. He replied: ‘For the record I have never had a Swiss bank account.’
He did not mention the Monaco account that it is now claimed is controlled by Mr Caring even though it is in the name of Tina Green.
Last night Mr Caring told the Mail he was angry at ‘insinuations’ regarding his dealings with HSBC.
He insisted he has had ‘non- dom’ status for many years and it was a fact known to the UK tax authorities.
‘The revenue people have always known my non-dom status. I had some £100 million in dividends from BHS at one stage and I paid £33 million in regard to that matter and the revenue [HMRC] was happy that I didn’t owe a single penny more in tax.
‘The HSBC documents that have been widely referred to by the Guardian and others have been known to [HMRC] since 2010 and have not resulted in any taxable issues.
‘The insinuation that I would or want to evade tax is totally wrong. I have also never bullied the HSBC bank in terms of my dealings with them. Yes, I did withdraw more than £2 million from the bank and that was for a business transaction.
‘I appreciate it was a large amount of money but I was put in that position at the time because the people I was dealing with did not want to use HSBC in a particular transaction.
‘It was a business matter and I have not bullied anyone.’
Last night it emerged that Sir Philip was considering legal action against The Guardian in relation to claims about the HSBC row.
A spokesman said: ‘ There are a number of serious inaccuracies and mistakes in the Guardian story. People are allowed to have bank accounts abroad and people should ask some basic questions.
‘For instance, if you have a bank account in Switzerland and access to other accounts in that country there why on earth would you transfer funds from somewhere like Monaco.
‘For a number of reasons – including currency conversion – that would not make any sense at all.
‘People writing about the HSBC issue and Swiss bank accounts should be very careful as there has not been any impropriety.’
‘It was a business matter’