According to FCNN, the leak of a large number of confidential documents shows how the rich and powerful hide their wealth using tax havens.
Eleven million documents have been leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, one of the world's most secretive companies. The files are larger than the entire collection of documents released by whistleblower website WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden's collection.
The documents, known as the “Panama Papers,” show how the company helped its clients launder money, evade sanctions, and avoid paying taxes.
The footprints of 12 current and former leaders of various countries and 60 of their close associates can be seen in these documents, including dictators accused of plundering their countries.
+ Read the report on money laundering by Vladimir Putin's associates here.
The documents were obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and provided to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The BBC's Panorama programme and the Guardian newspaper are among 107 media outlets in 78 countries that have reviewed the documents, but the BBC is not aware of the identity of the original source who provided the documents to the German newspaper.
Gerard Ryle, president of the Consortium of Investigative Journalists, says the documents contain the daily activities of Mossack Fonseca over the past 40 years.
“I think given the breadth of these documents, their leak is probably the biggest blow to the activities of tax havens around the world,” he said.
These documents show the connection between secret companies located in tax havens and the families and relatives of people such as Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi, former presidents of Egypt and Libya, and Bashar al-Assad, the current president of Syria.
The documents also reveal the aftermath of a suspected multi-billion dollar money laundering network run by a sanctioned Russian bank and involving close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The name of Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, the Prime Minister of Iceland, also comes up, as documents show he had undeclared interests in a bank in the country that was saved from bankruptcy with a government bailout.
According to the documents, Mossack Fonseca even had a man impersonate another person to pretend to be the owner of $1.8 million so that the original owner could withdraw the money from the bank without revealing his identity.
Mossack Fonseca says it has always followed international protocols to ensure that the companies it works with are not involved in money laundering, tax evasion, terrorist financing, and other illegal activities.
The company says it acted strictly within established procedures and regrets that its services were being abused.
The firm says: “Mossack Fonseca has operated without any defects in our country and in other areas of our activity for 40 years. Our firm has never been accused of any illegal activity.”
“If we encounter suspicious or abusive activity, we will promptly report it to law enforcement. We will also fully cooperate with law enforcement if they come to us with evidence of possible abuse.”
Mossack Fonseca says similar companies are available all over the world and are used for many legal purposes.
