Panama Papers Strikes More Leaders, Companies
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that there was no element of corruption, in comments referring to the Panama Papers leak of financial documents. “Our opponents are above all concerned by the unity and consolidation of the Russian nation, our multi-national Russian people. They are attempting to rock our us from within, to make us more obedient,” he said. “So they’ve created an information product”.
“There is a certain friend of the president of Russia, he did such and such a thing, and there is probably a corruption element there,” Putin said, referring to allegations that he was involved in corrupt schemes with a friend, cellist Sergei Roldugin.
“But there isn’t any (element of corruption).”
Times of India
Cameron admits he benefited from father’s offshore funds
London: British Prime Minister David Cameron admitted on Thursday he had held a £30,000 (FJ$88,465.96) stake in an offshore fund set up by his father, after days of pressure following publication of the so-called Panama Papers. Mr Cameron said he sold the stake in the Bahamas-based trust in 2010, four months before he became prime minister, in an interview with television channel
ITV. Downing Street have issued four statements on the affair this week following Sunday’s publication of the leaked Panama Papers, which showed how Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca had helped firms and wealthy individuals set up offshore companies. Indian Express
Argentinian president involved in scandal?
In Argentina, a federal prosecutor sought to open a criminal investigation into the business activities of President Mauricio Macri that were made public by the leaked papers. The prosecutor, Federico José Delgado, said in a document that Mr. Macri’s involvement in offshore companies warranted a judicial investigation, chiefly because he did not disclose the activity in required declarations of his assets. The leaked papers showed that Mr. Macri was a director of an offshore company, Fleg Trading Ltd., which was owned by his father. It was incorporated in the Bahamas in 1998 and dissolved in 2009. Mr. Macri was separately found to have been a director at a second offshore company, Kagemusha SA, that also involved his father. New York Times
American executives’ names surface scandal
Washington: The names of hundreds of Americans have surfaced in the Panama Papers, including a handful of US businessmen accused or convicted by US authorities for ties to financial crimes or Ponzi schemes. The identities of the Americans emerged from the treasure trove of documents obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche
Zeitung, the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and hundreds of other media organisations. USA Today
British banks forced to disclose links
London: Big British banks have been given just over a week to disclose their links with the law firm at the heart of the Panama Papers scandal. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority said Thursday it has asked 20 banks and other financial firms to disclose their dealings with Mossack Fonseca, after reports that some of them allegedly helped clients hide money from tax authorities. CNN