Tiger Lily Hutchence, the daughter of INXS rock star Michael Hutchence and TV presenter Paula Yates, was cheated out of her inheritance, according to a recent news report. This was one of the revelations made by the Paradise Papers.
The leak of the 13.4 million files has been all over the news, and not surprisingly as it reveals how the rich stay rich by making judicious use of tax havens and offshore trusts. They relate to a vast number of organisations and individuals. From Apple to the Queen, Lewis Hamilton, Bono and even some of the stars of Mrs Brown’s Boys who opted to be paid offshore to escape tax.
An Australian website reported this week that Tiger Lily, who was adopted by Yates’ ex-husband Bob Geldof on the death of both her parents years ago, was due to inherit her father’s fortune when she reached the age of 21 in July this year. The money came from the singer’s royalties. However, the TV channel ABC’s investigative journalism programme, Four Corners, revealed that the late Michael Hutchence’s estate and the rights to his music are controlled by his former lawyer.
Colin Diamond was one of those named in the Paradise Papers as someone who has used a tax haven in the British Virgin Islands. He first started working with Michael in the 1980s, when the star
began investing his assets in offshore trusts. The Four Corners investigation said that Tiger Lily has only been given a fraction of her father’s money.
Rhett Hutchence, Michael’s brother, told the programme that Diamond exploited his brother’s assets as soon as he died in November 1997. Rhett said Colin Diamond took hold of all Michael’s possessions that he had with him in Australia, and at the time the family had been shocked by his actions.
Four Corners revealed Mr Diamond had set up a tax haven venture in Mauritius some years ago under the name of Helipad Plain, intending to cash in on the twentieth anniversary of Michael Hutchence’s death. The programme also questioned how Mr Diamond ended up as the sole beneficiary of Michael Hutchence’s estate, and why he held so many of his personal possessions, such as his guitar. But Michael’s brother says his late sibling wanted his estate to be divided up among his loved ones, and for 50 percent of it to go to his daughter. Tiger Lily Hutchence has refused to comment on the claims.
Danny Curran, Finders International founder and managing director, said: “There’s a popular saying that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. The Paradise Papers throw this into question. Death’s still definite, taxes not so – as long as you’re rich, and you have enough understanding of where to hide your money, or people working for you who can. “Unfortunately for Tiger Lily, it looks as if in this case someone else hid her money, and the estate she was entitled to receive hasn’t come her way.”