Leaked files reveal that clients of both Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank had dealings with counterparties, which were suspected of involvement in tax fraud associated with the trading of carbon credits. The documents are part of a cache of files leaked to German non-profit newsroom Correctiv, and shared with publishers around Europe, including The Irish Times. These files extend to 315,000 pages, detailing how alleged fraudsters used opaque markets, and lightened fast transactions and complex chains of companies for suspected tax evasion.
Through the European system of carbon trading, infiltrated in 2009 and 2010, fraudsters took advantage of the fact that carbon credits could be traded without VAT between EU countries. What fraudsters then did, was to construct complex commercial chains, often with the involvement of innocent entities, to charge VAT on the credits, and claim tax back from local tax authorities.
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