Following the publication of the Panama Papers last week, Jersey’s financial industry has come under heavy scrutiny and it has been established that two Jersey-based companies used Mossack Fonseca – the law firm at the centre of the leak – to set up hundreds of offshore companies for their clients.
During States question time yesterday, Deputy Geoff Southern asked Senator Ian Gorst why the firms had chosen to set up companies in other jurisdictions that are less well regulated than Jersey.
The Chief Minister said that he could not ‘second guess’ the decisions of financial services firms – which could have many reasons for doing so.
