Response To So-Called ‘Paradise Papers' – Guernsey Finance CEO

Media coverage following the release of information from files belonging to law firm Appleby has drawn attention to the role of offshore finance centres.

"The release of the stolen documents, dubbed by the media as the 'Paradise Papers', is an illegal hack of files and unacceptable. The sensationalist reporting is deliberately designed to undermine the legitimate business acts of offshore centres," said Guernsey Finance Chief Executive Dominic Wheatley.

"The coverage has attempted to portray that a lack of transparency exists in offshore finance centres, but in the case of Guernsey that is simply not true. Early adoption of global initiatives such as the Common Reporting Standard evidences our long-standing commitment to global standards of transparency and information exchange – standards that have been endorsed by the likes of the OECD, the EU and the IMF.