A research carried out by journalists all around the world and considered one of the most comprehensive ever on the topic, reveals a lot of new information about the people behind the anonymity of offshore companies.
This project’s aim was to uncover the best kept secret in tax havens: the names of the real offshore companies’ owners.
The research on the secret world of offshore companies was conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in many countries, including Greece.
Many Greek interests hidden in offshore companies included in the ICIJ list are located in the British Virgins Islands (BVI), which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Five hundred thousand active companies, around 40 percent of offshore companies globally are located there. Since 1984, more than a million offshore companies have been established in the tax haven of the Virgin Islands offering anonymity to their owners.
According to the research, Greek citizens who own or manage offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands or in other tax havens rarely declare them to the Greek tax authorities.
Only four out of 107 Greek interests’ offshore companies listed by ICIJ are registered and have a tax ID in Greece, as is normally required by law when these offshore companies have assets or some kind of commercial activity in Greece. The authorities have no information about the remaining 103 offshore companies, as their owners did not declare their funds or real estate property nor whether they pay taxes.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
