Cameron investment fund sought legal advice on best tax havens, Panama Papers reveal

The directors of Blairmore Holdings commisioned a report on the best tax havens before transferring the company to Ireland in 2014

'It is only fair for companies and people who play by the rules and it’s vital for developing economies too' (Reuters)

The investment fund where David Cameron’s father was a director sought comprehensive legal analysis on different tax havens before it was transferred to Ireland, documents among the leaked Panama Papers have revealed.

London solicitors Simmons & Simmons produced a five page bulletin on the advantages and disadvantages of moving Blairmore Holdings Inc to a number of Caribbean Islands, explaining how much it would cost to do so, The Guardian reported.

It was written in 2008 for the directors of the company which included Ian Cameron, the prime minister’s father who passed away two years later.

“Both the Cayman Islands and Bermuda are considered market-leading offshore financial centres with sophisticated investment fund infrastructures,” a lawyer at the firm wrote. “Both offer political stability, an abundance of professional service providers and responsive regulatory bodies.”

But the analysis noted that regulatory intervention in Bermuda was “considered slightly heavier than in some other offshore jurisdictions,” and “the Cayman Islands is by far the jurisdiction of choice for hedge funds and hedge-fund managers.”

“By June 2007, over 8,300 registered mutual funds were operating in the Cayman Islands,” it said.

The law firm also explained how much it would cost to transfer the fund which was registered in Panama by Mossack Fonseca, the firm at the centre of the leak.

Simmons & Simmons said it would charge £40,000-£50,000 for a transfer to either jurisdiction. Thousands more would have been required for work carried out in the Caribbean. Mossack Fonseca would have charged around £3000 for either move.

Blairmore was eventually moved to Ireland two years after Mr Cameron’s death in June 2012 – the same year that his son became prime minister. The country has many of the advantages of other offshore jurisdictions.

After insisting it was a “private matter” David Cameron admitted that he and his wife owned shares in the trust before selling them for around £30,000 in 2010.