Panama Papers: Britain is investigating 22 people after leak

Twenty-two people are under investigation for suspected tax evasion following an examination of the Panama Papers by a British government taskforce, Philip Hammond has said.

The chancellor of the exchequer also told British MPs the taskforce has identified nine “potential professional enablers of economic crime” with links to known criminals, and found “a number of leads” relevant to a Financial Conduct Authority-led operation into insider trading.

Links to eight ongoing serious fraud office investigations have been established, 43 wealthy people are under "special review" while their links to Panama are further investigated, and 64 firms have been contacted to determine their links with the law firm Mossack Fonseca, Mr Hammond added.

He said other matters identified by the taskforce include referring 26 offshore companies to the National Crime Agency (NCA) for “potentially suspicious” financial activity, with the firms having previously “concealed” beneficial ownership of UK property.

Mr Hammond said other people have also come forward to “settle their affairs in advance of taskforce partners taking action”.

Further investigation into areas including links to organised crime will take place in the coming months, the cabinet minister said.

Taskforce

The £10 million (about €11 million) taskforce, led by HM Revenue and Customs and the NCA, was established by former British prime minister David Cameron to investigate allegations of tax-dodging linked to the leak of millions of documents from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Mr Cameron’s personal finances came under scrutiny following the leak and he later admitted he handled the row over his profits from an offshore fund badly.

MPs have voiced concerns about the taskforce being unable to get its hands on the relevant documents from journalists, with the British government previously noting it faced “logistical barriers”.

PA