John Christensen ■ Greece’s swamp of offshore corruption

Greece’s swamp of offshore corruption

John Christensen

Published:

28 January 2015

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Tax abuse and investigations ↘

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CLICK TO ENLARGE: This chart of capital out- and inflows to Greece tells a crucial story about where it all went wrong in the past. Look carefully at the tax havens in the inner circle

From the Guardian’s letter page:

Your news, editorial and speculations about Syriza’s victory might now be followed by an analysis of where Greece’s past decades of wealth, present revenues, EU grants, loans and gifts have gone. Such investigation will rapidly conclude that VIP Greeks have bankrupted their nation through persistent tax-evading capital flight. The government-suppressed Lagarde list of 2,059 Greek accounts at HSBC, Zurich, is a small indication, as is tax exemption for shipowners. Until these immense capital outflows are repatriated, pouring in euros just adds to the swamp of offshore corruption. Will Syriza plug the drain?

Noel Hodson
Oxford

The author

John Christensen

Trained as a forensic auditor and economist, John has worked in many countries around the world, including a period of working in offshore financial services with Touche Ross & Co. For 11 years he was economic adviser to the government of the British Channel Island of Jersey.In 2003 he became what the Guardian has described as “the unlikely figurehead of a worldwide campaign against tax avoidance.” His research on offshore finance has been widely published in books and academic journals, and John has taken part in many films, television documentaries and radio programmes.John can be contacted on +44 (0) 7979 868302.

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