Bryndís Kristjánsdóttir, director of tax investigations in Iceland, states that the directorate suspects the owners of 30 offshore companies of tax evasion. She revealed this at a meeting of Alþingi’s Economic Affairs and Trade Committee this morning. Numerous cases are under investigation, RÚV reports.
The cases are related to documents purchased by the Directorate of Tax Investigations last summer. The documents, which cover 600 offshore companies owned by about 400 Icelanders, have been analyzed in detail. Some of the papers relate to the founding of companies, showing how a company’s obligations are transferred to a board of directors, who aren’t the actual company owners.
Only in 100 instances are the real owners registered as shareholders in offshore companies. In 170 cases, no connection to the real company owners is shown.
Most of the cases under investigation have to do with Landsbankinn, while a few dozen are related to Nordea Bank. The majority of the companies are in the British Virgin Islands, while others are in Panama and Seychelles.
