Barclays investigated for alleged tax dodging

LONDON: Britain's tax office said Tuesday it is investigating claims by a whistleblower that Barclays PLC, the country's third largest bank, has allegedly been planning to dodge taxes.

``We have received papers relating to allegations of tax avoidance in the banking industry which we are studying carefully,'' HM Revenue & Customs said.

The Guardian newspaper reported on the weekend that the documents reveal the existence of a scheme codenamed Project Knight, which appeared to be an attempt to obtain tax relief in different countries.

The newspaper said the 2007 plan was created by a team within Barclays Capital, a subsidiary of the bank, to legally avoid tax.

Barclays said that the project was voluntarily and fully disclosed to the tax office.