Bono, Madonna named in the leaked Paradise Papers

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Bono and Madonna were both named in the Paradise Papers.
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The documents also contain references to offshore interests held by Gary Cohn, President Trump's chief economic adviser, heading the White House's tax reform efforts. While Trump vows to bring back trillions of dollars from offshore accounts, between 2002 and 2006, Cohn was president or vice-president of 22 separate entities in Bermuda for Goldman Sachs, the Guardian reports.
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Lord Michael Ashcroft, who gave Â£500,000 to the Conservative election campaign in June, faces questions over his offshore accounts revealed in the Paradise Papers. Ashcroft, who became a peer of Bermuda-based Punta Gorda Trust after its creation in 2000, reportedly ignored rules around management of his offshore investments. It is believed that offshore law firm Appleby, which acted as trustee, was asked to "rubber-stamp decisions it believed it should have been informed about in advance," the Guardian reports.
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Newly leaked documents show that Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has a stake in a shipping company that does business with a gas producer partly owned by the son-in-law of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the International Consortium of Journalists.
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The Paradise Papers reveal details about Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's yacht and submarines.
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The Paradise Papers show that about $13 million of Queen Elizabeth II private money was invested offshore. It was put into funds in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda by the Duchy of Lancaster, previously unknown to the public. There is no suggestion that they are illegal.
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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was named in the files from the Bermuda-based company. There is no evidence that any of them did anything illegal.
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Justin Trudeau's former chief fundraiser Stephen Bronfman was also named. Documents suggest Bronfman helped move millions of dollars to offshore havens, owned by his godfather, Leo Kolber, another former Liberal fundraiser. The ICIJ says Bronfman may have avoided taxes in Canada, the United States and Israel, via a family trust, shell companies and accounting moves questioned by experts."

PUBLISHED: November 5, 2017 at 4:27 p.m. | UPDATED: April 7, 2018 at 12:49 p.m.

Politicians aren’t the only famous faces named in the leaked “Paradise Papers” — Bono, Madonna and actress Keira Knightley all pop up, too.

The papers — which were released Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists after being obtained by a German newspaper — include 13.4 million documents that detail offshore holdings by high-profile figures like Wilbur Ross, Rex Tillerson and Queen Elizabeth II.

Bono — who is listed by his real name, Paul Hewson — is revealed to have been a part-owner of a shopping mall in the small town of Utena, Lithuania, after investing with a company based in Malta.

The U2 frontman had a stake in Nude Estates, a Maltese company which bought the Ausra mall just after it opened in 2007, according to the Guardian.

Because the island nation — located between the south of Italy and the North African coast — is a low-tax jurisdiction, the tax paid on any profits earned by foreign investors is reduced to 5%.

The mall was transferred in 2012 to a company based in Guernsey, England, with a similar name: Nude Estates I.

“Bono was a passive, minority investor in Nude Estates Malta Ltd., a company that was legally registered in Malta until it was voluntarily wound up in 2015. Malta is a well-established holding company jurisdiction within the EU,” a spokesperson for the singer told the Guardian.

Meanwhile, the ICIJ also claims the documents reveal pop star Madonna has a share in a medical supplies company, while actress Keira Knightley has invested in a Jersey-based real estate firm.

The celebrities’ inclusion in the leaked documents joins several other high-profile figures, including the Queen.

Her Royal Highness was named, as her private estate invested millions of dollars in a Cayman Islands fund previously unknown to the public.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was also revealed to have a stake in a shipping firm that has received more than $68 million in revenue from a Russian energy company co-owned by Vladmir Putin’s son-in-law — information Ross failed to disclose during his confirmation hearing.