Monaco Royals Rocked By New Claims Over Offshore Assets

Claims by a former close confidant of Monaco's royal family that part of its fortune is placed in tax havens have rocked the affluent city-state, in the latest scandal facing the palace under Prince Albert II, as reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Jean-Michel Darrois, a lawyer for Prince Albert, confirmed to AFP that "offshore companies were indeed created in Panama in 1984 in the time of Rainier III." I Photo: Marco Castro, United Nations Photo Flickr

The controversy erupted after French newspaper Le Monde last week published the allegations, which it said were based on detailed notes the palace's wealth manager made while working for the family.

Claude Palmero was for more than two decades in charge of managing the palace's assets, first for Rainier III, the husband of American actress Grace Kelly, and then for their son, Prince Albert when he became ruler of Monaco in 2005.

But the wealth manager, who took over from his father in 2001, was unexpectedly forced to step down last year, and he has since tried to sue the monarch over his dismissal.

Le Monde reported that, according to five books of notes Palmero took with him when he left the palace, some royal funds have been placed offshore over the years in the tax havens of Panama and the British Virgin Islands.

Jean-Michel Darrois, a lawyer for Prince Albert, confirmed to AFP that "offshore companies were indeed created in Panama in 1984 in the time of Rainier III."

Darrois said there had also been offshore companies set up in 2002 -- before Prince Albert's reign, too -- in the UK overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands.

Palmero had for several years stopped paying fees on these. This meant the firms had been struck off the registry and made it difficult for the royal family to claim what was rightfully theirs, he said.

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