Source – bbc.com

– A huge leak of confidential documents has revealed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth.

Eleven million documents were leaked from one of the world’s most secretive companies, Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

They show how Mossack Fonseca has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax.

The company says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and has never been charged with criminal wrong-doing.

(Also See…http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/en/)

The documents show links to 72 current or former heads of state in the data, including dictators accused of looting their own countries.

Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), said the documents 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,” he said.

Panama Papers – tax havens of the rich and powerful exposed

Eleven million documents held by the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca have been passed to German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, which then shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. BBC Panorama is among 107 media organisations – including UK newspaper the Guardian – in 78 countries which have been analysing the documents. The BBC doesn’t know the identity of the source
They show how the company has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax
Mossack Fonseca says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and never been accused or charged with criminal wrong-doing
Tricks of the trade: How assets are hidden and taxes evaded
Panama Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #PanamaPapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag “Panama Papers”
Watch Panorama at 19:30 on BBC One on Monday, 4 April, or catch up later on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)

The data contains secret offshore companies linked to the families and associates of Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak, Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi and Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad.

Russian connection

It also reveals a suspected billion-dollar money laundering ring that was run by a Russian bank and involved close associates of President Putin.

The operation was run by Bank Rossiya, which is subject to US and EU sanctions following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

The documents reveal for the first time how the bank operates.

Money has been channelled through offshore companies, two of which were officially owned by one of the Russian president’s closest friends.

Concert cellist Sergei Roldugin has known Vladimir Putin since they were teenagers and is godfather to the president’s daughter Maria.

On paper, Mr Roldugin has personally made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from suspicious deals.

But documents from Mr Roldugin’s companies state that: “The company is a corporate screen established principally to protect the identity and confidentiality of the ultimate beneficial owner of the company.”

Iceland connection

Mossack Fonseca data also shows how Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson had an undeclared interest in his country’s bailed-out banks.

Mr Gunnlaugsson has been accused of hiding millions of dollars of investments in his country’s banks behind a secretive offshore company.

Leaked documents show that Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson and his wife bought offshore company Wintris in 2007.

He did not declare an interest in the company when entering parliament in 2009. He sold his 50% of Wintris to his wife for $1 (70p), eight months later.

Mr Gunnlaugsson is now facing calls for his resignation. He says he has not broken any rules, and his wife did not benefit financially from his decisions.

The offshore company was used to invest millions of dollars of inherited money, according to a document signed by Mr Gunnlaugsson’s wife Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir in 2015.

‘Beyond reproach’

In addition, Mossack Fonseca supplied a front man who pretended to own $1.8m, so the real owner could get the cash from the bank without revealing their identity.

Mossack Fonseca says it has always complied with international protocols to ensure the companies they incorporate are not used for tax evasion, money-laundering, terrorist finance or other illicit purposes.

The company says it conducts thorough due diligence and regrets any misuse of its services.

“For 40 years Mossack Fonseca has operated beyond reproach in our home country and in other jurisdictions where we have operations. Our firm has never been accused or charged in connection with criminal wrongdoing.

“If we detect suspicious activity or misconduct, we are quick to report it to the authorities. Similarly, when authorities approach us with evidence of possible misconduct, we always cooperate fully with them.”

Mossack Fonseca says offshore companies are available worldwide and are used for a variety of legitimate purposes.

See more at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-35918844

Related…

Panama Papers: Leaks spur global investigations

Authorities across the world are being spurred into action after a huge leak of confidential documents revealed how tax havens are used to hide wealth.

Eleven million documents were leaked from the secretive Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

They show how the company has helped some clients launder money, dodge sanctions and avoid tax.

The company says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and has never been charged with criminal wrong-doing.

Since the first revelations late on Sunday a number of investigations have been launched by French, Austrian, Dutch and Australian authorities, among others.

The documents feature 12 current or former heads of state, and at least 60 people linked to current or former world leaders.

The files reveal a suspected billion-dollar money laundering ring involving close associates of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

(A close friend of Vladimir Putin, owns two offshore companies)

Iceland’s Prime Minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, is also shown to have had an undeclared interest linked to his wife’s wealth.

By Monday afternoon, 24,000 people in Iceland had signed a petition demanding his resignation, and a protest was expected in Reykjavik later.

Mr Gunnlaugsson has ruled out stepping down.

The leaked documents also show that Ian Cameron, the late father of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, was a Mossack Fonseca client.

Family members of China’s President Xi Jinping, and two other members of the country’s elite Standing Committee are also named in the leaked documents as having links to offshore firms.

The Chinese government has not responded to requests for comment. China appears to be censoring social media posts on the topic.

In other developments

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko says he has done nothing wrong, after documents suggested he had set up an offshore company
Hussain Nawaz Sharif, the son of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, and one of three siblings shown to own real estate through offshore entities, says “there is nothing wrong with it”
The UK tax authority HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) says it has received “a great deal of information on offshore companies” as it investigates – it is also asking the ICIJ to share all its data
Australia’s tax office says it is investigating 800 individuals named in the leaks
Austria’s financial markets regulator says it is investigating whether two banks breached rules on money laundering after being named in the leaks
France has opened a preliminary investigation into money laundering and tax fraud
Argentina’s presidency has denied that President Mauricio Macri owned shares in an offshore company called Fleg Trading Ltd
A spokesman for Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev, whose children are named as owners of offshore companies, says such practice “is not banned by any law”, adding that they “are grown up Azerbaijani citizens”
World media reaction: How Moscow and Beijing reported Panama

The documents reveal for the first time details of an operation run by a Russian bank and which involves close associates of President Putin.

The operation was run by Bank Rossiya, which is subject to US and EU sanctions following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

A huge leak of confidential documents has revealed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth.

Money has been channelled through offshore companies, two of which were officially owned by one of the Russian president’s closest friends, cellist Sergei Roldugin.

Read more: Putin associates linked to ‘money laundering’

The Kremlin spokesman said it was clear the main target of the reports was Mr Putin, as well as Russia’s political stability ahead of parliamentary elections.

Dmitry Peskov dismissed the investigation as insinuation and speculation, and suggested many of the team of journalists behind it were actually former US state department and CIA officials.

Another case highlights how Mossack Fonseca offered financial services designed to help business clients hide their wealth. One wealthy client was offered fake ownership records to hide money from the authorities.

Read more: How a 90-year-old covered for a millionaire

Iceland’s PM walked out after a journalist asked him about Wintris

Mossack Fonseca says offshore companies are available worldwide and are used for a variety of legitimate purposes.

“If we detect suspicious activity or misconduct, we are quick to report it to the authorities,” it said. “Similarly, when authorities approach us with evidence of possible misconduct, we always co-operate fully with them.”

One of the company’s founders, Ramon Fonseca, told AFP that the leaks were “an attack on Panama”.

“Certain countries don’t like it that we are so competitive in attracting companies,” he told the news agency.

Meanwhile Pascal Saint-Amans, head of tax for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has attacked Panama for failing to clean up its tax system.

“Panama has refused to commit to automatic exchange of information [between countries],” he told the BBC.