Five years ago the “Panama Papers” caused a sensation. Now follow the “Pandora Papers”, which reveal the involvement of more than 330 politicians from 91 countries in offshore business. Including: Confidants of Putin, the King of Jordan and Claudia Schiffer.
According to an international research network, a huge data leak reveals the secret dealings of hundreds of politicians with letterbox companies. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), to which the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” belongs, published part of the research results on the involvement of more than 330 politicians and officials from 91 countries, such as Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, in offshore deals.
Around 600 journalists in 117 countries were involved in evaluating the so-called Pandora Papers. According to the ICIJ, 11.9 million leaked documents “covering every corner of the world” have been evaluated. In Germany, in addition to the “Süddeutsche”, NDR and WDR also took part in the research. According to the media, the data – almost three terabytes in total – come from 14 companies that offer offshore constructs.
President Zelensky, Jordan’s King and Claudia Schiffer entangled
The current Czech Prime Minister Babis is said to have bought a country castle in southern France for more than 15 million euros in this way, largely anonymously. For him, the timing of the publication is particularly sensitive because a new parliament will be elected in the Czech Republic next week.
Also the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj, numerous confidants of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and many celebrities such as the model Claudia Schiffer are or were customers of offshore companies, according to “Süddeutsche”. The President of the EU country Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis, was therefore actively involved in the offshore business with his law firm, which is now run by his daughters.
Even before the publication of the “Pandora Papers”, the government of Panama had warned of serious damage to the country’s image as a result of the “Panama Papers” 2016. At that time, an anonymous whistleblower for the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” leaked more than eleven million internal documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. An evaluation in collaboration with the ICIJ revealed a sophisticated system for global tax avoidance.
After the publication, a number of politicians – including the then Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson and the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif – had to resign from their offices. Thousands of preliminary investigations have been initiated around the world.
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