Reference is made to the front-page story ‘Seabank Group subsidiary is facing tax evasion probe’ (March 9), which seems intent to cause reputational damage to the db Group on the basis of fictional conjecture. The db Group categorically denies having any links to the Panamanian jurisdiction either in the form of funds/bank accounts or any entity being set up there. No such links exist, or have ever, existed to our Group, either directly or through beneficial ownerships.

Evergreen Travel Limited was set up in the British Virgin Islands to act as the sales company for vacation ownership packages to tourists interested in booking holidays for a pre-determined number of years against an upfront payment. For this purpose, an organisational structure was put into place, mirroring the generally-accepted norm for operators involved in this type of business both locally and overseas. This is normal practice engaged all over the world.

The shareholder in Evergreen Travel Limited is fully owned by the db Group. Our point of contact on the matter has always been First National Trust Company (FNTC). It transpires that, in registering such an interest, the services of Mossack Fonseca & Co. (BVI) Ltd were used by FNTC and, hence, this is presumably the reason why the company’s name surfaced in the Panama leaks.

To confirm even further that everything is transparent and legal, please note that the financials of Evergreen Travel Limited are fully consolidated in the db Group books and, hence, all income is duly reported in our financials and disclosed to the local tax authorities.

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