HMRC contact UK residents named in leaked Pandora Papers

Thursday 15 June 2023

UK residents who were named in the leaked Pandora Papers are being given the chance to correct their tax affairs, HM Revenue and Customs has announced.

The tax and customs authority is writing to UK residents named in the files of 14 offshore financial service providers which were named in the international exposé, which first hit the headlines in October 2021.

The letters, which started going out this month, warn recipients to report all their overseas income or gains that they owe UK tax on, or face penalties of up to 200% of any tax due or prosecution.

Jersey-headquartered firms were not among the 14, although some had subsidiary offices in the island.

One of the biggest leaks – more than 3.3m records – came from Trident Trust Company, which is based in the British Virgin Islands, according to the group of journalists which published the papers, but has offices in Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, New York, London and 20 other locations.

There are 77 Jersey address references in the Papers, including private addresses in Grouville, Trinity, St. John and St. Mary, as well as offices in St. Helier.

Also, 250 ‘officers’ with Jersey links are also named, which include individuals as well as banks and trust companies, and nine Jersey-registered ‘entities’.

During 2021 and 2022, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released more than 11 million records from the 14 offshore service providers.

HMRC said that as soon as the Pandora Papers were released, it began reviewing the data to find UK residents with untaxed offshore assets.