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.
Ross didn’t disclose stake in company tied to Putin relatives
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.
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.
(Source: NYDN)