Probe reveals hidden offshore dealings in the assets of around 140 political figures.
A massive leak of 11.5 million tax documents on Monday exposed the secret offshore dealings of aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin, other world leaders and celebrities, including Barcelona soccer star Lionel Messi.
An investigation into the documents by more than 100 media groups, described as one of the largest such inquiries in history, revealed the hidden offshore dealings in the assets of around 140 political figures — including 12 current or former heads of state.
The vast stash of records was obtained from an anonymous source by the German daily, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, and shared with media worldwide by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The documents, from around 214,000 offshore entities, came from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm with offices in more than 30 countries.
Though most of the alleged dealings are said by the ICIJ to be legal, they are likely to have a serious political impact on many of those named.
ICIJ Director Gerard Ryle 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.
NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE
Also in the world of football, Francetv Info named UEFA president Michel Platini as the beneficiary of a Panama-based tax company, adding, however, that no illegal activity was alleged.
Platini’s communications service said in a statement sent to AFP that “all of his accounts and assets are known to the tax authorities in Switzerland, where he has been a tax resident since 2007”.
Iceland’s Gunnlaugsson is expected to face a no-confidence vote this week over allegations he used a secret offshore firm called Wintris Inc to hide millions of dollars in the British Virgin Islands.
Visibly irritated, the premier refused to answer reporters’ questions during an interview broadcast on Swedish television on Sunday evening.
“I have never hidden assets,” Mr Gunnlaugsson told a journalist from the Swedish SVT channel before leaving the room. His spokesman insisted he and his wife have scrupulously followed the law.
At least 33 people and companies listed in the documents were blacklisted by the US Government for wrongdoing, including dealings with North Korea and Iran, as well as Lebanon’s Islamist group Hezbollah, the ICIJ said.
The leaked data, covering 1975 to the end of last year, provides what the ICIJ described as a “never-before-seen view inside the offshore world”.
The massive leak of documents recalls Wikileaks’ exploits of 2010 — which included the release of 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and 250,000 diplomatic cables, and infuriated the US.
Source: AFP
