REPORT: Theresa May's husband's firm named in the Paradise Papers leak

Prime Minister Theresa May's husband works for a firm named in the Paradise Papers data leak, according to emails seen by Private Eye magazine.
Philip May works for investment management firm Capital Group, which reportedly used offshore-registered funds to make investments in a Bermuda-registered company.
The use of offshore tax havens to legally avoid tax has come under increased criticism in recent years.

LONDON — The firm that employs Prime Minister Theresa May's husband was named in the Paradise Papers data leak, according to a report by Private Eye magazine.

Philip May is a relationship manager at investment advisors Capital Group, which used offshore law firm Appleby to arrange investments in tax havens, Private Eye reported, citing leaked emails.

Capital Group's Cayman Islands funds, CGPE V LLP and Capital International Private Equity Funds (CIPEF) V LP, invested in a Bermuda-registered South American agriculture company, called El Tejar, the report said. Both the Cayman Islands and Bermuda are offshore jurisdictions, known for their zero rates of tax.

The leaked emails are part of the cache of documents stolen from Appleby last year, and given to the International Consortium of Journalists (ICIJ). The documents, which detail the complex financial arrangements of some of the world's richest individuals, have been dubbed the "Paradise Papers."

The use of offshore tax havens to register companies and make investments has come under increased criticism by activists and politicians in recent years, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. However, there are many legal means by which companies and individuals can structure their finances via offshore jurisdictions to avoid tax. Capital Group is not accused of any wrongdoing.

According to a Capital Group presentation from 2011, one of its other international funds, Capital International Private Equity Funds IV — also incorporated in the Cayman Islands — had El Tejar in its portfolio in December 2010.

Capital Group didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment.