Simon Cowell has denied any wrongdoing in the aftermath of being named, along with many other high-profile individuals, in the ongoing ‘Panama Papers’ tax evasion scandal.

The music mogul and Syco Entertainment boss, 55, was identified in this week’s sensational leak from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, along with Heather Mills, the Duchess of York, Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark, Chelsea’s Brazilian footballer Willian and director Stanley Kubrick.

Simon CowellSimon Cowell has denied any wrongdoing having been named in the 'Panama Papers'

There is no suggestion that any of them have broken the law, but it raises questions about their off-shore dealings in a scandal that has seen even British Prime Minister David Cameron scrambling to disassociate himself from his own father’s alleged involvement in an investment fund set up under the advice of Mossack Fonseca.

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According to the files, Cowell is named as the sole shareholder in two companies registered in the British Virgin Islands, called Southstreet Limited and Eastnet Limited. They were set up in 2007 when Cowell was hoping to buy two plots of land on the Caribbean island of Barbados, where he often holidays.

However, the development in question has fallen way behind schedule amid financial disputes, and he has never actually acted through them. “The companies were never used for anything at all,” Cowell’s representatives said in a swiftly issued statement on Thursday (April 7th). “I can also confirm on behalf of my client that he has not used any offshore companies for any purpose whatsoever.”

“Whenever I got knocked for what I do, I always say, well I do pay my taxes, and it helps, and I’m quite proud of that, here and all over the world,” Cowell himself added in his own statement.

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