Former Lloyds tax chief Andrew Constantine dishes dirt on bank

By Harry Wilson 1002PM GMT nineteen March 2010

Often asked to "slow down" or "speak up", Mr Constantine yesterday gave a opening closer to Matt Damon"s untimely whistleblower from The Informant! than Russell Crowe"s mural of the hard-bitten corporate comparison manager in The Insider.

But, notwithstanding the paltry vicinity of London Central Employment Tribunal, what he pronounced was as marvellous as anything in possibly film, claiming that from arch comparison manager Eric Daniels down, a raft of comparison managers at Lloyds had given at slightest 2006 used assertive taxation deterrence structures that enabled the bank to shun taxes using in to the billions of pounds.

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Asked at one point to inform Lloyds" perspective to profitable tax, he pronounced there were "two philosophies". One, he claimed, saw each bid to settle with the suggestion of the law and did all it could to minimise disagreements with HM Revenue & Customs. His one.

The other, that Mr Constantine purported was upheld by comparison managers together with Mr Daniels, financial senior manager Tim Tookey and organisation comparison manager senior manager Truett Tate, did all it could to equivocate profitable tax, "fixing and managing" the bank"s taxation rate, behaving in a approach he pronounced was "clearly opposite the suggestion of the law".

He combined theatrically "I wasn"t going to win, was I?"

Indeed he was not, and Mr Constantine asserts that his successive stop by Lloyds in Sep of 2009 in the arise of the takeover of HBOS was a approach outcome of his attempts to blow the alarm on what he pronounced were steady moves to disguise and disguise the inlet of the bank"s taxation affairs.

From mid-ranking managers, to accessible accountants, the judiciary was embellished a design of an establishment in that taxation deterrence was allegedly abundant and where an honest and means man, essay opposite all odds, was in the future forced out by those on top of him.

Mr Constantine alleges that by the finish of 2007, HMRC, that is pronounced to have identified Lloyds as one of the UK"s five greatest taxation avoiders and a "major risk to the Exchequer", had identified a taxation opening in between what the bank was profitable and what it thought it should be profitable of �1bn.

With his legs crossed firmly underneath the list and disposition brazen with his palm infrequently nervously clutching the behind of his neck, Mr Constantine told of his steady attempts to pull his superiors" courtesy to the relapse in Lloyds" attribute with the authorities.

On one arise he described coming Mr Tookey but delay while in the lift of the Lloyd"s domicile construction on Gresham Street. During a 15-minute review in Mr Tookey"s office, Mr Constantine, still wearing his using gear, pronounced he summarized his concerns about how the bank was giving a inform of the taxation affairs that was "likely to be materially inaccurate".

In a matter Lloyds has pronounced "Mr Constantine"s allegations about the group"s taxation formulation were entirely investigated and found to be but merit".

But, on a day when the part-nationalised lender would have hoped to concentration courtesy on the warn proclamation that it will lapse to profitability this year, the box provides an unwelcome daze and a sign of a duration most at the bank would right away probably cite to forget.

With the judiciary set to run until the finish of subsequent week, the chances of people focusing on the certain side see unlikely. Mr Constantine is positively carrying his day in court.