The Broad Street bank and headquarters of Lloyds TSB’s offshore operation

ONE of Jersey’s biggest banks is reported to be under investigation by UK tax authorities following an undercover inquiry.

A journalist from the BBC’s current affairs programme, Panorama, went into Lloyds TSB Offshore in St Helier posing as a customer wanting to deposit millions of pounds.

It is believed that the programme, to be screened tonight at 8.30 pm on BBC One, will show that their reporter, who said he did not want to pay UK tax, was told to invest the cash in such a way as to dodge the UK taxman.

According to this morning’s BBC Radio 4 Today programme one member of staff is alleged to have told the ‘customer’ that it was not the bank’s responsibility to inform the Inland Revenue of such transactions.

Martin Fricker, the managing director of Lloyds TSB Channel Islands and president of the Jersey Bankers’ Association, said this morning that he would not be making any comment about the Panorama allegations and directed press inquiries to the bank’s UK marketing team in Edinburgh.

A statement released by press officer Harry Hussein said: ‘Lloyds Banking Group aims to comply at all times with all its obligations under tax law, both within the UK and overseas.
‘We treat very seriously our obligations to comply with all tax legislation and we believe that we do so.’

It added: ‘We strongly and categorically refute any allegation of involvement in systematic or deliberate tax evasion.