“That is the reason for doing this.”Ī spokesperson for Swedish House Mafia confirmed to SVT the existence of the entity but said in an email that the arrangement - including the collaboration with the wealth adviser - was terminated in 2013. Had the band been trying to allocate copyrights to a corporation on BVI, “you could be trying to put income in a place with low or no tax - and then get that money to an ultimate beneficial owner with no tax ,” Bergkvist tells Billboard. Some countries have attracted intellectual property rights with low taxes on royalty income, says Lena Bergkvist, a coordinator of the Swedish Tax Agency dealing with international tax avoidance. Music copyrights are easy to move between countries and well-suited for tax planning - but also for possible tax evasion. In addition to “Don’t You Worry Child,” the group’s biggest hit, the entity also reportedly contained the rights to “Save the World.” Initially, the plan was to name the company Swedish House Mafia Ltd., but officials in the British Virgin Islands wrote that “mafia” was “not acceptable for use in a company name,” SVT reported.

The entity’s three owners - Axel Christofer Hedfors, known as Axwell Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Josefsson, who goes by Steve Angello - set up the entity through another offshore company on the island of Nevis, Marsham LLC, which in turn is controlled by a wealth adviser in Switzerland, SVT reported. Swedish House Mafia Returns: In Stockholm With the Dance Music Legends

Swedish house mafia logos