July 19, 2016
Scottish shell firms are being marketed in Eastern Europe as money laundering and tax avoidance vehicles with official government documentation, it has emerged. At least a dozen agencies in Latvia, Ukraine, and Russia are selling Scottish limited partnerships (SLPs), alongside Certificates of Good Standing, the Herald reports. The government certificates can then be used to secure bank accounts abroad.
Unlike their English partnerships, the controversial Scottish firms do not have to provide full financial reports or register for tax if they conduct business abroad. The use of SLPs along with an EU bank account allows investors to bypass traditional off-shore tax havens, such as Belize and Panama, which have been blacklisted by a number of eastern European governments.