Panama Papers

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{{economics}}
The '''Panama Papers''' were a collection of 11.5 million documents leaked in 2015 that some anonymous person stole from the exclusive Panamanian law firm {{wpl|Mossack Fonseca||.}} The '''Paradise Papers''' was a further trove of 13.4 million electronic documents on offshore funds that were leaked by two [[German]] reporters in 2017,<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-a-german-newspaper-became-the-go-to-place-for-leaks-like-the-paradise-papers How a German Newspaper Became the Go-To Place for Leaks Like the Paradise Papers] by Elisabeth Zerofsky (November 11, 2017) ''The New Yorker''.</ref> one of whom was later killed by a car bomb. The documents were leaked to the [[media]] and revealed that a large number of respectable citizens of various countries were actually being very naughty and hiding money offshore. The papers identified money belonging to close friends and family members of the leaders of 40 countries, including £10 million of Queen [[Elizabeth II]]'s private money. This was widely reported and very embarrassing to everyone concerned. The now-defunct Mossack Fonseca maintained that they did nothing wrong, and any illegality definitely had nothing to do with the funds and companies they are directly managing.

==Some people named in the Panama Papers==
The "power players":<ref>[https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/the-power-players/ The Power Players] International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
</ref>
*Ian Cameron, father of the former British Prime Minister [[David Cameron]], who founded a company, using the service of a Bahamian bishop, to manage money of various clients, avoiding all UK taxes for 30+ years.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/04/panama-papers-david-cameron-father-tax-bahamas Fund run by David Cameron’s father avoided paying tax in Britain]</ref>
*Children of the former [[Pakistan]]i Prime Minister [[Nawaz Sharif]] who were convicted and sentenced to prison in Pakistan as a result of the case.<ref>[https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/former-pakistan-pm-sharif-sentenced-to-10-years-over-panama-papers/ Former Pakistan PM Sharif Sentenced To 10 Years Over Panama Papers]</ref>
*[[Malcolm Turnbull]] — former Prime Minister of [[Australia]] — due to his service on the board of directors of an Australian subsidiary registered in the British Virgin Islands to mine in Siberia.<ref>[https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/stories/malcolm-turnbull ICIJ: Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull] </ref>

==Some people named in the Paradise Papers==
*Stephen Bronfman, the chief fundraiser for [[Canadian]] Prime Minister [[Justin Trudeau]] who used a Delaware company to loan money to a Cayman Islands trust controlled by a fellow Trudeau fundraiser, all after claiming to have no more offshore assets.<ref>[https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/stephen-bronfman-justin-trudeau-fundraiser-offshore-links-lasted-longer-than-admitted/ Stephen Bronfman’s Offshore Links Lasted Longer Than He Admitted]</ref>
*[[Queen Elizabeth II]], via the Duchy of Lancaster, invested in a Cayman Islands fund that, in turn, ran a UK-based rent-to-own company charging up to 99.9% interest rates.<ref name="offshore">[https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/paradise-papers-exposes-donald-trump-russia-links-and-piggy-banks-of-the-wealthiest-1-percent/ Offshore Trove Exposes Trump-Russia links and Piggy Banks of the Wealthiest 1 Percent] International Consortium of Investigative Journalists</ref>
*A dozen men connected to [[Donald Trump]]:<ref>[https://projects.icij.org/paradise-papers/the-influencers/#/ The Influencers] International Consortium of Investigative Journalists</ref>
**Sheldon Adelson, a major campaign donor who avoided US taxes by paying Bermuda-based companies controlled by him and his wife to operate private jets in Las Vegas.<ref name="Seven">[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/07/us-republican-donors-offshore-paradise-papers The seven Republican super-donors who keep money in tax havens] </ref>
**Thomas J. Barack, Jr., a major campaign donor who used a Delaware company to route money to a tax-free Cayman Islands subsidiary investing in distressed real estate and then, in turn, back to a second Delaware company.<ref name="Inner">[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/05/wealthy-men-donald-trump-inner-circle-links-tax-havens The wealthy men in Trump's inner circle with links to tax havens]</ref>
**{{wpl|Gary Cohn (investment banker)|Gary Cohn|,}} chief economic adviser and president or vice-president of at least 22 Bermuda companies on behalf of his employer, Goldman Sachs.<ref name="Inner"/> 
**{{wpl|Carl Icahn||,}} a former Trump adviser whose Brazilian mining company, actually based in the Isle of Man, operated mines in Brazil via subsidaries in Luxemburg and Malta, and, thus, coincidentally obscuring holdings from the US.<ref name="Inner"/>
**The [[Koch brothers]], launched a major campaign in support of Trumps' tax plan who used a Bermuda-based subsidiary to avoid taxes on US and UK based paper companies.<ref name="Seven"/>
**{{wpl|Robert Mercer (businessman)|Robert Mercer|,}} a major campaign donor whose foundation, funded by $60 million from accounts in Bermuda, supported 2016 Republican political causes.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/07/steve-bannon-bermuda-robert-mercer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top-stories Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon's attacks on Hillary Clinton]</ref>
**{{wpl|Geoffrey Palmer (real estate developer)|Geoffrey Palmer|,}} a major campaign donor who shifted ownership of his personal jet to Bermuda for some reason<ref name="Seven"/>
**{{wpl|Randal Quarles||,}} vice chairman for supervision at the Federal Reserve who invested a bank in the Bahamas that subsequently paid nearly $5 million to the IRS for tax evasion<ref name="Inner"/><ref>[https://www.caymancompass.com/2016/03/15/butterfield-bank-discloses-possible-us4-8m-payment/ Butterfield Bank discloses possible US$4.8M payment]</ref>
**{{wpl|Wilbur Ross||,}} current Secretary of Commerce whose direct and indirect holdings in 6 Bermuda-based entities owned a large stake in Navigator Holdings whose clients included Silbur, a company owned by Vladimir Putin's son-in-law.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/leaked-documents-show-commerce-secretary-concealed-ties-putin-cronies-n817711 Paradise Papers: Leaks Show Wilbur Ross Hid Ties to Putin Cronies]</ref><ref name="offshore"/>
**{{wpl|Stephen Schwarzman||,}} chairman of the White House business advisory council whose Blackstone Group avoided all taxes on UK rental property via a Jersey trust fund and a Luxemburg subsidiary.<ref>[https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/blackstone-group-uses-fairly-aggressive-tactics-slash-tax-bill/ How Blackstone Group Uses ‘Fairly Aggressive’ Tactics To Slash Its Tax Bill]</ref>
**{{wpl|Paul E. Singer||,}} a major campaign donor who used a Cayman Island's subsidiary to file lawsuits in the UK and the British Virgin Islands to force an African country to repay ~$100,000,000 in 20 year old distressed loans.<ref name="Seven"/>
**[[Rex Tillerson]], former Secretary of State who headed up ExxonMobil, the corporate owner of at least 35 subsidiaries in the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Bermuda, holding at least $51 billion in offshore assets.<ref name="Inner"/>

==External links==
*[https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/ The Panama Papers] — International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
*[https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/ Paradise Papers] — International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Documents]]
[[Category:Financial fraud]]
[[Category:Journalism]]
[[Category:Panama]]
[[Category:Tax]]

Categories: Documents, Financial fraud, Journalism, Panama, Tax