Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull named in Panama Papers as former director of British Virgin Islands company
While not incriminating, the revelation piled pressure on Turnbull as he campaigns before the July 2 election.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is named in the Panama Papers, it emerged on Thursday, causing an unwanted headache for the multimillionaire former banker in the middle of an election campaign.
He is listed as a former director of a British Virgin Islands company, Star Technology Services Limited, set up by Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca in the 1990s.
The link was uncovered by the Australian Financial Review, days after details on more than 200,000 secret offshore companies associated with the tax haven company were published.
The use of shell companies, foundations or trusts in offshore jurisdictions is often legal and Turnbull rejected any wrongdoing.
“Can I just say to you that as the article acknowledged, there is no suggestion of any impropriety whatsoever,” he told reporters on the campaign trail in Melbourne ahead of national polls on July 2, which are shaping up as a close race.
“There is nothing new there. The company concerned was a wholly-owned subsidiary of a public-listed Australian company.”
Had it made any profits, which it did not, regrettably, it certainly would have paid tax in Australia