A small Lithuanian shopping mall, partly owned by Bono, is under watch for potential tax avoidance.
After a document leak from Paradise Papers, the Malta company is now being investigated for allegedly avoiding paying 47,000 euros in taxes.
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The leaked documents show Bono, also known as Paul David Hewson, has owned a major stake in the company that bought the mall since 2007.
In a statement to The Guardian, Bono claims to know nothing of any wrongdoing, “I’ve been assured by those running the company that it is fully tax-compliant,” he wrote. “But if that is not the case, I want to know as much as the tax office does, and so I also welcome the audit they have said they will undertake.”
“I take this stuff very seriously,” the 57-year-old singer continued. “I have campaigned for the beneficial ownership of offshore companies to be made transparent. Indeed this is why my name is on documents rather than in a trust. The fact is, I welcome this reporting. It shouldn’t take leaks to understand what’s going on where. There should be public registries so that press and public can see what governments, like Guernsey, already know.”
