Paradise Papers: Appleby, the offshore legal advice and services firm that's at the centre of the media probe

An international media investigation into 13.4 million documents accessed by German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, has brought into focus Appleby, a Bermuda-headqaurtered firm into focus. According to the company website, the firm has about 470 staff. These include 60 partners. However, there are only 10 offices globally and the locations include Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Hong Kong and Shanghai. It claims to be one of the top offshore law firms. “The Group advises public and private companies, financial institutions, and high net worth individuals, working with these clients and their advisers to achieve practical solutions, whether in a single location or across multiple jurisdictions,” the company’s website says. However, the Indian Express investigation has revealed that the company helps the rich and wealthy to avoid taxes, hide names and even supply directors for shell companies. “Appleby offered not only an existing shell company but also with directors on board and financial transactions through their offices in those jurisdictions, records reveal,” the Indian Express report said. [caption id=“attachment_1374421” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] It is interesting to note that the company has many clients in India though it has no offices in the country. As per records investigated by the newspaper, the company executives “build relationships” by making multiple trips to India. The company’s entry point in India has been banks. “The approach to India should concentrate on seeking to develop strong relationships across the law firms dealing with cross-border matters; accountancy firms and Indian banks with overseas operations,” the IE report quotes from a note by the company. The company has, on its site, denied any wrong doing on its part. “The journalists do not allege, nor could they, that Appleby has done anything unlawful. There is no wrongdoing. It is a patchwork quilt of unrelated allegations with a clear political agenda and movement against offshore,” it said in the statement. “We wish to reiterate that our firm was not the subject of a leak but of a serious criminal act. This was an illegal computer hack. Our systems were accessed by an intruder who deployed the tactics of a professional hacker and covered his/her tracks to the extent that a forensic investigation by a leading international Cyber & Threats team concluded that there was no definitive evidence that any data had left our systems,” it said. You can read the entire statement here. Follow Live updates  here .