Panama Papers give dirt on world’s elite
Tax havens linked to Mubarak and Assad among leaks
A vast leak of documents from one of the world’s most secretive companies has revealed offshore companies linked to families and associates of Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak, Libya’s former leader Muammar Qaddafi and Syria’s president Bashar Al Assad. The 11 million documents leaked from Mossack Fonseca shows how the Panamanian law firm helped clients to avoid tax, dodge sanctions and launder money, the BBC reported. The firm denied any wrong doing during its 40 year history and has never been charged with a criminal offence.
The documents, obtained by the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, reveal links between Mossack Fonseca and 72 current or former heads of state. The data revealed a money laundering ring run by a Russian bank and involved close associates of Vladimir Putin.
The multibillion-dollar ring was run by Bank Rossiya and involved money channelled through offshore companies, including two owned by one of Mr Putin’s closest friends.
The concert cellist Sergei Roldugin has made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from suspicious deals, The Guardian reported.
Gerard Ryle, director of the ICIJ, said the papers covered the day-to-day business at Mossack Fonseca over the past 40 years.
“I think the leak will prove to be probably the biggest blow the offshore world has ever taken because of the extent of the documents,” Ryle said.
The ICIJ reported how the leak of documents “shows how a global industry of law firms and big banks sells financial secrecy to politicians, fraudsters and drug traffickers, as well as billionaires, celebrities and sports stars”.
The documents also include at least 33 people and companies blacklisted by the US government, including Hizbollah, and Iran.
They include a company that supplied fuel for the aircraft used by the Syrian government to bomb its own citizens, according to the US.