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[Elfforkusu]

ICIJ's Walker on why some well-known outlets were not among the reporting partners:

http://mashable.com/2016/04/04/panama-papers-media/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link#.6CTeXEoOgqm

The New York Times has already indicated that they'll likely gain access to the documents.

The Intercept or bust

 

[BrokenFiction]

The Intercept or bust

Truth right here.

 

[Red Devil]

Appears as if Messi is suing the newspaper that outed him and his father

Not gonna fly, they're on thin ice as it's, plus it seems they had the delicacy of founding the company about 1 day after they had been to court, tsk.

Argentina, México, Spain, Bolivia.... those are what exactly?

Also Chile, Ecuador, France, Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom and others, likely more to come is my guess.

 

[M3z_]

The Intercept or bust

Yes please.

 

[KernelPanic]

I'm shocked the Intercept isn't in on this

 

[chadskin]

Americans, including a Bellevue man, show up in Panama Papers

The passports of at least 200 Americans, including a Bellevue man, show up in this week’s massive leak of secret data on secretive offshore shell companies.

Given the high-profile nature of some of the foreign names in the leaks — close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin were seen moving more than $2 billion through shell companies — many of the Americans may seem like small fish.

In four separate cases, the law firm Mossack Fonseca helped register offshore companies for Americans who are now either accused or convicted by federal prosecutors of serious financial crimes, including securities fraud and running a Ponzi scheme.

In some cases, the shell companies created through the Panamanian law firm were part of fraudulent activities. In others, it’s not clear. That’s the purpose of shell companies, after all, to shelter money or assets.

Determining a precise number of Americans in the data is difficult. There are at least 200 scanned individual U.S. passports. Some appear to be American retirees purchasing real estate in places like Costa Rica and Panama. Also in the database, about 3,500 shareholders of offshore companies who list U.S. addresses. And almost 3,100 companies are tied to offshore professionals based in Miami, New York and other parts of the United States.

 

[Lime]

I wonder the logic of billionaires is. How much more money do you need? People are working 3 jobs just to survive while others are turning to crime as not to die, and you can't live if you "lose" part of your millions of dollars to a society that allows you to make money in the first place? Get the fuck out of here!

All the while you have politicians doing austerity measures, fucking over the poor and disabled, cutting back on education and healthcare, because otherwise we cannot survive? Fuck this is making my shit boil so much.

Fuck humanity.

 

[bodyboarder]

I wonder the logic of billionaires is. How much more money do you need? People are working 3 jobs just to survive while others are turning to crime as not to die, and you can't live if you "lose" part of your millions of dollars to a society that allows you to make money in the first place? Get the fuck out of here!

All the while you have politicians doing austerity measures, fucking over the poor and disabled, cutting back on education and healthcare, because otherwise we cannot survive? Fuck this is making my shit boil so much.

Fuck humanity.

You don't get to be super rich by giving money away. Most of the time it's just a game to them.

 

[BeerSnob]

I wonder the logic of billionaires is. How much more money do you need? People are working 3 jobs just to survive while others are turning to crime as not to die, and you can't live if you "lose" part of your millions of dollars to a society that allows you to make money in the first place? Get the fuck out of here!

All the while you have politicians doing austerity measures, fucking over the poor and disabled, cutting back on education and healthcare, because otherwise we cannot survive? Fuck this is making my shit boil so much.

Fuck humanity.

You get rich by taking money from others or you're born into it, either way the wealthy have a very good chance of being horrible people.

 

[TyrantII]

I wonder the logic of billionaires is. How much more money do you need? People are working 3 jobs just to survive while others are turning to crime as not to die, and you can't live if you "lose" part of your millions of dollars to a society that allows you to make money in the first place? Get the fuck out of here!

All the while you have politicians doing austerity measures, fucking over the poor and disabled, cutting back on education and healthcare, because otherwise we cannot survive? Fuck this is making my shit boil so much.

Fuck humanity.

It's not about money, it's about power. Money = power.

It's really that simple.

 

[Gallbaro]

As someone who has pitched businesses to billionaires for Angel Money.

I cannot figure out their motivation at all. "Give me money so I can make you a return that you will never notice!"

 

[Lime]

You don't get to be super rich by giving money away. Most of the time it's just a game to them.

It's not about money, it's about power. Money = power.

It's really that simple.

So hoarding money at the expense of other people's well-being is just like a F2P mechanic.

Another proof that humans are fundamentally immoral or predisposed to do immoral actions and we need systems and laws in place to curb it.

 

[norinrad]

So hoarding money at the expense of other people's well-being is just like a F2P mechanic.

Another proof that humans are fundamentally immoral or predisposed to do immoral actions and we need systems and laws in place to curb it.

Well the wealth never did trickle down. If only we could pull Thatcher and that actor out of their graves and put them on trial for crimes against humanity.

 

[Chichikov]

Ehhh, I get where you're coming from, but I don't know what other option there is. Do assets suddenly become public information if you have over a set amount? That'll just make people put money in trusts and other asset holders. Does the government then have the right to trace money to its source? That raises serious questions about government overreach and the right to privacy.

I do agree that more transparency is good and that this leak has shown a glimpse of some the clandestine dealings of the rich and powerful. But I have no idea how to address that without investing governments with incredible powers of search.

You already have to declare every foreign bank account that have more than $10,000 in it.
It's just that rich people and money launderers are able to skirt around all of that shit.

I should note that I'm not a huge fan of the way these laws are currently implemented, mainly because it inconvenient and potentially fucks normal people who just try to abide by the laws and doesn't stop determined people with enough resources, but that's a problem of implementation, not of conception.
And while I do recognize the issue of privacy, remember that domestic banks already reports a whole lot to the IRS as it is, you can argue if that's a good or a bad thing (I see it as sadly a necessary evil if you want to have anything resembling a fair tax system that does not reward cheaters) but I don't think extending that shit to shady offshore accounts moves the needle all that much on that question.

 

[Frodo]

I'm here patiently waiting for more dirt to be dug.

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

 

[Royal_Phalanx]

You don't get to be super rich by giving money away. Most of the time it's just a game to them.

Humans are greedy as fuck, nothing is enough for human beings.

 

[Lime]

I'm here patiently waiting for more dirt to be dug.

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

Every politician's spindoctor is working overtime thanks to this leak. Expect a lot of "we'll take appropriate steps etc." these coming days. And then nothing happens.

If someone gets directly caught, expect a lot of "I don't recall doing or saying X/Y/Z". We already have this today here in Denmark with two bankers saying something incriminating while visiting Panama in regards to giving advice about tax evasion, and the bank and the two bankers are saying "we can't recall saying something incriminating".

 

[Log4Girlz]

I wonder the logic of billionaires is. How much more money do you need? People are working 3 jobs just to survive while others are turning to crime as not to die, and you can't live if you "lose" part of your millions of dollars to a society that allows you to make money in the first place? Get the fuck out of here!

All the while you have politicians doing austerity measures, fucking over the poor and disabled, cutting back on education and healthcare, because otherwise we cannot survive? Fuck this is making my shit boil so much.

Fuck humanity.

If you make money, then you need to make all the money. It's a winner take all world. Imagine winning some sporting competition and you get not only the gold medal, but the silver and bronze to boot. That's basically the rich in the financial game.

It is not enough for the rich to succeed, others must fail.

 

[Foffy]

I wonder the logic of billionaires is. How much more money do you need? People are working 3 jobs just to survive while others are turning to crime as not to die, and you can't live if you "lose" part of your millions of dollars to a society that allows you to make money in the first place? Get the fuck out of here!

All the while you have politicians doing austerity measures, fucking over the poor and disabled, cutting back on education and healthcare, because otherwise we cannot survive? Fuck this is making my shit boil so much.

Fuck humanity.

When money is confused as wealth, and people confuse themselves as separate selves, this is the natural "law of attraction" to dangerously bad models of thought.

If I am separate and 'other' than you in a way that is not merely differentiation but division, my well being can be promoted at the expense of yours. Add a tool like money which now is used to use people and not merely a tool to use and you can easily see how it spirals and how so many have become players and pawns in an illogical game.

What we see here is yet another confusion via the production of egocentricity and incorrect beliefs, which then drive unaccountable behavior. It really is no different than theology and other dogmatisms.

 

[Lime]

In a just world, no individual person would be a billionaire. No one requires a thousand million dollars to live.

 

[nelsonroyale]

Humans are greedy as fuck, nothing is enough for human beings.

Try not to paint all humans with the same brush...Many of us recognise that you need to place checks and balances in systems to stop people from exercising excessive greed in the first place. Sure, some people are more fucking greedy that most of the rest of the world, and they shouldn't be able to get free reign. This is a systems failure. Human 'nature' is quite malleable... I was born in a household that considers ethics incredibly important and...suprise suprise I consider ethics incredibly important. I don't want to accumulate a vast amount of wealth for my personal use because I think it relies on fucking a lot of other people and other organisms over, and even blocks making progress in many aspects of wider society...

Lime: Agreed! One of the best things we can try to do, is live a just world in our actions and interactions. It is not easy.

 

[Palette Swap]

Oh hey, members of Marine Le Pen's close circle were apparently in there. Color me shocked that people bankrolled by Putin's friends would be laundering money.
Some patriots they are.

 

[faridmon]

I wonder the logic of billionaires is. How much more money do you need? People are working 3 jobs just to survive while others are turning to crime as not to die, and you can't live if you "lose" part of your millions of dollars to a society that allows you to make money in the first place? Get the fuck out of here!

All the while you have politicians doing austerity measures, fucking over the poor and disabled, cutting back on education and healthcare, because otherwise we cannot survive? Fuck this is making my shit boil so much.

Fuck humanity.

Its called ''Greed''

Humans are never satisfied

Why is this even a confusing concept to some of you?

Try not to paint all humans with the same brush...Many of us recognise that you need to place checks and balances in systems to stop people from exercising excessive greed in the first place. Sure, some people are more fucking greedy that most of the rest of the world, and they shouldn't be able to get free reign. This is a systems failure. Human 'nature' is quite malleable... I was born in a household that considers ethics incredibly important and...suprise suprise I consider ethics incredibly important. I don't want to accumulate a vast amount of wealth for my personal use because I think it relies on fucking a lot of other people and other organisms over, and even blocks making progress in many aspects of wider society...

Lime: Agreed! One of the best things we can try to do, is live a just world in our actions and interactions. It is not easy.

I am also from a household that tradition such as honesty and kindness was top of our lesson sheet, but you cannot ignore the fact that humans have moral complications where sometimes wrong is justified depending on situations and context. I bet those greedy assholes are thinking they are doing something right or justifying their actions, especially when charities and such are involved.

Never underestimate the susceptibility of one to fortune.

 

[MudoSkills]

Every politician's spindoctor is working overtime thanks to this leak. Expect a lot of "we'll take appropriate steps etc." these coming days. And then nothing happens.

Pretty much. From what I've read nobody in the UK who has been named is involved in anything juicy, just plain old tax avoidance.

Avoidance is a moral rather than a legal issue, so they can't really do anything about it.

And as we all know, the elite have no morals because they're all lizard people or robots.

 

[Funky Papa]

Pretty much. From what I've read nobody in the UK who has been named is involved in anything juicy, just plain old tax avoidance.

Avoidance is a moral rather than a legal issue, so they can't really do anything about it.

And as we all know, the elite have no morals because they're all lizard people or robots.

Panama's status as a tax shelter is controversial not because of tax avoidance schemes per se, but because the taxes being avoided there tend to come from ill gotten gains. The Channel Islands are the paragon of virtue in comparison. There's an awful amount of dirt in Panama that needs to be investigated.

 

[nelsonroyale]

Its called ''Greed''

Humans are never satisfied

Why is this even a confusing concept to some of you?


I am also from a household that tradition such as honesty and kindness was top of our lesson sheet, but you cannot ignore the fact that humans have moral complications where sometimes wrong is justified depending on situations and context. I bet those greedy assholes are thinking they are doing something right or justifying their actions, especially when charities and such are involved.

Never underestimate the susceptibility of one to fortune.

That is exactly what I am articulating. The corrupting influence of wealth and power has been recognised since even before the emergence of complex agriculture. Most people, including myself, are suscetiple when provided certain opportunities and insentives to pursue those opportunities. We can all do the mental gymnastics. We can't create those opportunities alone. Therefore, we need checks and balances in place. That is why aspects of free market ideology is so dangerous...There is always a delicate balance when human economies meet commercial economies.

Bloody hell...I need to edit my text. There are some crappy basic punctuation errors in what I write.

 

[Lime]

lol

 

[Funky Papa]

oop

 

[Minamu]

That's rich xD

 

[Phantast2k]

france 24 - Allies of National Front’s Marine Le Pen named in Panama Papers scandal - France 24

...

A businessman and an accountant with close links to Le Pen designed a “sophisticated offshore system” to transfer up to €275,000 out of France between 2013 and 2014, Le Monde reported on Tuesday.

Frédéric Chatillon, a longtime Le Pen friend and the head of the company that handled communications for her 2012 presidential bid, bought an offshore company called Time Dragon in May 2012.

Based in Hong Kong, Time Dragon was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands by the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, leaked documents showed.

Nicolas Crochet, an accounting expert who wrote Le Pen’s economic manifesto for the 2012 campaign, then suggested that his brother’s offshore company issue a fake invoice in 2013 for the creation of her campaign’s website, according to the leading French daily.

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

Much patriotism.

/China don't care:

China limits coverage and denounces Panama Papers' tax haven revelations | Reuters

China on Tuesday denounced accusations arising from a massive leak from a Panamanian law firm as "groundless" and moved to limit coverage of documents that may have exposed financial wrongdoing by some of the world's rich and powerful.

...

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, asked whether Beijing would investigate any of the offshore tax affairs of the relatives of top leaders mentioned in the papers, told a daily news briefing: "We won't comment on these groundless accusations."

State media have largely avoided any reporting of the "Panama Papers".

Searches for the word "Panama" on Chinese search engines bring up stories in Chinese media on the topic, but many of the links have been disabled or only open onto stories about allegations directed at sports stars.

Searches for "Panama Papers" in Chinese bring up a warning that the results "may not accord with relevant laws and rules so can't be shown".

China's Internet regulator did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But the Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, suggested in an editorial on Tuesday that Western media backed by Washington used such leaks to attack political targets in non-Western countries.

"The Western media has taken control of the interpretation each time there has been such a document dump, and Washington has demonstrated particular influence in it," the paper said.

"Information that is negative to the U.S. can always be minimised, while exposure of non-Western leaders, such as Putin, can get extra spin," it added.

...

 

[Peru]

Mossack Fonseca! What a wonderful phrase

Mossack Fonseca! Ain't no passing craze

It means no worries for the rest of your days

It's our problem-free philosophy

Mossack Fonseca!

 

[Alx]

Much patriotism.

Sadly the involvement of FN representatives in money laundering wouldn't even be big news if it wasn't part of that huge leak. It's not the first time they get caught for shady financial operations, I even think there was already an investigation on Chatillon before the leak went public.

 

[samn]

Well I'm sure Hillary Clinton will get to the bottom of this!

 

[FreedomFighter]

The Intercept or bust

That's really what we need.

I'm shocked the Intercept isn't in on this

Greenwald wrote one article and they're covering the Iceland protests but I don't think they have access, which is a shame.

 

[nelsonroyale]

Haha, Chinese government denounces them as groundless without actually having concrete knowledge of what has been revealed yet.

This is politics.

 

[Palculator]

This is politics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1rRszEYKdM

 

[RJT]

You know, guys, billionaires are just people. Some will do anything they can to avoid paying taxes (I know some poor people that do that too), and some will do reasonable stuff to pay a little less taxes (what basically most of us do). No need to generalize.

 

[Harmen]

Interestingly, the Dutch media reports state that there are also people on the list that are not (significantly) rich or just own a small bussiness, like a restaurant for example.

(source: http://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/blog-panama-papers-eerste-nederlandse-namen-bekend~a4275337/)

 

[Frodo]

You know, guys, billionaires are just people. Some will do anything they can to avoid paying taxes (I know some poor people that do that too), and some will do reasonable stuff to pay a little less taxes (what basically most of us do). No need to generalize.

Poor billionaires being victim of generalization. #NotAllBillionaires

 

[Grug]

And these guys are the fourth largest provider of offshore services. Imagine what secrets the top 3 have.

 

[Chariot]

Poor billionaires being victim of generalization. #NotAllBillionaires

The top 1% is literally only one percent of the population. It's a minority, constantly bullied by the majority of poor people.

 

[jorma]

lol

ahaha.

Snowden <3

 

[CadetMahoney]

"We'll take appropriate steps etc." these coming days. And then nothing happens.

And "raises serious concerns". . . nothing happens.

 

[Monkey_Plunkett]

For those of you wondering why no major western officials/leaders are being outed, yet.

Corporate Media Gatekeepers Protect Western 1% From Panama Leak 534

Whoever leaked the Mossack Fonseca papers appears motivated by a genuine desire to expose the system that enables the ultra wealthy to hide their massive stashes, often corruptly obtained and all involved in tax avoidance. These Panamanian lawyers hide the wealth of a significant proportion of the 1%, and the massive leak of their documents ought to be a wonderful thing.

Unfortunately the leaker has made the dreadful mistake of turning to the western corporate media to publicise the results. In consequence the first major story, published today by the Guardian, is all about Vladimir Putin and a cellist on the fiddle. As it happens I believe the story and have no doubt Putin is bent.

But why focus on Russia? Russian wealth is only a tiny minority of the money hidden away with the aid of Mossack Fonseca. In fact, it soon becomes obvious that the selective reporting is going to stink.

The Suddeutsche Zeitung, which received the leak, gives a detailed explanation of the methodology the corporate media used to search the files. The main search they have done is for names associated with breaking UN sanctions regimes. The Guardian reports this too and helpfully lists those countries as Zimbabwe, North Korea, Russia and Syria. The filtering of this Mossack Fonseca information by the corporate media follows a direct western governmental agenda. There is no mention at all of use of Mossack Fonseca by massive western corporations or western billionaires – the main customers. And the Guardian is quick to reassure that “much of the leaked material will remain private.”

What do you expect? The leak is being managed by the grandly but laughably named “International Consortium of Investigative Journalists”, which is funded and organised entirely by the USA’s Center for Public Integrity. Their funders include

Ford Foundation
Carnegie Endowment
Rockefeller Family Fund
W K Kellogg Foundation
Open Society Foundation (Soros)

among many others. Do not expect a genuine expose of western capitalism. The dirty secrets of western corporations will remain unpublished.

Expect hits at Russia, Iran and Syria and some tiny “balancing” western country like Iceland. A superannuated UK peer or two will be sacrificed – someone already with dementia.

The corporate media – the Guardian and BBC in the UK – have exclusive access to the database which you and I cannot see. They are protecting themselves from even seeing western corporations’ sensitive information by only looking at those documents which are brought up by specific searches such as UN sanctions busters. Never forget the Guardian smashed its copies of the Snowden files on the instruction of MI6.

What if they did Mossack Fonseca database searches on the owners of all the corporate media and their companies, and all the editors and senior corporate media journalists? What if they did Mossack Fonseca searches on all the most senior people at the BBC? What if they did Mossack Fonseca searches on every donor to the Center for Public Integrity and their companies?

What if they did Mossack Fonseca searches on every listed company in the western stock exchanges, and on every western millionaire they could trace?

That would be much more interesting. I know Russia and China are corrupt, you don’t have to tell me that. What if you look at things that we might, here in the west, be able to rise up and do something about?

And what if you corporate lapdogs let the people see the actual data?

UPDATE

Hundreds of thousands of people have read this post in the 11 hours since it was published – despite it being overnight here in the UK. There are 235,918 “impressions” on twitter (as twitter calls them) and over 3,700 people have “shared” so far on Facebook, bringing scores of new readers each.

I would remind you that this blog is produced free for the public good and you are welcome to republish or re-use this article or any other material freely anywhere without requesting further permission.

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/arch...tekeepers-protect-western-1-from-panama-leak/

 

[Lime]

And these guys are the fourth largest provider of offshore services. Imagine what secrets the top 3 have.

The top 3 will probably have beefed up their security immensely after this leak.

 

[Minamu]

I hope wikileaks or someone gets the documents too, then.

 

[witchedwiz]

2.6 terabytes? I wonder who's involved.

rather who's not involved among the very rich list

 

[chadskin]

New OCCPR story:

A high-profile Russian partner of Ukraine's top banker

The second-largest state-owned bank in Russia, VTB, is on very good terms with the Kremlin. It has been sanctioned by the US and European Union (EU) for Russia&#8217;s annexation of Crimea.

So it&#8217;s a little surprising that the bank is doing so well in neighboring Ukraine, where an on-again, off-again war simmers and sanctions have been traded like so many punches.

In fact, Ukraine&#8217;s top banking regulator, Valeriya Gontareva, the head of the National Bank of Ukraine, has defended and supported VTB, making sure the political problems have not become banking problems. That includes sanctions by the US and EU levied in July 2014 against VTB&#8217;s Ukrainian subsidiary.

&#8220;These are banks with Russian capital, but these are Ukrainian banks where our citizens keep their money, the banks that give loans to our firms and keep accounts of Ukrainian individuals and companies,&#8221; Gontareva said. She noted in December 2015 that the bank had been monitored by Ukraine&#8217;s National Bank since 2014 and said she has no complaints about its activities.

But Gontareva&#8217;s open-mindedness about a bank so closely associated with a Russian leadership that seized part of Ukraine and supports a separatist movement may be due to her financial ties with an official from the Russian VTB, including a still-unexplained US$ 10 million offshore loan given to her company six months before she took over as Ukraine&#8217;s top regulator. More so, documents appear to show that the wife of this same VTB official appears to have been Gontareva&#8217;s business partner.

 

[chadskin]

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.

 

[Strax]

LINK

President Refuses to Accept Dissolution of Parliament

The meeting of PM Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is over. The president just gave a press conference where he stated he had declined to accept Sigmundur’s request for permission to dissolve parliament. Difficulties within the coalition were apparent when the prime minister threatened on his Facebook page this morning he would dissolve parliament if the Independence Party did not have the courage to support the government in completing its projects. The crisis is the result of revelations made about Sigmundur's connection to a company in Tortola, which came to light following a leak of documents from a notorious Panama law firm.

In his opinion such a request could not be granted unless he knew there was support for the dissolution within both coalition parties. He said he was unaware of the Independence Party’s position. His plan is to meet with Finance Minister Bjarni Benediktsson later today.

Ólafur Ragnar said he wanted to find a successful solution to protect the reputation of the country.

Sigmundur would not speak to reporters as he left the president’s residence.

According to MP Karl Garðarsson, members of the Progressive Party were not consulted before the prime minister threatened to dissolve parliament.

RÚV asked the heads of all parties for their opinion of the suggestion of the dissolution of parliament. ”If I were a marriage consultant, I would say the marriage is over,” Katrín Jakobsdóttir, head of the Left-Green Movement said of the coalition government of the Progressive Party and the Independence Party.

When asked if the prime minister was trying to force the Independence Party to cooperate by threatening to dissolve parliament, MP Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, the Independence Party, said “No one beats the party to submission.” He said the interest of the nation had to be a priority.

Birgitta Jónsdóttir, head of the Pirate Party, reiterated that the prime minister should resign.

Head of Bright Future Óttarr Proppé described the situation Sigmundur is in as an “ethical shipwreck.”