03 10 2016

Revealed: Amber Rudd was 'director' of two offshore firms

Amber Rudd was once the director of two companies based in the offshore tax haven of Bahamas, leaked documents have revealed. The Home Secretary was a director of Advanced Asset Allocation Management and Bahamian firms Advanced Asset Allocation Fund between 1998 and 2000.

The Bahamas is listed by the European Union as one of 30 uncooperative tax havens who have resisted attempts to improve transparency.

There is no suggestion Ms Rudd has committed any wrongdoing, or used the firms to avoid tax herself.

However, it comes after Prime Minister Theresa May and her predecessor David Cameron both pledged to clampdown on tax avoidance and evasion.

Mrs May has also indicated she will mount a tax crackdown on companies such as Amazon, Google and Starbucks.

The revelation emerged in more than 1.5m documents leaked to German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

Earlier this year Mr Rudd was interviewed on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show after David Cameron admitted he had previously held shares in Blairmore, an offshore company set up in Panama by his late father Ian, which paid no tax in Britain for 30 years.

At the time she said: "I think the key thing is here that the prime minister and his family paid the correct amount of tax that they were due."

When asked if she had money in any offshore trusts, she said: "I don't, no. But I'm pleased to say that all MPs have a very transparent system. They have to disclose their funds, their income, and of course famously a very clear expenses regulatory system." She did not mention her previous role running a Bahamas fund.

Alistair Buchanan, a former business associate of Ms Rudd, said the firms were involved in an offshore investment fund created for regulatory reasons.

"You could not set up those funds in England at that time, now you can," he said.

Jon Ashworth, the Labour shadow vabinet minister without portfolio, said: "It's embarrassing for Theresa May's Tories that another senior figure has been linked to revelations about offshore tax havens. ‎

"People will be forgiven for wondering what the true picture is and they deserve an answer from Amber Rudd."

A spokesperson for the Home Secretary said: "It is a matter of public record that Amber had a career in business before politics. Monticello was thoroughly investigated 16 years ago and those who acted wrongly were identified and prosecuted."