MEP pension had investments in tax havens, according to EUobserver

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) paid into a pension scheme which held assets in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and other countries in which taxes were levied at a low rate, in spite of a European Parliament (EP) crackdown on tax havens. The investments were made during the 2008-2010 financial crisis and during a time when the European Parliament was demanding a crackdown on tax havens and was set to pass a resolution highlighting profiteering from tax avoidance. The voluntary pension fund is currently running at a deficit of more than $410 million and may require a taxpayer bailout as soon as 2024. A Greens-tabled amendment calling for MEPs to withdraw from the fund if they already receive another pension was voted down by 272 to 203, with Lewandowski, Karas and Zile among those who voted to reject the proposal.