Simon Cowell and Heather Mills are the latest to be named in the Panama Papers scandal.
The leak has revealed the identities of many leading figures and celebrities using offshore companies for tax purposes.
The Guardian reports that Cowell is the sole shareholder of two British Virgin Islands (BVI) companies called Southstreet Limited, set up in February 2007, and Eaststreet Limited, set up in October 2007.
The companies were set up at a time when Cowell was planning to purchase two plots of land in Barbados, where he regularly takes holidays.
GettyThe building project has been mired in financial disputes, with construction falling far behind schedule. Neither of Cowell’s companies was ever used, and both are now dormant.
Cowell’s spokesman said: “The companies were set up, not by my client, but by accountants acting for him as a common means for an overseas investor to purchase property in Barbados.
“My client, however, preferred to purchase them transparently in his own name. Therefore, the companies were never used for anything at all. I can also confirm on behalf of my client that he has not used any offshore companies for any purpose whatsoever.”
GettyRecommended
Cowell says he pays tax all over the world: “Whenever I got knocked for what I do, I always say, well I do pay my taxes, and it helps, and I’m quite proud of that, here and all over the world.”
Heather Mills has also been involved in the scandal, with the Guardian also reporting that Paul McCartney’s ex owns 100 shares in the British Virgin Islands company; the other 898 were owned by another investor. Mills said she had invested a large sum in the company, but the investment had failed.
She commented in an e-mail, “I can say hand on heart I am a straight taxpayer and you will never find anything on me if you investigate thoroughly.” A spokesman said: “Heather invested £1m in a company which intended to utilise algae [rather than fish] to harvest Omega 3 oils, thus preserving the marine ecosystem.”