The president of Bermuda Bar Association said yesterday that ensuring clients complied with tax obligations in their home countries was “probably not a matter” for the island’s corporate lawyers.

In the wake of the massive Panama Papers data leak, Richard Horseman told The Royal Gazette that Bermuda had strict “know-your-customer” and due diligence regulations to avoid shell companies being set up here or money being illegally funnelled through the island.

Pointing out that he was a litigation lawyer and no expert on corporate law, he said that though corporate lawyers here would certainly be involved in setting up trusts for clients, including some in other countries, it did not mean they were aiding tax evasion.

“Legally, you can avoid tax,” he said. “It is whether you are evading or avoiding that’s the question. Bermuda is probably not a great jurisdiction to set up and move that kind of money.”

The leak of 11.5 million files from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca has prompted debate around the world about how the rich and famous hide their money and the ethics of moving it to offshore jurisdictions.

The documents show how the law firm set up some 200,000 offshore companies, with more than half registered in the British Virgin Islands and another 3,200 in British Anguilla.

Bermuda has not featured in the leak but overseas media reports have depicted it as a tax haven, a notion strongly rejected on Tuesday by finance minister Bob Richards and the Bermuda Business Development Agency.

Companies have used Bermuda to avoid paying taxes elsewhere including, famously, Google, which has been criticised for profiting hugely from the practice.

Mr Horseman said there was no doubt trusts had been set up here for estate protection but insisted the island was “really ahead of a lot of other jurisdictions” in terms of financial transparency, citing its tax treaties with scores of other countries and its compliance with international standards. He said: “The lawyers in Bermuda will practise Bermuda law. They’ll have to make sure everything complies with the local laws. Whether that offends overseas laws is probably not a matter for local lawyers. In fact, it’s unlawful for Bermuda lawyers to advise on outside jurisdictional laws.”

Asked if the Bar Association should be involved in regulating corporate lawyers in relation to the setting up of trusts and tax-avoidance practices, he said: “We would only regulate professional conduct if there were complaints of misconduct.

“We are not in the business of regulating what business lawyers enter into ... but obviously they are supposed to comply with the law.”