Investigative journalists have once again been leaked of explosive documents. More than 300 politicians from all over the world are said to be involved in dubious financial transactions. Among the accused is a current head of government from the EU and the British ex-prime minister Tony Blair.
Once again, numerous politicians and other celebrities around the world could come under pressure after the publication of explosive documents about their financial conduct. According to an international consortium of investigative journalists, 35 current and former heads of state and more than 330 other politicians from almost 100 countries as well as other well-known personalities are said to have invested assets “with the help of opaque trusts, foundations and letterbox companies”. This was reported on Sunday evening by the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, NDR and WDR, which said they had contributed to the analysis of the data leak. The more than 11.9 million documents are called “Pandora Papers”.
About five and a half years ago, the research network caused a stir with the publication of the “Panama Papers”. These were documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which were evaluated by journalists around the world. They found that numerous politicians, athletes and other celebrities held assets in offshore companies.
Czech Prime Minister Babis rejects allegations
The Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis is one of the politicians mentioned in the “Pandora Papers”. The allegations hit him a few days before the parliamentary elections in the EU member state on October 8th and 9th. According to the research consortium, Babis is said to have bought an estate in France for 15 million euros in a non-transparent way. The purchase price flowed “via letterbox companies in Washington, Monaco and the British Virgin Islands to France”, according to the online edition of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. The case goes back to the year 2009 and thus to the time before the multi-billionaire entered politics.
The head of government rejected the allegations on Sunday evening: it was clear that he had done nothing illegal or bad, Babis told the CTK news agency. He spoke of an attempt to “pollute him and thus influence the Czech parliamentary elections”. In the past, Babis had often portrayed himself as a fighter against corruption. According to a poll on behalf of the broadcaster CNN Prima News, the populist ANO von Babis would be by far the strongest force in the upcoming parliamentary election with 27.3 percent of the vote.
Ex-Prime Minister Blair benefited from tax loophole
According to research by the BBC, British ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie also benefited from a tax loophole when buying a property. However, the couple did not act illegally. However, on Monday night, the broadcaster pointed out that Blair had repeatedly criticized tax loopholes.
It’s about a building in London that the Blairs bought in 2017 for £ 6.45 million (€ 7.5 million today). It is now the seat of Cherie Blair’s legal advisory service and her foundation. The previous owner was therefore an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The Blairs started a company that bought out the offshore company. That meant they were buying a business, not a property – so there was no real estate transfer tax, which would have been £ 312,000. The acquired offshore company was then dissolved.
Cherie Blair told the BBC that her husband was not involved in the deal. Only the mortgage for the building was determined on the basis of their joint income and capital. She stressed that she had brought the building back under UK tax and regulation rules and that if it were to be resold, capital gains taxes would be payable.
“Pandora Papers” also list close associates of Putin
According to the research, the documents also list numerous names of close confidants of Russian President Vladimir Putin as beneficiaries of mailbox companies. The main aim here is to conceal the origin of the often immense wealth of offshore customers, writes the “SZ”. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj and Kenya’s head of state Uhuru Kenyatta also appear as users of offshore companies.
According to the “Pandora Papers” research, Jordan’s King Abdullah II is said to have used at least around 30 offshore companies in tax havens to buy 14 luxury properties in the USA and Great Britain. The President of the EU country Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis, was accordingly active in the offshore business with a law firm that is now run by his daughters.
Documents come from an anonymous source
The International Consortium for Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) claims that the documents were leaked from an anonymous source. The secret documents of 14 financial service providers operating in tax havens will reach until 2021, as it was said. The “Pandora Papers” are the biggest data leak to date on business in tax havens. The confidential documents also include the names of prominent top athletes and company directors.
According to the information, journalists from 150 media organizations from 117 countries were involved in the research. The partner media included the “Washington Post”, the “Guardian”, the “Indian Express”, “Le Monde” and “Aftenposten”.
Parallels to “Panama Papers”
Five and a half years ago, the Panama Papers caused a stir. The revelations put politicians, business people and celebrities under pressure. The Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lost his position on charges of corruption. In Malta there were new elections in June 2017 because of the “Panama Papers”, in Iceland the publication led to the resignation of Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson.
The mountain of data leaked to the international media showed large flows of money to Panama, where thousands of letterbox companies are located. Prosecutors around the world checked whether this was also a criminal offense. The 11.5 million files included e-mails, documents and account statements for 214,000 companies, primarily in the Caribbean. The names of 140 politicians or politicians confidants appeared.
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
