Panama Papers

The Panama Papers were a collection of 11.5 million documents leaked in 2015 that some anonymous person stole from the exclusive Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The Paradise Papers was a further trove of 13.4 million electronic documents on offshore funds that were leaked by two German reporters in 2017,[1] one of whom was later killed by a car bomb. The documents were leaked to the media and revealed that a large number of respectable citizens of various countries were actually being very naughty and hiding money offshore. The papers identified money belonging to close friends and family members of the leaders of 40 countries, including £10 million of the Queen Elizabeth II's private money. This was widely reported and very embarrassing to everyone concerned. The now-defunct Mossack Fonseca maintained that they did nothing wrong, and any illegality definitely had nothing to do with the funds and companies they are directly managing.

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Some people named in the Panama Papers

The "power players":[2]

• Ian Cameron, father of the former British Prime Minister David Cameron, who founded a company, using the service of a Bahamian bishop, to manage money of various clients, avoiding all UK taxes for 30+ years.[3]
• Children of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who were convicted and sentenced to prison in Pakistan as a result of the case.[4]
• Malcolm Turnbull — former Prime Minister of Australia — due to his service on the board of directors of an Australian subsidiary registered in the British Virgin Islands to mine in Siberia.[5]

Some people named in the Paradise Papers

• Stephen Bronfman, the chief fundraiser for Canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau who used a Delaware company to loan money to a Cayman Islands trust controlled by a fellow Trudeau fundraiser, all after claiming to have no more offshore assets.[6]
• Queen Elizabeth II, via the Duchy of Lancaster, invested in a Cayman Islands fund that, in turn, ran a UK-based rent-to-own company charging up to 99.9% interest rates.[7]
• A dozen men connected to Donald Trump:[8]
  • Sheldon Adelson, a major campaign donor who avoided US taxes by paying Bermuda-based companies controlled by him and his wife to operate private jets in Las Vegas [9]
  • Thomas J. Barack, Jr., a major campaign donor who used a Delaware company to route money to a tax-free Cayman Islands subsidiary investing in distressed real estate and then, in turn, back to a second Delaware company.[10]
  • Gary Cohn, chief economic adviser and president or vice-president of at least 22 Bermuda companies on behalf of his employer, Goldman Sachs.[10]
  • Carl Icahn, a former Trump adviser whose Brazilian mining company, actually based in the Isle of Man, operated mines in Brazil via subsidaries in Luxemburg and Malta, and, thus, coincidentally obscuring holdings from the US.[10]
  • The Koch brothers, launched a major campaign in support of Trumps' tax plan who used a Bermuda-based subsidiary to avoid taxes on US and UK based paper companies[9]
  • Robert Mercer, a major campaign donor whose foundation, funded by $60 million from accounts in Bermuda, supported 2016 Republican political causes. [11]
  • Geoffrey Palmer, a major campaign donor who shifted ownership of his personal jet to Bermuda for some reason[9]
  • Randal Quarles, vice chairman for supervision at the Federal Reserve who invested a bank in the Bahamas that subsequently paid nearly $5 million to the IRS for tax evasion[10][12]
  • Wilbur Ross, current Secretary of Commerce whose direct and indirect holdings in 6 Bermuda-based entities owned a large stake in Navigator Holdings whose clients included Silbur, a company owned by Vladimir Putin's son-in-law.[13][7]
  • Stephen Schwarzman, chairman of the White House business advisory council whose Blackstone Group avoided all taxes on UK rental property via a Jersey trust fund and a Luxemburg subsidiary.[14]
  • Paul E. Singer, a major campaign donor who used a Cayman Island's subsidiary to file lawsuits in the UK and the British Virgin Islands to force an African country to repay ~$100,000,000 in 20 year old distressed loans. [9]
  • Rex Tillerson, former Secretary of State who headed up ExxonMobil, the corporate owner of at least 35 subsidiaries in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Bermuda, holding at least $51 billion in offshore assets.[10]

External links

• The Panama Papers — International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
• Paradise Papers — International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

References

1. How a German Newspaper Became the Go-To Place for Leaks Like the Paradise Papers by Elisabeth Zerofsky (November 11, 2017) The New Yorker.
2. The Power Players International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
3. Fund run by David Cameron’s father avoided paying tax in Britain
4. Former Pakistan PM Sharif Sentenced To 10 Years Over Panama Papers
5. ICIJ: Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
6. Stephen Bronfman’s Offshore Links Lasted Longer Than He Admitted
7. Offshore Trove Exposes Trump-Russia links and Piggy Banks of the Wealthiest 1 Percent International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
8. The Influencers International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
9. The seven Republican super-donors who keep money in tax havens
10. The wealthy men in Trump's inner circle with links to tax havens
11. Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon's attacks on Hillary Clinton
12. Butterfield Bank discloses possible US$4.8M payment
13. Paradise Papers: Leaks Show Wilbur Ross Hid Ties to Putin Cronies
14. How Blackstone Group Uses ‘Fairly Aggressive’ Tactics To Slash Its Tax Bill

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