Paradise papers: Even the Queen of England's estate parked as much as Rs 85 crore in offshore tax havens

Britain's Queen Elizabeth attends The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery 70th parade in Hyde Park in London, Britain, October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay - RC1B93015C50

The leaked documents from the Paradise Papers have revealed that Queen Elizabeth II's private estate had invested over Rs 85 crore in offshore accounts.

The document was leaked on Sunday and has brought out names of several prominent firms and individuals including Queen Elizabeth II who has offshore accounts in countries that are tax havens.

As per the Paradise Papers leak, The Duchy of Lancaster, which is the Queen’s private estate and a chief source of income, held funds in the Cayman Islands and previously held another investment till 2010 in Bermuda - the two known tax havens.

As per reports in the BBC, during 2004-05 the Duchy invested over Rs 42 crore in Bermuda-based Jubilee Absolute Return Fund Ltd and around the same amount in Dover Street VI Cayman Fund LP.

Also Read: Paradise Papers leaked; investigation reveals trail of money in global tax havens

The amount invested in the Cayman Islands was later indirectly diverted to fund firms in the UK. The company which runs the Cayman Islands fund was later involved in buying interests as part of ‘Project Bertie’, leading to its involvement in the takeover of two UK-based retail firms. The company bought 100 percent shares in rent-to-buy retailer BrightHouse and 75 percent stakes in First Quench Retailing Ltd.

BrightHouse had shifted its headquarters to Luxembourg after takeover and structures were created to reduce its UK tax bill. However, the retail firm in which the Duchy now controls a small holding has been accused of exploiting low-income families and was ordered by financial regulators to pay over Rs 126 crore as compensation to about 2.5 lakh customers.

On the other hand Threshers, the other firm with which the Queen is indirectly linked went bust and owes around Rs 150 crore to the UK government as tax.

The spokesperson of the Duchy was quoted saying in the report, “The Duchy has only invested in highly regarded private equity funds following a strong recommendation from our investment consultants. All of our investments are fully audited and legitimate. The Queen voluntarily pays tax on any income she receives from the Duchy.”

Though the Queen in 1992 had declared that she would voluntarily start paying the taxes, the actual details of her payments are still a closely guarded secret.