Panama Papers Show Emma Watson Established An Offshore Company

Newly released information indicates that Emma Watson created an offshore company through the law firm at the center of the Panama Papers. A spokesman for the Harry Potter star said the company was established to ensure the safety of the actress.

Luke Windsor said the move to set up the offshore company through Mossack Fonseca does not provide the any tax advantage or financial benefit to the actress who played Hermione Granger on the popular movie series. Windsor indicated that the actress along with other high-profile individuals established an offshore company with the main objective of ensuring her safety and anonymity.

He added that UK-based companies are required to publish details about their shareholders, which will not provide the actress anonymity to ensure her personal safety.

Panama Papers Show Emma Watson Established An Offshore Company - image credit: en.wikipedia.org

Windsor added that the safety of Emma Watson has been put at risk in the past after information was made public. Offshore companies like the one established by the actress ensure these details are not publicized. UK media reported that property was purchased by the actress using the company she established. The spokesman declined to make a comment on these reports.

The Spectator of the UK initially discovered the name of the actress on the public database of entities and individuals who have supposed links to the Panama-based law firm at the center of the leak. The database shows the details of links between around 320,000 offshore entities and 368,000 individuals. The information was based on a leak of more than 11 million documents from Mossack Fonseca. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists was responsible for the release of the database.

There are a number of legitimate reasons for setting up an offshore bank account. It allows wealthy people facilitate their investment portfolios or ensure the protection of their assets. It also allows them to legally pay less tax.

The leaked information showed that the company Falling Leaves Ltd was set up by Emma Watson in 2013 in the British Virgin Islands. The European Commission identified the UK overseas territory in the Caribbean as a tax haven.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Thursday May 12 2016, 9:12 AM EDT. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0