France asks media to give tax haven evidence to judiciary
PARIS: France’s new budget minister on Tuesday asked media organisations involved in a global “Offshore Leaks” probe on tax havens to hand over any evidence they have to the judiciary.
“I ask the press that says it has elements and files to be willing to give them to the judiciary so that it can do its job,” Bernard Cazeneuve said in parliament, referring to revelations made by some media on people who own offshore accounts.
Cazeneuve replaces Jerome Cahuzac, who last week was charged with tax fraud after admitting to having an undeclared bank account containing some 600,000 euros ($770,000), after weeks of denial to the president, in parliament and in media interviews.
The scandal rocked the Socialist government, and was made worse by revelations that President Francois Hollande’s former campaign treasurer had been a partner in two firms based in the Cayman Islands, a well-known tax haven.
This revelation was part of a wide-ranging “Offshore Leaks” probe into the secret world of tax havens, conducted by 36 international media — including French newspaper Le Monde — and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
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