Calls come for Queen to release financial records amid Paradise Papers leak

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Calls come for Queen to release financial records amid Paradise Papers leak

November 11th, 2017

Awake Goy

The Queen must open up her full financial records to the public in the wake of revelations about her investments in the Paradise Papers scandal, Labour has said.

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The Paradise Papers – a dossier of 13.4 million documents – sent a shockwave across the world when they revealed tax-avoidance of major global figures including members of the royal family. In the papers the Duchy of Lancaster, the private estate of the Queen, was found to have invested millions in offshore arrangements in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda between 2004 and 2005. There is no suggestion that those involved acted illegally.

The documents also traced a small portion of the Queen’s investments – £3,208 – to the rent-to-buy firm BrightHouse – a company that has previously been accused of exploiting poor customers with high interest rates.

Queen invested in rent-to-own firm BrightHouse

At the time Buckingham Palace highlighted that the Queen’s investments are fully “audited and legitimate”, adding that she “voluntarily pays tax on any income she receives from the Duchy.”