Some of the largest British banks including HSBC and Coutts helped the wealthy people dodge taxes by creating over 2,000 offshore companies for them, according to revelations in Panama Papers.
HSBC and its affiliates were the biggest clients of Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, and allegedly asked the firm to create over 2,300 shell companies since the 1970s, according to findings by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
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In response HSBC stated: "Our policy is clear that offshore accounts can only remain open either where clients have been thoroughly vetted (including due diligence, ‘Know Your Customer’, source of wealth, and tax transparency checks), where authorities ask us to maintain an account for the purposes of monitoring activity, or where an account has been frozen based on sanctions obligations."
London-based private bank Coutts allegedly asked the law firm to create about 500 shell firms through its Jersey subsidiary, and Rothschild 378 through its Guernsey offshoot, claimed the leaked documents.
Swiss wealth managers UBS and Credit Suisse requested the law firm to set up 1,100 offshore firms each, and Luxembourg lender Banque J Safra Sarasin requested for 963, the report added.
The shell firms were opened in Panama, the British Virgin Islands as well as other tax havens.
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By GlobalDataOverall, the Panama Papers has unveiled the names of over 500 banks who registered about 15,600 shell companies with the Panama-based law firm.
