Editor’s note: What the Star reveals in unprecedented Panama Papers leak and why
[ http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/ ... d-why.html ]
April 3, 2016
The Panama Papers, a leaked database of more than 11.5 million documents from the law firm Mossack Fonseca, reveals details on rich, famous and powerful people who use offshore tax havens.
Among the information contained in a massive collection of leaked documents analyzed by the Star and more than 100 other media organizations is records linking close friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin to offshore companies that see millions of dollars flow through them.
By: Editor’s Note Published on Sun Apr 03 2016
Monday morning, the Toronto Star will begin publishing a week of investigative journalism based on what we believe to be the largest ever leak of documents.
The stories are Canadian and global in scope.
We’re calling the series The Panama Papers.
[ http://www.thestar.com/news/panama-pape ... asion.html ]
The Star has partnered with more than 100 newspapers and TV news organizations in 76 countries, with 376 journalists working in 25 languages under the directing umbrella of the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Why the Panama Papers? Because the leaked documents are the secret internal records of Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm that specializes in hiding money in tax havens such as Costa Rica, the British Virgin Islands and the Seychelles.
The documents show how rich people divert money from government tax coffers to offshore tax havens. This is costing the rest of us hundreds of billions of dollars each year.
The documents — and there are millions of them — were given to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. They contain the passport details of 350 Canadians, 12 current or former leaders of countries, 128 current and former politicians and public officials, and never-before-seen details about 214,000 companies. The personal information, emails and lawyers’ letters contained in the leak reveal details about individuals, lawsuits and corporations, all of which have so far checked out with public records and independent reporting by the Star.
There is a wide variety of discoveries. Some examples:
•A Canadian art research firm is deeply involved in fighting for possession of a $35 million Modigliani painting allegedly looted by the Nazis.
•The prime minister of Iceland, an island nation devastated economically by its failing banks in 2008, is linked in the leaked database to offshore companies.
- - - SNIP - - -
The Star and our partners, including France’s Le Monde, Britain’s Guardian and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, are publishing this material not because we believe something illegal is happening, but because we think Canadians should know about how the elite hide and shelter so much money. The rich get to play by different rules than the rest of us. We should all know about this unfairness.
Related:
How offshore banking is costing Canada billions of dollars a year - April 4, 2016
[ http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/ ... -year.html ]
Secret records reveal Vladimir Putin's network of money men - April 4, 2016
[ http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/ ... y-men.html ]
British Virgin Islands growing rich as a global tax haven - April 4, 2016
[ http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/ ... haven.html ]
Why a Star reporter was denied entry to British Virgin Islands - April 4, 2016
[ http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/ ... orted.html ]
= = = = = = =
KaBoom! Offshore tax havens blown out of the water. . . !
From: Sandra Finley
Sent: Monday, April 4, 2016 2:15 PM
Subject: KaBoom! Offshore tax havens blown out of the water. Plus other updates.
For almost 3 years, we have been following this issue.
The list of related postings reveals some of the complexities. There are active links to everything on:
The Panama Papers: world reacts to huge offshore tax files leak, The Guardian - - [ http://sandrafinley.ca/?p=16434 ]
The leaks have created a very important break-through.
OTHER UPDATES, for a thumbnail sketch of recent postings, click on [ http://sandrafinley.ca/ ]
Cheers!
Sandra
KaBoom! The Panama Papers!!
4 posts
• Page 1 of 1
KaBoom! The Panama Papers!!
by Oscar » Mon Apr 04, 2016 3:11 pm
- Oscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9103
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Re: KaBoom! The Panama Papers!!
by Oscar » Tue Apr 05, 2016 10:40 am
Panama leak reveals more about Western journalism than Vladimir Putin
[ https://www.rt.com/op-edge/338388-putin ... dia-leaks/ ]
Published time: 4 Apr, 2016 16:19 Edited time: 5 Apr, 2016 12:08
Is it any coincidence that ‘revelations’ on the so-called ‘Panama Papers’ – which purport to expose a money trail leading to the door of President Putin - were served hot to an unsuspecting public between April Fool’s Day and NATO’s 65th birthday?
Just last week, Moscow sounded the alarm that the West was preparing to launch yet another “information attack” against Russia.
With uncanny accuracy, the proverbial sh*t storm made landfall on Sunday as the German daily Süddeutschen Zeitung released the leaked documents [ http://www.sueddeutsche.de/ ] , touted as the most prodigious dump of data in the history of data dumps.
For those who have been able to stomach the ongoing spectacle of Western reporters climbing over themselves to produce the most hyperbolic, fear-mongering drivel on Russia [ http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/2462 ... -president ], it should come as no surprise which world leader featured prominently in this latest hatchet job.
Perhaps The Guardian’s anti-Russia guru Luke Harding deserves the honor of delivering the announcement. Take it away, Luke: “A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin… [T]hough the president’s name does not appear in any of the records...
That single line of truth in an otherwise convoluted conspiratorial yarn deserves repeating: “…the president’s name does not appear in any of the records.” [ http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/ap ... n-offshore ]
Because of this inconvenient truth, Harding is forced into a corner with only inconclusive verbs when the moment requires some rock-solid certainty: “The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.”
Here is one of the more creative ways Harding ‘suggests’ that ‘Putin’s family’ is somehow connected to the Panama funds: “The offshore trail starts in Panama, darts through Russia, Switzerland and Cyprus – and includes a private ski resort where Putin’s younger daughter, Katerina, got married in 2013.”
Now let that be a warning to anybody who may be considering having their wedding at a ski resort.
- - - -SNIP - - -
Is Putin being used as convenient smokescreen to conceal the real suspects in this story, or is this yet another pathetic attempt to ruin the reputation of the Russian leader, who has navigated his country since 1999 through a menacing sea of global challenges, not least of all NATO forces nudging right up to the Russian border for no good reason whatsoever? [ https://www.rt.com/news/337818-russia-n ... -response/ ]
Whatever the case may be, the plan is backfiring in spectacular fashion, and not least of all because the motivation behind it is so painfully obvious.
Marcus Papadopulos, editor of the Politics First magazine, explained Western hostility to Putin as symptomatic of his success as a leader in fending off Western ambitions.
"Of course, the American and the British governments would like Russia of the 1990’s under [Boris] Yeltsin, when Russia was on its knees, Russia had effectively become a pauper state and was dependent on the IMF [International Monetary Fund]," Papadopulos told RT.
"However, under Putin and his policies all that has been reversed, and we have a very confident Russia domestically – it still has problems, but it is confident – and we have a resurgent Russia on the international arena.
"For many in Washington and London, that is Putin’s greatest sin – that Russia is again, as it did in Soviet times... challenging Western global hegemony."
Indeed, more people should take a moment and consider what the world would quickly look like if no challenger is left to balance the US-led NATO countries.
- - -
Robert Bridge is an American writer and journalist based in Moscow, Russia. His articles have been featured in many publications, including Russia in Global Affairs, The Moscow Times, Russia Insider and Rethinking Russia. Bridge is the author of the book on corporate power, “Midnight in the American Empire”, which was released in 2013.
- - - -
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
[ https://www.rt.com/op-edge/338388-putin ... dia-leaks/ ]
Published time: 4 Apr, 2016 16:19 Edited time: 5 Apr, 2016 12:08
Is it any coincidence that ‘revelations’ on the so-called ‘Panama Papers’ – which purport to expose a money trail leading to the door of President Putin - were served hot to an unsuspecting public between April Fool’s Day and NATO’s 65th birthday?
Just last week, Moscow sounded the alarm that the West was preparing to launch yet another “information attack” against Russia.
With uncanny accuracy, the proverbial sh*t storm made landfall on Sunday as the German daily Süddeutschen Zeitung released the leaked documents [ http://www.sueddeutsche.de/ ] , touted as the most prodigious dump of data in the history of data dumps.
For those who have been able to stomach the ongoing spectacle of Western reporters climbing over themselves to produce the most hyperbolic, fear-mongering drivel on Russia [ http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/2462 ... -president ], it should come as no surprise which world leader featured prominently in this latest hatchet job.
Perhaps The Guardian’s anti-Russia guru Luke Harding deserves the honor of delivering the announcement. Take it away, Luke: “A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin… [T]hough the president’s name does not appear in any of the records...
That single line of truth in an otherwise convoluted conspiratorial yarn deserves repeating: “…the president’s name does not appear in any of the records.” [ http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/ap ... n-offshore ]
Because of this inconvenient truth, Harding is forced into a corner with only inconclusive verbs when the moment requires some rock-solid certainty: “The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.”
Here is one of the more creative ways Harding ‘suggests’ that ‘Putin’s family’ is somehow connected to the Panama funds: “The offshore trail starts in Panama, darts through Russia, Switzerland and Cyprus – and includes a private ski resort where Putin’s younger daughter, Katerina, got married in 2013.”
Now let that be a warning to anybody who may be considering having their wedding at a ski resort.
- - - -SNIP - - -
Is Putin being used as convenient smokescreen to conceal the real suspects in this story, or is this yet another pathetic attempt to ruin the reputation of the Russian leader, who has navigated his country since 1999 through a menacing sea of global challenges, not least of all NATO forces nudging right up to the Russian border for no good reason whatsoever? [ https://www.rt.com/news/337818-russia-n ... -response/ ]
Whatever the case may be, the plan is backfiring in spectacular fashion, and not least of all because the motivation behind it is so painfully obvious.
Marcus Papadopulos, editor of the Politics First magazine, explained Western hostility to Putin as symptomatic of his success as a leader in fending off Western ambitions.
"Of course, the American and the British governments would like Russia of the 1990’s under [Boris] Yeltsin, when Russia was on its knees, Russia had effectively become a pauper state and was dependent on the IMF [International Monetary Fund]," Papadopulos told RT.
"However, under Putin and his policies all that has been reversed, and we have a very confident Russia domestically – it still has problems, but it is confident – and we have a resurgent Russia on the international arena.
"For many in Washington and London, that is Putin’s greatest sin – that Russia is again, as it did in Soviet times... challenging Western global hegemony."
Indeed, more people should take a moment and consider what the world would quickly look like if no challenger is left to balance the US-led NATO countries.
- - -
Robert Bridge is an American writer and journalist based in Moscow, Russia. His articles have been featured in many publications, including Russia in Global Affairs, The Moscow Times, Russia Insider and Rethinking Russia. Bridge is the author of the book on corporate power, “Midnight in the American Empire”, which was released in 2013.
- - - -
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
- Oscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9103
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm
Re: KaBoom! The Panama Papers!!
by Oscar » Tue Apr 05, 2016 10:50 am
Iceland PM to resign amid 'Panama Papers' scandal
[ http://www.ctvnews.ca/iceland-pm-to-res ... -1.2845907 ]
Published Tuesday, April 5, 2016 10:08AM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, April 5, 2016 12:34PM EDT
REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- Iceland's embattled prime minister has resigned amid a controversy over his offshore holdings, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday as outrage over the accounts roiled the North Atlantic island nation.
Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson is stepping down as leader of the country's coalition government, Agriculture Minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson told Icelandic broadcaster RUV.
No replacement has yet been named, and Iceland's president has not yet confirmed that he has accepted the resignation.
Thousands of Icelanders protested outside the parliament building in Reykjavik on Monday, demanding that Gunnlaugsson resign over reported offshore financial dealings by him and his wife that opposition lawmakers say amount to a major conflict of interest with his job.
Gunnlaugsson would be the first major figure brought down by a leak of more than 11 million financial documents from a Panamanian law firm showing tax-avoidance arrangements of the rich and famous around the world.
Gunnlaugsson has denied any wrongdoing. He said he and his wife have paid all their taxes and done nothing illegal. He also said his financial holdings didn't affect his negotiations with Iceland's creditors during the country's acute financial crisis.
Earlier Tuesday, the prime minister sought to dissolve parliament and call an early election, but President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said he wanted to consult with other party leaders before agreeing to end the coalition government between Gunnlaugsson's centre-right Progressive Party and the Independence Party.
"I need to determine if there is support for dissolving (parliament) within the ruling coalition and others. The prime minister could not confirm this for me, and therefore I am not prepared at this time to dissolve parliament," Grimsson said.
The president planned to meet with Independence Party lawmakers later Tuesday to discuss the crisis.
Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, chairman of the Independence Party, criticized the prime minister for unilaterally seeking to dissolve parliament.
"It was a total surprise for us to see that. I don't think it was the rational thing to do. I've never seen it done before in Icelandic politics and I hope that I will not see it again," he said.
The impact in Iceland from the leaks has been the most dramatic, but leading officials in Russia, Ukraine, China, Argentina and other countries are also facing questions about possibly dubious offshore schemes used by the rich and famous.
MORE:
[ http://www.ctvnews.ca/iceland-pm-to-res ... -1.2845907 ]
[ http://www.ctvnews.ca/iceland-pm-to-res ... -1.2845907 ]
Published Tuesday, April 5, 2016 10:08AM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, April 5, 2016 12:34PM EDT
REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- Iceland's embattled prime minister has resigned amid a controversy over his offshore holdings, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday as outrage over the accounts roiled the North Atlantic island nation.
Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson is stepping down as leader of the country's coalition government, Agriculture Minister Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson told Icelandic broadcaster RUV.
No replacement has yet been named, and Iceland's president has not yet confirmed that he has accepted the resignation.
Thousands of Icelanders protested outside the parliament building in Reykjavik on Monday, demanding that Gunnlaugsson resign over reported offshore financial dealings by him and his wife that opposition lawmakers say amount to a major conflict of interest with his job.
Gunnlaugsson would be the first major figure brought down by a leak of more than 11 million financial documents from a Panamanian law firm showing tax-avoidance arrangements of the rich and famous around the world.
Gunnlaugsson has denied any wrongdoing. He said he and his wife have paid all their taxes and done nothing illegal. He also said his financial holdings didn't affect his negotiations with Iceland's creditors during the country's acute financial crisis.
Earlier Tuesday, the prime minister sought to dissolve parliament and call an early election, but President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said he wanted to consult with other party leaders before agreeing to end the coalition government between Gunnlaugsson's centre-right Progressive Party and the Independence Party.
"I need to determine if there is support for dissolving (parliament) within the ruling coalition and others. The prime minister could not confirm this for me, and therefore I am not prepared at this time to dissolve parliament," Grimsson said.
The president planned to meet with Independence Party lawmakers later Tuesday to discuss the crisis.
Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson, chairman of the Independence Party, criticized the prime minister for unilaterally seeking to dissolve parliament.
"It was a total surprise for us to see that. I don't think it was the rational thing to do. I've never seen it done before in Icelandic politics and I hope that I will not see it again," he said.
The impact in Iceland from the leaks has been the most dramatic, but leading officials in Russia, Ukraine, China, Argentina and other countries are also facing questions about possibly dubious offshore schemes used by the rich and famous.
MORE:
[ http://www.ctvnews.ca/iceland-pm-to-res ... -1.2845907 ]
- Oscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9103
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm
Re: KaBoom! The Panama Papers!!
by Oscar » Wed Apr 06, 2016 11:27 am
Panama Papers: Leak of 11.5 million records reveal elite’s tax haven
[ http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/panam ... tax-haven/ ]
Files contain information on 214,488 offshore entities connected to people in more than 200 countries and territories
The Associated Press April 4, 2016
German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung says it has obtained a vast trove of documents detailing the offshore financial dealings of the rich and famous. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism says the latest trove contains includes nearly 40 years of data from the Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca. The company didnít immediately respond to a request for comment. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
The Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama City. (Arnulfo Franco, AP)
BERLIN — An international coalition of media outlets on Sunday published what it said was an extensive investigation into the offshore financial dealings of the rich and famous, based on a vast trove of documents provided by an anonymous source.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism, a non-profit organization based in Washington, said the cache of 11.5 million records detailed the offshore holdings of a dozen current and former world leaders, as well as businessmen, criminals, celebrities and sports stars.
A co-founder of the Panamanian-based law firm where the documents originated confirmed the authenticity of the papers being used in articles published by more than 100 news organizations around the world. Ramon Fonseca told Panama’s Channel 2 television network that the documents were obtained illegally in a hacking attack.
The German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung said it first received the data more than a year ago. The Munich-based daily was offered the data through an encrypted channel by an anonymous source who requested no monetary compensation and asked only for unspecified security measures, said Bastian Obermayer, a reporter for the paper.
The data concerned internal documents from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. Founded by German-born Juergen Mossack, the firm has offices around the globe and is among the world’s biggest creators of shell companies, the newspaper said.
Ramon Fonseca said most of the people being named in news reports about big offshore accounts were not the firm’s direct clients, saying the accounts were mainly established by financial intermediaries. He also said the firm did not engage in any wrongdoing.
“We are not responsible for the actions of a corporation that we set up,” he said in the TV interview.
Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela issued a statement saying his government would co-operate “vigorously” with any judicial investigation arising from the leak of the law firm’s documents. He said that the revelations shouldn’t detract from his government’s “zero tolerance” for any illicit activities in Panama’s finance industry.
ICIJ said the law firm’s leaked internal files contain information on 214,488 offshore entities connected to people in more than 200 countries and territories. It said it would release the full list of companies and people linked to them early next month.
Obermayer said that over the course of several months Sueddeutsche Zeitung received about 2.6 terabytes of data — more than would fit on 600 DVDs. The newspaper said the amount of data it obtained is several times larger than a previous cache of offshore data published by WikiLeaks in 2013 that exposed the financial dealings of prominent individuals.
“To our knowledge this is the biggest leak that journalists have ever worked on,” Obermayer said.
The newspaper and its partners verified the authenticity of the data by comparing it to public registers, witness testimony and court rulings, he told the AP. A previous cache of Mossack Fonseca documents obtained by German authorities was also used to verify the new material, Obermayer added.
Among the countries with past or present political figures named in the reports are Iceland, Ukraine, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Argentina.
MORE:
[ http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/panam ... tax-haven/ ]
- - - -
Online:
ICIJ site:
[ https://panamapapers.icij.org/ ]
Panama Papers:
[ http://www.macleans.ca/tag/panama-papers/ ]
[ http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/panam ... tax-haven/ ]
Files contain information on 214,488 offshore entities connected to people in more than 200 countries and territories
The Associated Press April 4, 2016
German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung says it has obtained a vast trove of documents detailing the offshore financial dealings of the rich and famous. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism says the latest trove contains includes nearly 40 years of data from the Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca. The company didnít immediately respond to a request for comment. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
The Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama City. (Arnulfo Franco, AP)
BERLIN — An international coalition of media outlets on Sunday published what it said was an extensive investigation into the offshore financial dealings of the rich and famous, based on a vast trove of documents provided by an anonymous source.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism, a non-profit organization based in Washington, said the cache of 11.5 million records detailed the offshore holdings of a dozen current and former world leaders, as well as businessmen, criminals, celebrities and sports stars.
A co-founder of the Panamanian-based law firm where the documents originated confirmed the authenticity of the papers being used in articles published by more than 100 news organizations around the world. Ramon Fonseca told Panama’s Channel 2 television network that the documents were obtained illegally in a hacking attack.
The German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung said it first received the data more than a year ago. The Munich-based daily was offered the data through an encrypted channel by an anonymous source who requested no monetary compensation and asked only for unspecified security measures, said Bastian Obermayer, a reporter for the paper.
The data concerned internal documents from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. Founded by German-born Juergen Mossack, the firm has offices around the globe and is among the world’s biggest creators of shell companies, the newspaper said.
Ramon Fonseca said most of the people being named in news reports about big offshore accounts were not the firm’s direct clients, saying the accounts were mainly established by financial intermediaries. He also said the firm did not engage in any wrongdoing.
“We are not responsible for the actions of a corporation that we set up,” he said in the TV interview.
Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela issued a statement saying his government would co-operate “vigorously” with any judicial investigation arising from the leak of the law firm’s documents. He said that the revelations shouldn’t detract from his government’s “zero tolerance” for any illicit activities in Panama’s finance industry.
ICIJ said the law firm’s leaked internal files contain information on 214,488 offshore entities connected to people in more than 200 countries and territories. It said it would release the full list of companies and people linked to them early next month.
Obermayer said that over the course of several months Sueddeutsche Zeitung received about 2.6 terabytes of data — more than would fit on 600 DVDs. The newspaper said the amount of data it obtained is several times larger than a previous cache of offshore data published by WikiLeaks in 2013 that exposed the financial dealings of prominent individuals.
“To our knowledge this is the biggest leak that journalists have ever worked on,” Obermayer said.
The newspaper and its partners verified the authenticity of the data by comparing it to public registers, witness testimony and court rulings, he told the AP. A previous cache of Mossack Fonseca documents obtained by German authorities was also used to verify the new material, Obermayer added.
Among the countries with past or present political figures named in the reports are Iceland, Ukraine, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Argentina.
MORE:
[ http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/panam ... tax-haven/ ]
- - - -
Online:
ICIJ site:
[ https://panamapapers.icij.org/ ]
Panama Papers:
[ http://www.macleans.ca/tag/panama-papers/ ]
- Oscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9103
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm
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