--- description: She says she set up an offshore company to protect her privacy title: Emma Watson Named in the Panama Papers image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cfd99661d9ac51c/698892b3e20a8706aaa90c6c/emma-watson.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Emma Watson Admits to Offshore Company After Exposure in the Panama Papers by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 11, 2016 11:45 AM CUT  Emma Watson attends the "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City. Emma Watson attends the "Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016 in New York City.Mike Coppola—People.com/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 11, 2016 11:45 AM CUT [Emma Watson](http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/05/revealed-emma-watson-named-in-latest-panama-papers-leak/ "undefined") has emerged as one of the celebrities named in the [Panama Papers](http://time.com/4323470/panama-papers-database/ "undefined"), the leaked documents detailing individuals with offshore companies and accounts. But the _Harry Potter_ actress says she only set up a company in the British Virgin Islands to protect personal details about herself. In a statement to the _Spectator_, her representatives wrote: --- > “” --- The statement goes on to note that Watson “receives absolutely no tax or monetary advantages from this offshore company whatsoever – only privacy.” Watson is not the first celebrity named in the [Panama Papers](http://time.com/4281736/panama-papers-massive-document-leak/ "undefined"): previous reports on the cache (which is now in a [searchable database](http://time.com/4323470/panama-papers-database/ "undefined") online) have [mentioned](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/05/10/emma-watson-named-panama-papers/84196712/ "undefined") Simon Cowell, Jackie Chan and Sarah Ferguson, as well as a number of [world leaders](http://time.com/4280413/world-leaders-panama-papers/ "undefined"). \[[The Spectator](http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/05/revealed-emma-watson-named-in-latest-panama-papers-leak/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4325870/emma-watson-admits-to-offshore-company-after-exposure-in-the-panama-papers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4325870/emma-watson-admits-to-offshore-company-after-exposure-in-the-panama-papers/"},"headline":"Emma Watson Admits to Offshore Company After Exposure in the Panama Papers","datePublished":"2016-05-11T11:45:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:27:04.979Z","description":"She says she set up an offshore company to protect her privacy","url":"https://time.com/4325870/emma-watson-admits-to-offshore-company-after-exposure-in-the-panama-papers/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cfd99661d9ac51c/698892b3e20a8706aaa90c6c/emma-watson.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1cfd99661d9ac51c/698892b3e20a8706aaa90c6c/emma-watson.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology\" Costume Institute Gala","caption":"\"Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology\" Costume Institute Gala","creditText":"Mike Coppola—People.com/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4325870/emma-watson-admits-to-offshore-company-after-exposure-in-the-panama-papers/","name":"Emma Watson Admits to Offshore Company After Exposure in the Panama Papers"}}]}] ```