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00:00ARE UNDER SCRUTINY, A HOME TO ABOUT HALF A MILLION COMPANIES. BLOOMBERG'S STEPHANIE BAKER JOINS US NOW FROM LONDON. WHAT'S BRITAIN'S RELATIONSHIP THERE NOW WITH THE B.P.I. AS THEY'RE KNOWN? STEPHANIE: THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS ARE ONE OF 14 OVERSEAS TERRITORIES. THE QUEEN IS THE HEAD OF STATE. SHE APPOINTS THE GOVERNOR WHO IN TURN APOINTS THE PRIME MINISTER. SO YOU WOULD IMAGINE THAT THE U.K. GOVERNMENT WOULD HAVE A MEASURE OF CONTROL OVER WHAT GOES ON THERE. DAVID CAMERON HAS PRESSED FOR THE B.V.I. TO OPEN UP, SET UP A PUBLIC REGISTER OF COMPANIES, OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS INCORPORATED THERE AND THEY HAVE LARGELY IGNORE THOSE CALLS. MARK: CAMERON HIMSELF HAS BEEN SEEN AS A GLOBAL CRUSADER IN THE FIGHT TO CLAMP DOWN ON THESE SO-CALLED TAX HAVENS. HE'S BEEN SUCKED INTO THIS PANAMA PAPERS SCANDAL, IF IT CAN BE CALLED THAT THROUGH HIS FATHER. STEPHANIE: YES. IT'S IRONIC BECAUSE HE'S PROBABLY DONE MORE THAN ANY PREVIOUS BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TO CRACK DOWN ON TAX AVOIDANCE AND TAX HAVENS. HE'S PUT AHEAD SOME SUBSTANTIAL REFORMS LIKE SETTING UP A PUBLIC REGISTER FOR BENEFICIAL OWNERS IN THE U.K. HOWEVER, THE PANAMA PAPERS REVEALED THAT HIS FATHER, IAN, HAS SET UP A COMPANY IN THE B.V.I. WHICH HAS PUT HIM IN A VERY UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION. HE HAS TO DEFLECT THE QUESTION YESTERDAY. WE SAW, YOU KNOW, HE HAD TO SAY I HAVE NO OFFSHORE TRUSTS. I HAVE NO OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS. I DON'T BENEFIT IN THE WAY. HE'S PUT OUT FOUR STATEMENTS TO CLARIFY THIS ISSUE. HE'S UNDER A BIT OF PRESSURE ON IT. BETTY: SO YOU MENTIONED BEFORE THAT THERE'S BEEN SOME SCRUTINY OVER THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS BUT NOT ENOUGH. SO HOW COME THERE HAVEN'T BEEN MORE OF A CRACKDOWN OR MORE SCRUTINY ON B.V.I.? STEPHANIE: WELL, I THINK THERE HAS BEEN. I MEAN, THE THEORY IS THAT, YOU KNOW, DOMINIC GREE WHICH IS THE FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL TO CAMERON SAILED SAID WE COULD TAKE CONTROL BUT THAT'S THE NUCLEAR OPTION. WE HAVE TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE ISLAND'S ECONOMY. IT ACCOUNTS ABOUT HALF OF THE G.D.P. THERE. THAT'S ONE CONCERN. ANOTHER CONCERN IS PERHAPS THE IMPACT ON THE CITY OF LONDON, WHICH DOES A LOT OF BUSINESS WITH TAX HAVENS, ACCOUNTANTS, YOU KNOW, LAWYERS, BENEFIT FROM THE SAME BASIC LEGAL FRAMEWORK THAT IS COMMON BETWEEN THE TWO. BUT, YOU KNOW, TO FORCE THEM TO MAKE REAL CHANGES MEANS THEY HAVE TO TAKE DRAMATIC ACTION LIKE IMPOSING DIRECT RULE, WHICH

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Panama Papers: British Virgin Islands Under Scrutiny

Bloomberg's Stephanie Baker reports on the scrutiny that the British Virgin Islands are under in the wake of the Panama Papers leak. She speaks on "Bloomberg Markets." (Source: Bloomberg)

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