Transocean embroiled in Norwegian tax scandal

Transocean has been accused of dodging tax on NKr10 billion ($1.8 billion) of revenue in Norway

The world’s largest offshore driller has rejected the accusations, vowing it will clear its name in court, paving the way for Norway’s biggest tax-evasion case. Økokrim, the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, claims that in 1999, the parent company of Transocean changed its country of registration from the US to the Cayman Islands – a jurisdiction companies and individuals can use to avoid tax and keep financial activities secret. Ten years later, ownership was transferred to a newly formed company registered in Switzerland – another tax haven. Master tax plan “From 1996-97, Transocean’s master plan was to concentrate ownership