UK Launches Taskforce To Analyze 'Panama Papers'

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

12 April 2016

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced the launch of a new task force "to deal with any wrongdoing relating to the Panama papers."

The task force will be jointly led by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the National Crime Agency. It will draw on investigators, compliance specialists, and analysts from HMRC, the National Crime Agency, the Serious Fraud Office, and the Financial Conduct Authority. The Government will provide initial funding of up to GBP10m (USD14.2m) to support the task force's work.

Last week, HMRC confirmed that it had asked the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) to share the leaked data it had obtained from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The so-called "Panama papers" contain emails, financial spreadsheets, passports, and corporate records relating to the ownership of bank accounts and companies in 21 offshore jurisdictions over a nearly 40-year period.

The task force will report its progress to the Chancellor and Home Secretary later this year. HMRC is already investigating 700 leads with a link to Panama.

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