Around £10million of the Queen’s private money has been invested in overseas accounts in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda
Around £10million of the Queen’s private money has been invested in overseas accounts in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, the ‘Paradise Papers’ have revealed.
The Duchy Of Lancaster, which pays the Queen and handles her estates, has invested in retailers including BrightHouse, which has recently come under fire for exploitation of vulnerable customers.
The duchy says it was unaware of its £3,000 stake in BrightHouse, which it bought 12 years, ago, while large sums were also ploughed into off-licence chain Threshers, which has since gone bust.
The 13.4million Paradise Papers files expose the ways that the rich and powerful are protecting their wealth using a web of offshore accounts.
Despite no tax advantages being gained by investing the Queen’s money offshore, the news is likely to fuel arguments that greater controls need to be placed on royal spending.
BrightHouse, which sells furniture and household appliances, has been accused of overcharging customers and hard-selling to people with learning disabilities.
Substantial amounts of money from The Duchy Of Lancaster have been invested through funds in companies such as BrightHouse, which has come under fire for exploitation of vulnerable customers (stock photo)
It recently had to pay back £14.8million in compensation to a quarter of 250,000 people.
The Queen is not believed to have any direct knowledge of the investments.
Founded in the 13th century, the Duchy is a unique portfolio of land, property and assets held in trust for the sovereign.
These range from office blocks in The Strand to holidays homes, Bolingbroke Castle and a swathe of the tidal mudflats in Lincolnshire.
The Queen is not entitled to touch the capital of the estate but profits from the property empire go into the Privy Purse, providing a ‘private’ source of income for the monarch.
The Queen is entitled to spend the money as she wishes but also uses it to help support members of her family, including Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Princess Anne and the Countess of Wessex in lieu of their official duties as members of the Royal Family are no longer entitled to Civil List payments.
She voluntarily pays income tax on the revenue she receives.
Other figures embroiled in the Paradise Papers include Lord Ashcroft and Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, Wilbur L Ross Jr.
Today’s revelations are only the beginning of the scandal – with more figures set to be named during the coming week as more documents are released.
The world’s top financial institutions are still reeling from last year’s enormous Panama Papers data leak revealed how Vladimir Putin’s inner circle and a ‘dirty dozen’ list of world leaders were using offshore tax havens to hide their wealth.
A host of celebrities, sports stars, British politicians and the global rich were implicated in that release.
The 11million files contained more data than the amount stolen by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden in 2013.
Tory donor Lord Ashcroft is accused of remaining a non-dom and channeling his income through a tax haven in a bid to pay as little as possible to the British Government