A Handful Of Very Big Dirty Little Secrets - Panama Papers

[LiberalArkie]

One April morning in 2014, Jurgen Mossack, the tall, German-born co-founder of the prominent Panama City law firm Mossack Fonseca, shot off an agitated email with the subject line “Serious Matter URGENT” to three top members of his staff. There was trouble brewing in the British Virgin Islands, a “secrecy jurisdiction” whose white-sand beaches and blue Caribbean waters conceal a barely-regulated haven for people who wish to create shell corporations. Many of those people employ Mossack Fonseca to perform precisely this service.

“Swindled investors call the office constantly. We need to resign from this company immediately,” Mossack wrote. “At any moment, the police arrive, and we end up in the newspapers.”

As a “registered agent,” Mossack Fonseca provides the paperwork, signatures, and mailing addresses that breathe life into shell companies established in tax havens around the world -- holding companies that often create nothing and sell nothing, but shelter assets with maximum concealment and a minimum of fuss.

Jurgen wanted to pull the plug on representing one such firm that was raising red flags. For weeks, investors in an entity called Swiss Group Corporation had been contacting Mossack Fonseca, wondering why their annuity payments had suddenly stopped, why they had received only vague emails, whether they had been a victim of a fraud.

Snip

http://interactive.fusion.net/dirty-little-secrets/index.html

[elljay]

1. Anyone have the list of Americans?

I can't wait to see which of our oligarchs were avoiding taxes with this company. Of course, this is the tip of the iceberg- there are many other firms providing this tax avoidance service.

[LiberalArkie]

3. From the Reddit live feed

Reminder that news should be slow until tomorrow, when things should blow up as more documents are released. There is a possibility of known American officials being added to the list. As it stands, neither Putin nor Cameron have responded to allegations. /u/Noahdutch

https://www.reddit.com/live/wp1fvdxxwb45/

[LiberalArkie]

4. And remember only 149 out of 11 million documents have been released so far.

[Octafish]

6. It may be a good time to invest in adult diapers.

It's going to be something after the opening bell tomorrow.

PS: I am so proud of McClatchy Newspapers: TRUE JOURNALISM AS DESCRIBED IN THE FIRST AMENDMENT.

[elljay]

8. Nah.

You're analyzing this like a regular human being instead of as a narcissistic, sociopathic oligarch (which is actually a good thing. ). Remember that you are more likely to go to jail for smoking a joint than any of these people are for massive criminal tax evasion. Another reason we need a political revolution- they absolutely SHOULD be wetting their pants instead of getting their PR firms and attorneys ready to manage the situation with minimal consequences.

[rpannier]

11. Their PR people are on it

We'll find out how they didn't break any laws and that they are the true victims of this electronic lynching

[elljay]

9. Thanks

I confess to a bit of anticipated schadenfreude. I know quite a few incredibly wealthy people here in Silicon Valley and there are several I wouldn't mind seeing taken down a peg (if only for their massive contributions to Republicans and equally massive arrogance). My bad, but I follow the law and have no sympathy for people who don't out of greed.

[rpannier]

10. You'll know when (if) those names are being released

We'll be treated to a litany of "Having off-shore accounts doesn't mean any laws have been broken." stories
Stories of how it wasn't illegal and how they did it for business purposes. They weren't trying to evade taxes
We'll probably get a half-dozen 'human interest' stories where they interview these 'victims' of misinformation and how they're being unfairly hassled on social media

[bemildred]

2. For people who want (not very reliable) news:

Panama Papers Live Update Thread: https://www.reddit.com/live/wp1fvdxxwb45/

Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Papers#Partial_list_of_named_individuals

[bemildred]

5. PanamaPapers corruption scandal breaks the Internet

A year-long investigation revealing how many of the world's wealthiest individuals, including notable politicians and world leaders, hid billions of dollars in offshore shell companies broke the Internet Sunday.

The news of the 11.5-million document cache —accusing 140 leaders of evading taxes or laundering money through a network of offshore companies — went viral as many expressed their shock and outrage about the money rings tied to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Iceland Prime Minister Davíð Gunnlaugsson and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin , among others.

Dozens of journalists, who spent a year sifting through the data leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca , drew connections between the network and 72 current or former heads of state, highlighting several conflicts of interest. Some of the accounts were traced back to relatives and close friends of the leaders, like the cellist who was childhood friends with Putin. Others were directly linked.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/04/03/panama-papers-investigation-trending/82590686/

[bemildred]

7. NYT: Leaked Files Detail Offshore Accounts Tied to World Leaders

WASHINGTON — A group of news media outlets published articles on Sunday based on what they said were 11.5 million leaked documents from a Panama law firm that helped some of the world’s wealthiest people — including politicians, athletes and business moguls — establish offshore bank accounts.

The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung said its reporters had obtained the documents from a confidential source. The newspaper then shared the files with other media organizations, like The Guardian and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

In an article, the investigative journalism organization said the documents revealed the offshore accounts of 140 politicians and public officials, including a dozen current and former world leaders and several individuals with close ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. The organization said reporters at 100 news media outlets working in 25 languages had used the documents to investigate the law firm, Mossack Fonseca, and its clients, including political figures in countries like Iceland, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

It is not illegal in many cases to have offshore bank accounts. But they are used in some instances by wealthy individuals and criminals to hide money and business transactions, and to avoid paying taxes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/04/us/politics/leaked-documents-offshore-accounts-putin.html