The Bahamas is among 19 countries highlighted in the “Paradise Papers”,  a data leak that has shed light on several  questionable schemes regarding offshore finance throughout the world.

The Bahamas is one of the premier financial centres that has a menu of financial structures that would be complimentary to any financial advisor involved in offshore financial services.

It is not unusual for the very wealthy to seek to shelter their assets from business competitors and people of ill-intent.  It became a practice for the very wealthy to insulate their wealth by diversifying their holdings geographically and using a variety of methods.

One source in the financial services sector said, “this is a global conspiracy to undermine confidence in international financial centres by selecting industry leaders in particular jurisdictions and destroying the reputations of those leaders and their companies.”

The  name “Paradise Papers”  refers to a date breach  of 13.4 million  files of clients  of the law firm Appleby in various jurisdictions, including the Bahamas.  Most of the documents – 6.8 million  – relate to the  law firm and corporate services providers  that operated together in 10 jurisdictions under the name Appleby, a premier law firm based in Bermuda.  Last year, the “fiduciary” arm of the business was the subject of a management buyout and it is now called Estera.

Among the clients caught up in this date breach are prominent persons like Queen Elizabeth the second and the U.S Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. Mr. Ross, a billionaire,  now faces calls for his resignation in the United States.

The files set out the myriad of  ways in which companies and individuals can avoid taxes allegedly  using artificial structures. These schemes are legal if run correctly, but many appear not to be,  according to the  daily The Guardian in The United Kingdom.