British taxpayers underwrote ECA deals worth £140m by Cayman Islands firm

(The Independent, London, 6 July 2014) The Government is using taxpayers’’ money to underwrite £140m-worth of deals for a company whose ultimate ownership is based in a notorious tax haven. UK Export Finance, a branch of the Department for Business, is risking public funds to provide insurance cover for deals involving the aircraft leasing firm AWAS Aviation Capital Ltd., controlled by a friend of Foreign Secretary William Hague.