Prince Charles embroiled in latest Paradise Papers leak
Prince Charles has been accused of a “conflict of interests” after he reportedly lobbied to change climate change agreements without revealing his private estate had an offshore financial interest in the changes.
The financial affairs of Prince Charles have been revealed in the Paradise Papers, where millions of leaked documents revealed the offshore investments of politicians and celebrities in low tax jurisdictions.
The documents reveal that in 2007, the estate of Prince Charles purchased shares worth $195,000 in a Bermuda company that stood to benefit from a rule change.
Charles is a friend of director of Sustainable Forestry Management Ltd, whose board members invest in land to protect it from deforestation.
Charles’ involvement in the company was so sensitive that the firm’s board members were sworn to secrecy, reported The Guardian.
Two weeks after the shares purchase, Charles started campaigning to change two major environmental agreements, the Kyoto Protocol and the European Union’s carbon trading system.
A former chairman of the UK public standards watchdog described Charles’ actions as a conflict of interest.
Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said, “There's a conflict of interest between his own investments of the Duchy of Cornwall and what he's trying to achieve publicly."
Sir Graham added, "And I think it's unfortunate that somebody of his importance, of his influence, becomes involved in such a serious conflict."
A spokesman for Prince Charles said he had "certainly never chosen to speak out on a topic simply because of a company that it may have invested in”.
"In the case of climate change his views are well known, indeed he has been warning of the threat of global warming to our environment for over 30 years.”