Bermuda Premier David Burt has defended the reputation of the British Overseas territory following the release of the Paradise Papers – a set of confidential documents related to offshore investment.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Burt, who is also the Finance Minister, said Bermuda is an “open, transparent jurisdiction” with “a vigorous regulatory framework” and there is nothing to hide.
He told reporters that Bermuda is a recognised leader in international tax compliance with 114 treaty partners who receive information by request and automatically for tax purposes.
The leak compromises 13.4 million files measuring 1.4TB – the second largest-ever data leak after the Panama Papers.
About half of the documents – 6.8 million, relate to offshore legal service provider Appleby and corporate services provider Estera – which was part of Appleby until last year.
Another six million documents come from 19 corporate registries, mostly located in the Caribbean.
According to Burt, he has been conducting a series of interviews to tell Bermuda’s story “and to reiterate that we take these matters extremely seriously.”
