Rivals sharpen knives for Amber Rudd after tax haven leak

Pressure is mounting on Amber Rudd, with her political rivals to give the government a bloody nose over her links to controversial tax havens.

The Home Secretary held directorships at two firms based in the Bahamas between 1998 and 2000, according to a leak of documents, passed to The Guardian and the BBC, relating to thousands of companies registered on the Caribbean island.

It was also revealed that from 1999 to 2000, Rudd was a director of Monticello plc following its acquisition of a zinc processing company with which she was involved. She resigned five months after Monticello's shares were suspended, in relation to which another director was later jailed.

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There is no suggestion Rudd has either avoided tax or committed any wrongdoing.

Her spokesperson said: "It is a matter of public record that Amber had a career in business before entering politics".

The spokesperson added the Home Secretary does not intend to comment further on the matter, reports the Guardian.

However, that position may not remain tenable as criticism mounts.

There have been particular complaints that Rudd failed to disclose her own past dealings when defending then prime minister David Cameron over his own offshore-fund links earlier this year.

Labour MP Jon Ashworth said: "Earlier in the year, Amber Rudd was sent out to defend David Cameron. At the time she trumpeted transparency yet she made no mention of her own situation, which was surely relevant.

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

Tim Farron, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "We cannot expect hardworking members of the public to pay their tax bills when they feel that those at the top of our society can use offshore schemes to avoid paying their fair share.

"Amber Rudd may have done nothing wrong but refusing to clarify her role in setting up this scheme undermines public trust in our tax system."

Green MEP Molly Scott Cato called for Rudd to make a fuller statement explaining the purpose of the directorships and whether she had personally profited.

The Home Secretary has been defended by a former business associate, who said the companies were set up to market an investment fund that was not able to be established in the UK under the rules at that time and the Bahamas was used for administrative, rather than tax, reasons.

The Bahamas is listed by the European Union as one of 30 "uncooperative tax havens". It does not disclose the beneficial ownership of companies and imposes no income, corporation or wealth taxes on overseas firms or investors.

Amber Rudd's offshore business past exposed

22 September

Five months after the sensational Panama Papers laid bare David Cameron's past involvement in an offshore investment fund, another top Tory has been linked with a tax haven.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has been named as a past director of two companies registered in the Bahamas, which imposes no income, corporate or wealth taxes and was named among 30 "unco-operative tax havens" by the European Union last year.

The politician was among the directors of more than 175,000 companies in the Caribbean island named in a cache of 1.3 million files passed to German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Bureau of Investigative Journalists and media partners including The Guardian and the BBC.

In its report, the Guardian also revealed that Rudd, in a separate business venture, was a director of Monticello plc, which found itself at the centre of an investigation into alleged "share ramping" that led to a co-director being jailed.

Rudd, who supported Cameron when he faced questions over his own offshore dealings, has not commented personally on the reports.

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

Following the revelations, Green Party speaker on finance Molly Scott Cato MEP said: "[Prime Minister] Theresa May made clear that she would lead a government that works for everyone and would encourage a more ethical approach to business.

"In this context it is difficult to see how she can continue to have confidence in Amber Rudd as home secretary."

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron tweeted Rudd "must provide clarity".

According to the documents, Rudd was director of the Bahamas-based Advanced Asset Allocation Fund and Advanced Asset Allocation Management between 1998 and 2000. It is not clear if she invested in the firms or if they were used to avoid any tax and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.

Former associate Alistair Buchanan told the BBC the companies were used to market an investment fund to investors and were registered in the Bahamas purely for administrative purposes. "You could not set up those funds in England at that time, now you can," he said.

Rudd's links to Monticello came after it bought out The Zinc Corporation, at which she was a director, in 1999.

She resigned her position the following year, five months after trading in Monticello's shares was suspended following co-director Mark O'Hanlon making false statements that massively inflated the company's value.

O'Hanlon was eventually convicted of making a false statement and sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2007. He was later jailed again in 2013 on an unrelated fraud charge.