The UK tax authority says it has scored three “major legal victories” over corporate tax avoidance schemes, including one involving a subsidiary of French banking giant BNP Paribas.

The UK tax authority says it has scored three “major legal victories” over corporate tax avoidance schemes, including one involving a subsidiary of French banking giant BNP Paribas.

The news comes shortly after details emeged earlier this month that nearly 340 firms, including big names in the wealth management industry such as UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse, have secured secret deals from Luxembourg that allow many of them to slash their global tax bills, according to an investigation by The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. For more on this story, click here.

HM Revenue and Customs said in a statement that an Upper Tribunal ruled in its favour in a case involving Fidex, a subsidiary of the global banking group BNP Paribas, a ruling which protects £17.2 million ($26.9 million) in tax.

The judgment relates to an avoidance scheme suggested by global insurer Swiss Re. Fidex aimed to create a substantial tax deduction by taking advantage of different accounting standards governing when assets should be recognised. As a result specific legislation was introduced to block the scheme.

HMRC said that the successes also include a Court of Appeal win concerning an avoidance scheme used by a number of large businesses. The lead case was against real estate firm Vocalspruce Limited, and there were 43 follower cases with a combined total of £85.4 million of tax was at stake. A number of other users of the scheme have already settled with HMRC, protecting a further £65.7 million, HMRC said.

The judgement against Vocalspruce relates to an avoidance scheme promoted by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2003 and 2004. Under the scheme, Vocalspruce’s then-parent company, Brixton Plc, tried to make otherwise taxable profits on loan notes non-taxable by exploiting what it claimed was a loophole in the Finance Act 1996.

The third case involves a first-tier tribunal judgment in HMRC’s favour against UK waste management firm Biffa Group, involving an avoidance scheme marketed by Deloitte in 2005. Biffa's case, along with two other cases on use of the same scheme, involve around £15 million of tax. More than £16 million had already been settled by other users of the scheme ahead of the litigation.

“The message coming out of these cases is clear – entering into a tax avoidance scheme can be complex, expensive and cause extensive reputational damage for the companies involved,” said financial secretary to the Treasury David Gauke.

“Anyone who’s already using a scheme, or considering joining one, should think long and hard about the consequences of trying to avoid paying the tax that is due,” Gauke added.