Offshore Magic Circle Law Firm Has Record of Compliance Failuresby Will Fitzgibbon. November 2. 01. 7. Donate. Secret stash of documents provide inside view of storied Bermuda headquartered legal practice. When Robert Woods, an ex cop from Liverpool took a job in early 2. Appleby, the global offshore law firm, he joined an organization that had problems. Applebys Cayman Islands office, where he worked, for example, had more than 6. IDs, contact information or other details that helped the firm make sure it wasnt setting up shell companies and other structures for criminals or corrupt politicians. Five years later, Woods had moved up in the firm, taking over as its director of compliance. But things hadnt improved much at least according to a Power. Point presentation he appears to have put together sometime near the end of 2. The 4. 4 page training slideshow, which featured images from the HBO mafia drama The Sopranos, recalled lowlights of Applebys recent history. Under a slide titled Terrorist Financing Offences, the notes read We have a current case where we are sitting on about 4. K that is definitely tainted and it is not easy to deal with. In another case, Woods notes indicated, Appleby set up a trust for a client to buy property in London and accepted money on his behalf without question. Appleby later learned, the presentation acknowledged, that the trust was owned by a former Pakistani official who had been charged with embezzling public money and had infiltrated allegedly corrupt funds into our business. Some of the crap we accept is amazing totally amazing, the presentations notes said beneath a slide listing the information Appleby employees needed to know about its clients. A leak of 6. 8 million confidential records reveals how Appleby has sometimes failed to keep out questionable clients before Woods 2. Power. Point and since then. The documents expose the secret offshore lives of politicians and fraudsters and elaborate tax avoidance strategies pursued by Apple, Nike and other corporate giants. The emails, client records, bank applications, court papers and other files were obtained by the German newspaper Sddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and other media organizations. They represent the inner workings of Appleby from the 1. The files include documents from Applebys corporate services division, which became independent in 2. Estera. Appleby did not provide ICIJ with answers to detailed questions. Prs Serial Number Handwritten Notes. Instead, it released a media statement online that said Appleby is committed to high standards. Following a thorough and vigorous investigation, Appleby said, it refutes any allegations of wrongdoing by the company and its clients. Appleby said We are an offshore law firm who advises clients on legitimate and lawful ways to conduct their business. We do not tolerate illegal behaviour. It is true that we are not infallible. Where we find that mistakes have happened we act quickly to put things right and we make the necessary notifications to the relevant authorities. Appleby, which is headquartered in Bermuda, is one of the worlds most prestigious offshore law firms. Although Appleby is not a tax adviser, the 1. Along with helping to set up shell companies, trusts and other offshore entities, the firm has various subsidiaries, affiliates and business units that draft wills, litigate for clients involved in workplace accidents and divorce and advise corporations. North Americans represent Applebys biggest workload the firm has worked for residents of all 5. U. S. states. Appleby sees itself as an industry leader, proving to the world that the offshore industry can operate cleanly and professionally. We provide innovative, timely and ethical advice, the firm advertises in its eight page brochure. Over cocktails, dinners and conference tables, it meets major clients, many of whom are leading banks and accounting firms such as KPMG, Ernst Young and Pricewaterhouse. Coopers. In the Cayman Islands, half of Applebys top 2. Citigroup, Bank of America, HSBC, Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo. News. Lexis Advance has been named the Best Legal Solution by the 2017 SIIA CODiE Awards. These premier awards for the software and information industries. The committee also provided a list of 60 major ICO platforms that local financial regulatory bodies will need to thoroughly inspect and report on, Caixin wrote. Anti Money Laundering And Financial Crime Software Update' title='Anti Money Laundering And Financial Crime Software Update' />When ICIJ and its media partners began publishing the Panama Papers investigation in April 2. They said Mossack Fonseca, the Panama headquartered law firm at the center of the scandal, was an outlier. Mossack Fonseca represents one of the last bastions of a shadowy international financial system that is rapidly ceasing to exist, the trade magazine Wealth Management reported. Applebys internal files show, however, that that even when offshore law firms invest large amounts of money and effort to stay reputable, the secrecy and the lure of financial gain at the heart of the shadow economy make it difficult for offshore operatives to avoid doing business with criminals, corrupt politicians and other questionable clients. MONEY LAUNDERING IS A DIRTY CRIME, screamed the notes to Woods 2. Power. Point presentation, appearing in all caps for emphasis. THERE IS USUALLY ALWAYS A VICTIM AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PILE AND A RICH PERSON AT THE TOP. Woods, who is still Applebys director of compliance, declined to comment when ICIJ asked him whether, in his view, the firm had improved its client screening practices since 2. The presentation is one of at least four Power. Point offerings drafted by Applebys compliance team between 2. It is unclear whether these presentations were ultimately made before Appleby employees. But in each of them, speakers notes at the bottom of each slide provide unguarded comments from insiders about Applebys compliance fumbles. Eighty percent of the battle is won or lost at the gate, a slide used repeatedly in Appleby compliance presentations read. If we let in the wrong clients, we set ourselves up for a fall. Magic CircleAppleby was born in 1. Anti Money Laundering And Financial Crime Software Update' title='Anti Money Laundering And Financial Crime Software Update' />British colony of Bermuda as the private practice of Maj. Reginald Woodifield Appleby, a tea drinking, cricket playing, rifle shooting magistrate who became a member of the islands parliament and was knighted for public services in Bermuda. Such was his status that when Major Appleby sailed for a vacation in England in 1. The Royal Gazette Colonist Daily predicted a rise in crime during his absence. When Bermudas legislature met in July 1. Major Appleby spoke out, aligning himself with those who look on all income tax as mans last refinement of torture, to be resisted at all costs, reported The Royal Gazette. Bermuda has never looked back it continues to entice locals and foreigners with a zero tax rate. Since expanding outside Bermuda in 1. Appleby has transformed itself into a global institution with more than 7. Cayman Islands in the Caribbean, to the Isle of Man in Europe, Mauritius in Africa and Hong Kong in Asia. You seem like a monster which is a good thing one Appleby client responded in a 2. Appleby collects Offshore Law Firm of the Year awards and is cited as part of what insiders call the Offshore Magic Circle, an informal collection of the worlds biggest offshore law firms that jostle for the same business. Former employees serve as members of parliament, judges and government officials and at least one low tax jurisdiction, the Cook Islands, used Applebys expertise to draw up its own offshore laws. Publicly, the firm has burnished its image by sponsoring the Americas Cup, 5. K family runs and cake sales. Property Industry EyeThe industry we currently working will not be the same in the next 5 1. David M, a central London agent, who recounted his experiences of selling through Purplebricks.