Documents analyzed by the International Union of Investigative Journalists featured some 35 current and former leaders
More than a dozen heads of state and government, including Jordan’s king and the Czech prime minister, have hid millions in offshore tax havens. investigation published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) Media Consortium on Sunday.
The so-called “Pandora Papers” investigation – involving some 600 media journalists, including Washington Post, ns BBC And Guardian Based on the leak of approximately 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies around the world.
Documents analyzed by the ICIJ depict some 35 current and former leaders – facing charges ranging from corruption to money laundering and global tax evasion.
The documents specifically highlight how King Abdullah II built a network of offshore companies and tax havens to amass a $100 million estate empire from Malibu, California, to Washington and London.
The BBC, citing lawyers for King Abdullah, said that all properties were purchased with private funds, and that it was common for high-profile individuals to purchase assets through offshore companies for privacy and security reasons.
Documents also show that Czech Prime Minister Lady Babis – facing an election later this week – failed to announce an offshore investment company worth $22 million in the south of France.
In all, the ICIJ found links between nearly 1,000 companies in offshore shelters and 336 high-level politicians and public officials, including country leaders, cabinet ministers, ambassadors and others.
More than two-thirds of the companies were established in the British Virgin Islands.
In most countries, the ICIJ emphasizes, it is not illegal to have assets offshore or to use shell companies to do business across national borders.
But such revelations are nothing short of an embarrassment to leaders who have publicly campaigned against corruption, or advocated austerity measures at home.
Among other revelations from the ICIJ investigation:
The family and associates of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev are accused of being secretly involved in a multi-million property deal in Britain.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and six family members are accused of secretly owning a network of offshore companies.
Members of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s inner circle, which includes cabinet ministers and their families, are said to own companies and trusts worth millions of dollars.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not directly named in the files, but he is linked through aides to secret assets in Monaco.
The “Pandora Papers” are the latest in a series of large-scale ICIJ leaks of financial documents that began with LuxLeaks in 2014, and were followed by the Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, and FinCEN.
The documents behind the latest investigation are drawn from financial services companies in countries including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Belize, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Switzerland.
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