In a move likely designed to preempt a flood of international headlines, Appleby announced this week that investigative journalists had reached out with questions about leaked company documents.
The Bermuda-based law firm — which has an office in the Virgin Islands — also addressed a 2016 data breach which could have resulted in the journalists obtaining the files.
“We are disappointed that the media may choose to use information which could have emanated from material obtained illegally and that this may result in exposing innocent parties to data protection breaches,” the company wrote on its website.
In a statement likely discomforting to some stakeholders in the offshore financial world, Appleby also announced that the inquiries came from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
The ICIJ investigated and reported on the the Panama Papers, a trove of 11.5 million leaked documents, some of which were cited as evidence that the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca facilitated international money laundering and tax evasion, often using VI-based companies.
In addition to an eruption of scathing press about Panama and the VI’s taxation laws, the investigation also led to a number of personal consequences, including two head-of-state resignations and the arrest of Mossack’s founders on charges of money laundering in early 2017.
VI company incorporation numbers — considered a bellwether metric for the territory’s financial services industry — also took a serious dip in the year following the investigation’s April 2016 release, though some industry professionals have shrugged that off by pointing to a longer-term downward trend that began before the Panama Papers’ publication.
Denial
Appleby categorically denied wrongdoing.
“Appleby has thoroughly and vigorously investigated the allegations and we are satisfied that there is no evidence of any wrongdoing, either on the part of ourselves or our clients,” the press release stated, adding, “Having researched the ICIJ’s allegations, we believe they are unfounded and based on a lack of understanding of the legitimate and lawful structures used in the offshore sector.”
The firm also sought to reassure its clients that their data is secure.
“We are committed to protecting our clients’ data and we have reviewed our cyber security and data access arrangements following a data security incident last year which involved some of our data being compromised,” the company said. “These arrangements were reviewed and tested by a leading IT forensics team and we are confident that our data integrity is secure.”
According to the company website, Appleby advises global public and private companies, financial institutions, and high net worth individuals.
The VI office employs eight resident lawyers.
Attempts to reach the ICIJ were not immediately successful.
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