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.