Following scrutiny over Apple Inc.’s tax affairs in Ireland, the company moved some of its operation to Jersey, part of the Channel Islands off the coast of the U.K.

This was one of the revelations in the recently released Paradise Papers, detailing how companies as well as scores of wealthy people have managed to avoid paying taxes. According to reports, this affected two subsidiaries of Apple, which, according to The Guardian,  are thought to hold the key to a stash of company cash worth more than $250 billion.

It’s believed that Apple looked for a new tax shelter after the European Union put pressure on Ireland to fix its tax loopholes in 2013. At that time, a U.S. Senate subcommittee said Apple had dodged paying billions of dollars in taxes in the U.S.

Following the allegations, Apple issued a statement denying any wrongdoing, stating that it is the “biggest tax payer in the world” and is “proud of the economic contributions we make to the countries and communities where we do business.”

Got to balance @Apple being good custodian of user data/experience with its profit/tax sheltering words vs actions: https://t.co/4H89ve0nZc

— Raju Narisetti (@raju) November 6, 2017

In response to the scathing report put together by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Apple said that by moving some of its operations from Ireland, it was actually preserving tax payments to the U.S.

Apple invoked a response it had written last month to various media over allegations of tax dodging. “When Ireland changed its tax laws in 2015, we complied by changing the residency of our Irish subsidiaries and we informed Ireland, the European Commission and the United States,” Apple wrote. “The changes we made did not reduce our tax payments in any country.”

In short, Apple said, by moving its subsidiaries it paid no less tax in Ireland and no less in the U.S. “We strongly support efforts from the global community toward comprehensive international tax reform and a far simpler system, and we will continue to advocate for that,” the company wrote.

Nonetheless, reports emerged that Apple had hired a law firm to help the company look for a tax residency that would be less of a financial burden. This kind of avoidance had before been heavily criticized by a U.S. Senate committee that condemned Apple for seeking “the holy grail of tax avoidance.”

The Paradise Papers exposed emails between Apple and the law firm regarding a “multijurisdictional project” involving a number of locations including Jersey. According to ICIJ, “In the end, Apple settled on Jersey, a tiny island in the English Channel that, like many Caribbean havens, charges no tax on corporate profits for most companies. Jersey was to play a significant role in Apple’s newly configured Irish tax structure set up in late 2014.”

The group said Apple is just one of many global businesses that have been “quietly transferring trademarks, patent rights and other intangible assets to offshore companies.”

Image: i.Hoffman via Flickr