The Australian Taxation Office is aware investigative journalists are scrutinising the clients of Bermuda-based law firm Appleby, and are bracing themselves for what may be a second Panama Papers-style leak.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has approached the firm with allegations of wrongdoing, which the firm strongly denies. The firm admitted that some client data had been stolen in a cyber attack last year.

Investigative journalists are scrutinising the clients of Bermuda-based law firm Appleby but the firm denies any wrongdoing. Credit:Reuters

The Serious Financial Crime Taskforce, which includes major government agencies including the Australian Taxation Office, has since July 2015 raised more than $400 million in liabilities from 614 audits and reviews and collected more than $164 million in cash collections.

In the past financial year, it raised more than $258 million in liabilities and collected $126 million in cash.