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[chadskin]

Over a year ago, an anonymous source contacted the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and submitted encrypted internal documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm that sells anonymous offshore companies around the world. These shell firms enable their owners to cover up their business dealings, no matter how shady.

In the months that followed, the number of documents continued to grow far beyond the original leak. Ultimately, SZ acquired about 2.6 terabytes of data, making the leak the biggest that journalists had ever worked with. The source wanted neither financial compensation nor anything else in return, apart from a few security measures.

The data provides rare insights into a world that can only exist in the shadows. It proves how a global industry led by major banks, legal firms, and asset management companies secretly manages the estates of the world’s rich and famous: from politicians, Fifa officials, fraudsters and drug smugglers, to celebrities and professional athletes.

In the past 12 months, around 400 journalists from more than 100 media organizations in over 80 countries have taken part in researching the documents. These have included teams from the Guardian and the BBC in England, Le Monde in France, and La Nación in Argentina.

--> https://panamapapers.icij.org
--> https://www.occrp.org/en/panamapapers/
--> http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/en/
--> http://www.theguardian.com/news/series/panama-papers
--> http://www.bbc.com/news/world-35934836

Wikipedia: List of people named in the Panama Papers

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stories published based on The Panama Papers:

Revealed: the $2bn offshore trail that leads to Vladimir Putin

A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.

An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.

Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.

Leaked papers give Fifa ethics committee new credibility crisis

Fifa could face another crisis after the Panama Papers revealed an apparent conflict of interest at the heart of the ethics committee supposed to clean it up.

The documents – part of a huge data leak from the law firm Mossack Fonseca, which helps clients set up companies in offshore tax regimes – show links between Juan Pedro Damiani, a Uruguayan lawyer and long-serving member of the ethics committee, and Eugenio Figueredo, a former senior Fifa vice-president recently accused of corruption, are far more extensive than previously known.

Iceland’s PM faces calls for snap election after offshore revelations [update: resigned]

Iceland’s prime minister is this week expected to face calls in parliament for a snap election after the Panama Papers revealed he is among several leading politicians around the world with links to secretive companies in offshore tax havens.

The financial affairs of Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and his wife have come under scrutiny because of details revealed in documents from a Panamanian law firm that helps clients protect their wealth in secretive offshore tax regimes. The files from Mossack Fonseca form the biggest ever data leak to journalists.

President Poroshenko's Secret Offshore Deals, Revealed

Our investigation concludes that President Poroshenko was creating sophisticated financial structures to avoid paying taxes to the Ukrainian state.

Russia: A High Official Goes Offshore

The man who was once the deputy director of the body responsible for seeing that daily life ran smoothly for Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin secretly owned an offshore company in Panama for five years, unloading it only when a law was passed in 2013 specifically banning the practice.

Ivan Malyushin served as the deputy head of the Department for Presidential Affairs (DPA) during the five years that he owned Anttrin Services Corp. That makes him one of the highest-ranking Russian officials to turn up in a trove of secret records from a Panamanian firm.

Fund run by David Cameron’s father avoided paying UK tax

David Cameron’s father ran an offshore fund that avoided ever having to pay tax in Britain by hiring a small army of Bahamas residents – including a part-time bishop – to sign its paperwork.

How Mossack Fonseca helped hide millions from Britain’s biggest gold bullion robbery

Laundered cash from Britain’s largest gold bullion robbery was hidden with the help of an audacious plan hatched with advice from Mossack Fonseca’s co-founder.

More than 30 years after the infamous raid on the Brink’s-Mat depot near Heathrow, new information shows how the robbers’ main money launderer tried to cling on to some of the proceeds with the help of the Panamanian law firm at the centre of the largest ever leak of offshore data.

Kazakhstan: President’s Grandson Hid Assets Offshore

In February, his eldest daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva, who is the country’s deputy prime minister, echoed her father and called on the Kazakhs to “have a conscience,” “pay taxes,” and “sleep well.”

However, documents obtained by OCCRP show that members of the Nazarbayev family were regular users of these same tax havens.

Aliyevs’ Secret Mining Empire

Their employer, Azerbaijan International Mineral Resources Operating Company Ltd. (AIMROC), came out of nowhere suddenly to become the second-largest gold producer in the country. Then it disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving employees in a desperate search to find out who actually was employing them.

But, cloaked behind an offshore organization, their employers were much closer than they imagined. They saw them almost daily wearing the latest fashions, carrying expensive handbags, and smiling from the pages of newspapers and magazines. Their employers were on TV attending openings and gala ceremonies and grand events talking about how great Azerbaijan was.

Their employers were Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva, the daughters of President Ilham Aliyev.

British banker set up firm ‘used by North Korea to sell weapons’

A British banker who spent two decades living in communist North Korea set up a secret offshore finance company allegedly used by the Pyongyang regime to help sell arms and expand its nuclear weapons programme.

Tory donors’ links to offshore firms revealed in leaked Panama Papers

Several of the donors, MPs and financiers who have supported David Cameron’s rise to power have had links to the UK’s network of tax havens, the Panama Papers reveal.

Three former Conservative MPs and six members of the House of Lords are among those with connections to companies on the books of the offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Though it is legal to manage money offshore, the practice has drawn increasing criticism during years of enduring austerity.

Panama Papers: Le Pen's aides set up 'offshore system'

"A sophisticated offshore system was put in place between Hong Kong, Singapore, the British Virgin Islands and Panama by the close aides of Marine Le pen," wrote Le Monde on Tuesday.

The aim of the system was "to get money out of France, through shell companies and false invoices, to evade French anti-money-laundering authorities," Le Monde reported.

Panama Papers: Fifa president Gianni Infantino document leaked

New Fifa president Gianni Infantino signed off on a contract with two businessmen who have since been accused of bribery, leaked documents reveal.

Malta's leaders turned to Mossack Fonseca five days after election

A Malta advisory firm began setting up Panama companies for senior members of Malta's Labour Party five days after they won power in the March 2013 election, leaked documents of Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca show.

Malta's opposition called a national protest on Sunday over revelations in The Australian Financial Review last week that detailed how Malta's Energy Minister, Konrad Mizzi, and the prime minister's chief of staff, Keith Schembri, set up secret holdings in Panama and New Zealand linked to a Dubai bank account.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAQ:

How big is it?
Mossack Fonseca is the world’s fourth biggest provider of offshore services. It has acted for more than 300,000 companies. There is a strong UK connection. More than half of the companies are registered in British-administered tax havens, as well as in the UK itself.

Are all people who use offshore structures crooks?
No. Using offshore structures is entirely legal. There are many legitimate reasons for doing so. Business people in countries such as Russia and Ukraine typically put their assets offshore to defend them from “raids” by criminals, and to get around hard currency restrictions. Others use offshore for reasons of inheritance and estate planning.

Are some people who use offshore structures crooks?
Yes. In a speech last year in Singapore, David Cameron said “the corrupt, criminals and money launderers” take advantage of anonymous company structures. The government is trying to do something about this. It wants to set up a central register that will reveal the beneficial owners of offshore companies. From June, UK companies will have to reveal their “significant” owners for the first time.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-panama-papers

ICIJ will release the full list of companies and people linked to them in early May.

https://panamapapers.icij.org/graphs/methodology/

 

[Ashes]

Well this should be interesting.

 

[LUFTRAUSER]

The problem with how cynical the Internet is is that when you just assume things like this are happening when it is revealed that they really are you don't feel outrage but instead vindication. And you don't do anything about it.
This probably won't even make the news.

EDIT: I was super wrong about this.

 

[Wafflecakes]

Well this should be interesting.

Probably not.

The last dozen or so releases haven't had any broad impact at all. Half of the time they aren't even worth mentioning on the news.

 

[chadskin]

Probably not.

The last dozen or so releases haven't had any broad impact at all. Half of the time they aren't even worth mentioning on the news.

400 journalists in 80 countries were involved in this leak and spend over a year of research on it. It'll be massive.

 

[Wafflecakes]

400 journalists in 80 countries were involved in this leak and spend over a year of research on it. It'll be massive.

If you say so.

I can't imagine that anything is contained in them they we all didn't already expect to be there.

Is the oil industry scummy? Yeah, but that is hardly "news".

 

[CHEEZMO™]

Following the hype for this on Twitter is pretty fun. Really curious to see what is revealed.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

The problem with how cynical the Internet is is that when you just assume things like this are happening when it is revealed that they really are you don't feel outrage but instead vindication. And you don't do anything about it.
This probably won't even make the news.

It's well placed, realistic cynicism. We've seen it happen before tons of times. I think the only leaks that ever really sparked anything were the Snowden ones and Wikileaks. So, I guess I'm at least a bit hopeful?

 

[chadskin]

How the leak came about will apparently made into a book: http://www.panamapapers.com

Some tidbits:
- "The hidden billions of premier ministers, dictators, FIFA executives"
- "the secret money of Putin's most inner circle"
- Guardian, Le Monde, BBC among those involved in the investigation

 

[enzo_gt]

How the leak came about will apparently made into a book: http://www.panamapapers.com

Some tidbits:
- "The hidden billions of premier ministers, dictators, FIFA executives"
- "the secret money of Putin's most inner circle"
- Guardian, Le Monde, BBC among those involved in the investigation

The story of how they kept this from the culprits will probably be more interesting than the actual fallout.

 

[Kurdel]

If you say so.

I can't imagine that anything is contained in them they we all didn't already expect to be there.

Is the oil industry scummy? Yeah, but that is hardly "news".

You would he the worst journalist in the world, don't quit your day job.

 

[Nikodemos]

- "the secret money of Putin's most inner circle"

Hopefully including Putin's own 'skimming'. If there's a single thing he will fly into a rage over, it's being called a two-bit grandomanic grifter.

 

[chadskin]

Leak of the leak:

--> http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/en/

 

[Orbis]

Leak of the leak:

--> http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/en/

I think some Icelandic government ministers already came forward about this in anticipation of the leak. The Prime Minister is to face a vote of no confidence.

 

[chadskin]

Revealed: the $2bn offshore trail that leads to Vladimir Putin

A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.

An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.

Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.

 

[Shaanyboi]

This gonna be good

 

[SenorArdilla]

2.6 terabytes? I wonder who's involved.

 

[Phantast2k]

Great job by the journalists. And this is just one of those trails (Mossack Fonseca).

This has got to escalate the pressure on these offshore countries.

 

[chadskin]

Leaked papers give Fifa ethics committee new credibility crisis

Fifa could face another crisis after the Panama Papers revealed an apparent conflict of interest at the heart of the ethics committee supposed to clean it up.

The documents – part of a huge data leak from the law firm Mossack Fonseca, which helps clients set up companies in offshore tax regimes – show links between Juan Pedro Damiani, a Uruguayan lawyer and long-serving member of the ethics committee, and Eugenio Figueredo, a former senior Fifa vice-president recently accused of corruption, are far more extensive than previously known.

 

[Out 1]

This is major.

Sadly, for this to make a lasting impact, corruption is not interesting enough. Especially in the countries outside the West, where people are conditioned to it.

Russia losing the hosting rights for the 2018 World Cup is probably the next step in the ongoing shift of Putin's image in the West.

 

[Jackpot]

If you say so.

I can't imagine that anything is contained in them they we all didn't already expect to be there.

Is the oil industry scummy? Yeah, but that is hardly "news".

Apathetic slobs like you are the reason corruption continues unchecked.

 

[Vastag]

The interview with the prime minister of iceland is great just for his face when the reporter asks him about his offshore company.

 

[Perfect Blue]

If you say so.

I can't imagine that anything is contained in them they we all didn't already expect to be there.

Is the oil industry scummy? Yeah, but that is hardly "news".

Another quality post from Wafflecakes.

 

[Phantast2k]

The Panama Papers: Victims of Offshore - YouTube

2.6 terabytes? I wonder who's involved.

As for the country leaders:

https://panamapapers.icij.org/the_power_players/

 

[ICKE]

Apparently lots of people from Finland as well.

I hope this thing blows all this nonsense wide open.

 

[GAMEPROFF]

Oh wie schön ist Panama.


Cant wait to see who is involved.

 

[No Love]

Wow disgusting. All of the conspiracy theories don't sound so far-fetched now...

 

[Vice]

If you say so.

I can't imagine that anything is contained in them they we all didn't already expect to be there.

Is the oil industry scummy? Yeah, but that is hardly "news".

The confirmation of what people suspect is news. Look at Fifa or the Olympjcs. Everyone "knew" there were bribes going on but, once it was confirmed action happened that resukted in some lunishment and tarnished the organizations.
Same as when an athlete gets caught doping. Or, when the environmental impact of something that seems bad is shown to actually be bad.

 

[Log4Girlz]

How do I get in on the off shore action?

 

[Dingens]

can't wait for some leaks about my own country... somehow it doesn't feel right to point fingers at others when I'm sure that the elected scum over here is just as bad... or arguably even worse? Dictators and others like them never claimed to be morally pure after all.

 

[Ether_Snake]

The way this is going to have an impact is locally, and in scattered manner, as local news organizations bring this up. Expect any opposition party that isn't involved to have more arguments to make some politicians fall. Don't expect arrests or anything like that. Chances are the biggest impacts will be in northern European countries (Finland, Iceland, Denmark, etc.), maybe Canada too, because those are some of the few places were people will put pressure. For the rest, not much. MAYBE a bit in south America, mainly Argentina and Brazil.

Should have an impact over the next two years or so, but other than people swapping seats I am not sure it will do much, certainly nothing that will be changed on a systemic level, especially since big media are going to waste a lot of time on Putin and Fifa, the later being pretty much about Putin anyway.

 

[Strax]

Iceland Prime Minister

Damn
Damn
Damn

 

[joe2187]

Russia losing the hosting rights for the 2018 World Cup is probably the next step in the ongoing shift of the Putin's image in the West.

This is something that needs to happen. The farce that was the 2014 olympics was something that has always bothered me.

 

[Phantast2k]

can't wait for some leaks about my own country... somehow it doesn't feel right to point fingers at others when I'm sure that the elected scum over here is just as bad... or arguably even worse? Dictators and others like them never claimed to be morally pure after all.

Plenty of people on this list claim to be morally pure, especially the dictators.

Our politicians are scrutinized quite a lot, tbh. Even for the slightest of missteps (like plagiarizing in PhD dissertations or getting slightly lower mortgage interest rates through friends). I love it.

And this leak does at least contain evidence against German managers:

So lässt sich in den Unterlagen beispielsweise nachvollziehen, wie Siemens-Manager die Dienste genutzt haben, um mutmaßlich Schwarzgelder in die eigene Tasche umzuleiten.

https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/panamapapers-103.html

/

This is something that needs to happen. The farce that was the 2014 olympics was something that has always bothered me.

This needed to happen yesterday.

 

[Vastag]

especially since big media are going to waste a lot of time on Putin and Fifa, the later being pretty much about Putin anyway.

I'm kinda curious about how the russian media is covering this. Any RussiaGAF can tell us?

 

[Kodaman]

Oh boy.

Here we go... again.

 

[Condom]

Guys guys capitalism is the least worst system and please don't raise my taxes or I'll leave the country

Fuck the rich.

 

[Phantast2k]

@guradiannews
Guardian front page, Monday 4 April 2016: The secret $2bn trail of deals that lead all the way to Putin

Lovely video here: Iceland’s prime minister walks out of interview over tax haven question – video | News | The Guardian

Also holy shit at Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president - what a cunt:

Panama Papers - Poroschenkos Feldpost - Politik - Süddeutsche.de (paywalled)
"At the high point of the war (when Russia intervened directly & massively) Poroshenko sent out an e-mail about the founding of a letterbox corporation"

 

[chadskin]

President Poroshenko's Secret Offshore Deals, Revealed

Our investigation concludes that President Poroshenko was creating sophisticated financial structures to avoid paying taxes to the Ukrainian state.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

Well, all those skyscrapers in Panama didnt built themselves

 

[Damerman]

Why is iceland always in the middle of huge scandals? Weren't they one of the major catalysts for the 2008 financial crisis?

 

[Wilsongt]

Will anything substantial happen to any big world powers? Maybe something in Iceland and Pakistan, but Russia? Dubai? Saudi Arabia? Nah...

 

[Damerman]

Probably not.

The last dozen or so releases haven't had any broad impact at all. Half of the time they aren't even worth mentioning on the news.

Can you point to some leaks that have been this big that largely went unnoticed?

 

[Zolf]

Guys guys capitalism is the least worst system and please don't raise my taxes or I'll leave the country

Fuck the rich.

Clearly the free market is what gives these world leaders the power to give government contracts to their friends.

 

[Out 1]

I'm kinda curious about how the russian media is covering this. Any RussiaGAF can tell us?

Independent outlets (like meduza.io, Rain TV channel, slon.ru) are covering it. Echo FM station, judging by their website, is also reporting the leak. They are owned by Gazprom, but are kept semi-independent so the intelligentsia has some outlet to blow off steam. Nothing so far from pro-government or government-owned news agencies. And I'm 99.99% certain the state TV is going to ignore this.

Someone who actually lives in Russia should have a better perspective than me, as the above is just a result of a quick search.

 

[Wafflecakes]

The confirmation of what people suspect is news. Look at Fifa or the Olympjcs. Everyone "knew" there were bribes going on but, once it was confirmed action happened that resukted in some lunishment and tarnished the organizations.
Same as when an athlete gets caught doping. Or, when the environmental impact of something that seems bad is shown to actually be bad.

Fair enough.

Maybe this will be a smoking gun. I guess I am just pessimistic because the last few releases were duds.

 

[Deleted member 13876]

The streets are humming, I can feel what's coming
I say uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh.

 

[Dingens]

Plenty of people on this list claim to be morally pure, especially the dictators.

Our politicians are scrutinized quite a lot, tbh. Even for the slightest of missteps (like plagiarizing in PhD dissertations or getting slightly lower mortgage interest rates through friends). I love it. [...]

not enough yet... I'm more looking for hypocrisy, mainly. Like people from the IMF, CDU or others who talk about austerity and such, how important it is for everyone to pay their debt/taxes while at the same time screwing the whole system

President Poroshenko's Secret Offshore Deals, Revealed

or something like this, lol
going into bed with ass holes just because the oppose other ass holes doesn't never made much sense too me and should be called out as much as possible.

 

[Kodaman]

welp...
http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2016/apr/03/icelands-prime-minister-walks-out-of-interview-over-tax-haven-question-video

Edit: beaten

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

holy shit