Harry Potter star Emma Watson named in the Panama Papers leak

The Panama Papers have set off a storm which has swept many in its wake. Many states of heads and politicians, industrialists, film stars, sports stars and celebrities have been named in the list of people having links to offshore companies. Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame is the latest addition to this club as she emerges as one of the beneficiaries of an offshore company. On Tuesday it was revealed that the 26-year-old actress is a shareholder of one of the 200,000 offshore companies whose information was shared online by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), reported Fox News. The actress has been on a break from her acting projects, to work as a United Nations goodwill ambassador and a women’s rights campaigner. According to a report by The Spectator, more details of the Panama Papers were released online on a searchable database and Emma Watson was found to be the beneficiary of a offshore company based in the British Virgin Islands. [caption id=“attachment_2777156” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A file photo of Emma Watson. AFP[/caption] In response to the accusation, the actress denied all suggestion of tax avoidance. A spokesperson for the actress was quoted as saying that Emma, not unlike other high profile individuals, had set up the offshore company to protect her anonymity. The companies in UK require a person to publicly publish the details of their shareholders and hence it doesn’t provide her the anonymity she requires to protect her safety. The spokesperson also claims that Emma doesn’t receive any tax or monetary advantages from the offshore company. According to a report by The Telegraph, she used the money to purchase a multi-million pound property. Other celebrities on the list are the Duchess of York, Simon Cowell and Paul Burrell. Among Indian celebrities, Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have been named in the leak. We wonder what Hermione Granger would have to say about this?