Frank Lowy, the founder of Westfield, has rejected accusations in the US that he and his family set up a secret Liechtenstein bank account to hide at least US$68m (£34m) from tax collectors.
In a 114-page report on abuse of overseas bank secrecy laws, a US Senate panel said Lowy, who is ranked as the second richest person in Australia, concealed assets with the help of bankers at LGT Group.
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report does not suggest the Lowys have evaded any US tax, but it details the activities of the Lowy family’s use of a Lichtenstein financial institution, the LGT Bank.The LGT Group is a bank owned by Liechtenstein’s royal family.
Frank Lowy’s office today rejected the report’s claims.
“The report from the US subcommittee relies on certain documents originally stolen from a Liechtenstein bank,” his office said in a statement.
“It draws inferences from the documents and states them as facts – without verifying their contents or inquiring into the real facts.”
The statement said that, under the Australian tax system, the use of Liechtenstein structures to hold assets was not illegal or improper.
“Mr Lowy insists that neither he nor any member of his family has done anything improper.
“No attempt was made to save any Australian tax, nor is it considered that any Australian tax was in fact saved.
“Frank Lowy has relied on professional advice that he and his family group have met all tax obligations in this matter both in Australia and the US.”
Frank Lowy is ranked by the BRW Rich List as being worth AU$6.3bn (£3.1bn) and is the major shareholder in Westfield, which is ranked as the world’s biggest shopping centre owner.
