Jersey bank accused of aiding offshore tax avoiders

Lloyds Bank's Jersey subsidiary has been helping British clients circumvent the European Savings Tax Directive by paying interest through Hong Kong, according to the BBC's Panorama current affairs team.

Posing as a client with £4 million to invest, a member of the Panorama team consulted an adviser at Lloyd's Jersey branch. The adviser allegedly told the "client" that interest he earned on his Jersey deposits would be paid via Hong Kong, in order to escape taxation under the European Savings Tax Directive. The fake client secretly filmed the session with a hidden camera.

The Panorama team points out that Lloyds had to be rescued by the British government last year and is still part-owned by it.

The "client" also visited Northern Rock in Guernsey, where he was allegedly told he could avoid the Savings Directive by opening an account in the name of a non-trading company. Northern Rock is wholly owned by the UK Treasury.

The team's findings have been passed to HM Revenue & Customs. Both banks deny any corporate wrongdoing.

The programme will be broadcast on BBC TV tonight at 8:30pm.

Source:

--
Marie Louise Pardanaud