According to CNN, the leak of a large number of confidential documents reveals how the wealthy and powerful hide their fortunes using tax havens.
Eleven million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca have been leaked, which is one of the most secretive companies in the world. These documents exceed both the collection of documents published by WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden’s document collection.
These documents, known as the “Panama Papers,” show how this firm helped its clients launder money, circumvent sanctions, and evade taxes.
The fingerprints of 12 current and former leaders of various countries and 60 associates of theirs are found in these documents. Including dictators accused of plundering their own countries.
+ Read the report regarding money laundering by associates of Vladimir Putin here.
These documents were obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and placed at the disposal of the “International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).”
BBC’s Panorama program and The Guardian newspaper are among 107 media outlets in 78 countries worldwide that have examined these documents, but BBC is not aware of the identity of the original source that provided these documents to the German newspaper.
Gerard Ryle, head of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, says that these documents contain the daily activities of Mossack Fonseca over the past 40 years.
He said: “I believe that given the scope of these documents, their leak is probably the biggest blow to the activities of tax havens worldwide.”
These documents show the connection between secret companies located in tax havens and the families and associates of people such as Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi, former presidents of Egypt and Libya, and Bashar al-Assad, the current president of Syria.
These documents also reveal traces of a network suspected of laundering billions of dollars that was operated by a sanctioned Russian bank and involved associates of Vladimir Putin, president of Russia.
Similarly, the name of Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, Prime Minister of Iceland, is mentioned in the documents, which show that he had undisclosed interests in a bank in that country that was rescued from bankruptcy with government financial aid.
According to the documents, Mossack Fonseca even placed a man in the name of another person to pretend to own $1.8 million so that the real owner could withdraw the money from the bank without revealing his identity.
Mossack Fonseca states that it has always acted in accordance with international protocols to ensure that companies it partners with are not involved in money laundering, tax evasion, financing of terrorism, and other illegal activities.
The company says it has fully operated within the established procedures and expressed regret that its services have been misused.
The company states: “For 40 years, Mossack Fonseca has been operating in our country and other areas of our activity free from any deficiency. Our company has never been accused of involvement in illegal matters.”
“If we encounter suspicious activities and misuse, we promptly report them to the authorities. Similarly, if these authorities approach us with evidence of potential misuse, we fully cooperate with them.”
Mossack Fonseca states that similar companies are available throughout the world and are used for many legitimate purposes.
