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RBC closes Panama Papers accounts

Chris Hamblin, Editor, London, 27 March 2017

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The Royal Bank of Canada has closed 40 accounts in connection with the Panama Papers, having opened 29 offshore companies with the aid of the now-stricken law firm of Mossack Foneca.

According to some, this is the first time a Canadian bank has publicly closed accounts in relation to the scandal. The Canadian government took the bank to court last year to obtain access to its files for tax purposes, and its tax authorities are now investigating 85 HNW Canadians who have been mentioned in the database of leaked documents that is available on the website of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

The Canada Revenue Agency has only successfully prosecuted between 40 and 50 people for tax evasion in the last seven years, so the follow-up to the Panama Papers is likely to take some time. It is promising, however, to follow up all examples of potential tax-evading behaviour in the files.

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