Emma Watson Implicated in the Panama Papers

Harry Potter and the Offshore Shell Company
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted May 10, 2016 4:00 PM CDT
Emma Watson Implicated in the Panama Papers
English actress Emma Watson poses for photographers last August in Spain.   (AP Photo/Abraham Caro Marin)

David Cameron, Vladimir Putin, Hermione Granger. Actress Emma Watson has joined the ranks of world leaders implicated in the Panama Papers, the Mirror reports. According to the Independent, Watson was linked to a company based in the British Virgin Islands in a new batch of documents published online Monday. But a spokesperson for Watson tells the Telegraph that her status as a beneficiary for the company is only about "protecting her anonymity and safety," and she "receives absolutely no tax or monetary advantages from this offshore company whatsoever—only privacy.”

While it's not illegal to open accounts and shell companies overseas, it's often done to avoid taxes and hide wealth. That's apparently not the case with Watson. "UK companies are required to publicly publish details of their shareholders and therefore do not give her the necessary anonymity required to protect her personal safety," Watson's spokesperson tells the Telegraph. (More Panama Papers stories.)

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