Leakage of documents reveals money laundering by politicians and celebrities world over; Report
Our Web Desk / AMN /
Indian and Pakistani businessmen and politicians are allegedly among list of global figures who have stacked huge money in Panama, according to an alleged massive leak of 11.5 million documents from a Panama based law firm.
The Revealed document have been reported by numerous Swiss, German and newspapers including the Zurich Tagesanzeiger, Sueddeutsche Zeitung in Germany and others. The Indian Express have also widely published the revealing documents.
The massive leak of 11.5 million documents from a Panama based law firm allegedly revealed how the world’s rich people, politicians and celebrities hide their money in Panama. A German daily ‘Sueddeutsche Zeitung’ yesterday published that Panama’s Mossack Fonseca, one of the world’s most secretive offshore law firms, operated with impunity for decades in its efforts to help clients launder money and avoid tax.
The Panama papers also show how heads of state as well as authoritarian rulers and their families build and use secret asset structures without anyone this seriously controlling it.
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Quoting sources, The Indian Express reports that around 500 Indians figure in the list of global figures incriminated in the documents. The list includes Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Indiabulls owner Sameer Gehlaut and DLF CEO KP Singh among others.
The documents link at least 12 current and former heads of state and 143 other politicians to illicit financial transactions. The names include aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s son Nazifuddin, family of Chinese President Xi Jinping, former Chinese Premier Li Peng’s daughter Li Xiaolin, children of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the President of Ukraine, and celebrities including Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.
Revealed by numerous Swiss and German newspapers including the Zurich Tagesanzeiger, Sueddeutsche Zeitung in Germany and others, the alleged leaked reports stated:
In many cases, any explanation of the origin of the displaced asset is missing .A good part of the Panama papers is supervised from Switzerland , from local trustees and banks .
The World Bank and the UN a few years ago investigated 213 corruption cases . Involved: 56.4 billion US dollars of dirty money.
The data leakage from Panama shows the previously hidden operation of 214,000 offshore companies , trusts and foundations in 21 tax havens , of the British Virgin Islands to the island of Niue in the vastness of the Pacific.
The paper show who started such companies, who is involved and who did or is doing business with them.
It involves:
Five current heads of state and seven former heads of state, including the current PM of Iceland. It further included 61 family members and close friends of current or former heads of state, including from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan
Included 100 ministers, high level officials, cereals, heads of intelligence, high court judges and officials related to international sports.
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Shell companies used in many cases to keep wealth discreet and move . They are not illegal and just Swiss asset managers who run the business wholesale, always emphasize , such vehicles were mainly the protection of legitimate customers and their legitimate assets . In fact, these companies are routinely used for everyday legitimate businesses .
French President hailed the revelations
French President Francois Hollande has hailed the revelations. The documents show 12 current or former heads of state and 61 people linked to current or former world leaders in the data.
Gerard Ryle, Director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, said the documents covered the day-to-day business at Mossack Fonseca over the past 40 years.
Meanwhile, Iceland’s Prime Minister is under pressure to quit after the leak of the “Panama Papers” tax documents showed he and his wife used an offshore firm to hide million-dollar investments.
A former Prime Minister urged Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson to resign after the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism on Sunday released 11.5 million financial records detailing the holdings of a dozen current and former world leaders.
More than 16,000 Icelanders have also signed a petition demanding his resignation, while the opposition has said it will seek a vote of no confidence in Parliament, likely to be held this week.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party Chairman, Imran Khan, today demanded that the National Accountability Bureau initiate a thorough investigation into the financial holdings of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members after a leak of secret files revealed they owned or had the right to authorise transactions for several offshore companies. Imran said the data leak is a defining moment for Pakistan, saying how can those who launder money from Pakistan to offshore accounts ask others to invest in Pakistan. Updated at 10: 43 PM