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Paradise Papers

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For the 1976 book by Merlin Stone, see The Paradise Papers (book).

Countries with politicians, public officials or close associates implicated in the leak on 5 November 2017

The Paradise Papers are a set of 13.4 million leaked documents relating to offshore investment. It contains the names of more than 120,000 people and companies.[1] Among those whose financial affairs are mentioned are Queen Elizabeth II,[2] and US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross.[3]

Background

The documents were acquired by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, which was also the newspaper which obtained the Panama Papers in 2016.[3] The Süddeutsche Zeitung contacted the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) which has been investigating the documents, together with 100 media partners.[3]

The papers include records leaked from an offshore law firm Appleby,[4] although the company has released a statement stating there has been "no evidence of wrongdoing".[5]

Companies named

Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, EBay, Glencore, Uber and Nike are also among the companies owning offshore companies according to the papers.[6]

People named

See also: List of people named in the Paradise Papers
Bono is named in the papers

Europe

The Paradise Papers revealed that Queen Elizabeth II held investments in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda via The Duchy of Lancaster[4]

Ireland

Irish musician Bono is listed in the papers.[7]

Lithuania

Antanas Guoga, a Member of the European Parliament, is named in the papers.[8]

Montenegro

Ana Kolarevic, sister of the former Montenegrin Prime Minister and President Milo Đukanović, who was in power from 1991 to 2016, is listed in the Paradise Papers.[9]

Spain

In Spain, the first political authority that appears is the former mayor of Barcelona and current councilor, Xavier Trias,[10] artist José María Cano and billionaire Daniel Maté.[11]

United Kingdom

The papers reveal that Queen Elizabeth II held investments in the two British Overseas Territories Cayman Islands and Bermuda via The Duchy of Lancaster. Investments included Threshers off-licence and rent-to-own retailer BrightHouse.[12]

North America

Canada

Former Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien

Three former Canadian Prime Ministers are implicated in the Paradise Papers: Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin, and Brian Mulroney.[13] According to the papers, Stephen Bronfman, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s adviser and close friend, teamed up with former Liberal Party Senator Leo Kolber whose son moved millions of dollars to a Cayman trust.[14] The offshore maneuvers may have avoided taxes in Canada, the United States and Israel, according to experts who reviewed some of the 3,000-plus files detailing the trust's activities.

United States

According to the papers, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross holds stakes in businesses which deal with Russian oligarchs Leonid Mikhelson and Gennady Timchenko who are subject to U.S. sanctions,[3] as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin's son-in-law Krill Shamalov.[15] Other members of the Trump administration who appear in the documents include U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Gary D. Cohn, the director of the U.S. National Economic Council.[15] Overall, more than a dozen Trump cabinet members, major donors and advisers appear in the documents and are linked with offshore accounts. These include the major donor Robert Mercer and Sheldon Adelson.[16][17]

The documents also revealed that Russian state organizations with ties to Putin pursued large investments in Facebook and Twitter via the intermediary of Russian Jewish entrepreneur Yuri Milner, a business associate of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law.[18]

American singer Madonna, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and former NATO supreme commander in Europe General Wesley Clark are also named in the papers.[19]

Africa

Liberia

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is listed in the Paradise Papers

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is listed in the papers as a director of the Bermuda company Songhai Financial Holdings Ltd. a subsidiary of Databank’s finance, fund management and investment company Databank Brokerage Ltd., from April 2001 until September 2012.[20] Ghanaian Minister for Finance and Economic Planning Ken Ofori-Atta, was a co-founder of Databank and a co-director, with Johnson Sirleaf, of Songhai Financial Holdings.

Nigeria

President of the Nigerian Senate Bukola Saraki is listed in the papers as a director and a shareholder of Tenia Ltd., a company established in the Cayman Islands in April 2001.[21]

Asia

India

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, Rajya Sabha MP Ravindra Kishore Sinha and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan are listed in the papers. Among the companies listed in the papers are Apollo Tyres, Emaar MGF, GMR Group, Havells, Hindujas, Jindal Steel and Videocon.[22]

Japan

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is listed in the papers.[23]

Pakistan

File:Shaukat Aziz handout pic 2013.jpg
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz

From Pakistan, former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is listed in the papers, having set up a trust called the Antarctic Trust in Delaware.[24] and a Business Magnate, now based in Dubai, Salman Ghani is listed for sheltering his wealth in secretive tax havens and offshore empires.[25]

Middle East

Jordan

Queen Noor of Jordan is listed in the papers as the beneficiary of two trusts registered in Jersey.[26] One of the trusts, the Valentine 1997 Trust, was valued at more than $40 million in 2015, and its income is to be paid to the queen during her lifetime. The trust also owns property in southern England adjacent to Buckhurst Park, Sussex. The other trust, the Brown Discretionary Settlement, is the beneficial owner of a Jersey-incorporated investment holding company with assets worth c. $18.7 million in 2015.

Syria

Rami Makhlouf, reportedly Syria's wealthiest man, is listed in the papers.[27]

Turkey

The sons of Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım are listed in the papers.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Paradise Papers: Your guide to four years of offshore revelations". BBC News. 5 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Paradise Papers: Queen's private estate invested £10m in offshore funds". BBC News. BBC Panorama. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Paradise Papers: Tax haven secrets of ultra-rich exposed". BBC News. BBC Panorama. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Offshore trove exposes Trump-Russia links and piggy banks of the wealthiest 1 percent". MPR News. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Offshore law firm Appleby's response: 'no evidence of wrongdoing'". The Guardian. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "'Paradise papers' expose tax evasion schemes of the global elite". Deutsche Welle. 5 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Paradise Papers: Queen and Bono kept money in offshore funds, leaked files reveal". The Daily Telegraph. 5 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Antanas Guoga". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Paradise Papers | Power players with interests in Malta companies". Malta Today. 5 November 2017.
  10. ^ Olmo, José María (5 November 2017). "Trias participated as a beneficiary in an offshore trust of the RBS Coutts bank in Switzerland" (in Spanish). El Confidencial. Retrieved 5 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ "The Spaniards of the 'Papers of Paradise': Xavier Trias, José María Cano and Daniel Maté" (in Spanish). El Economista. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Osborne, Hilary (5 November 2017). "Revealed: Queen's private estate invested millions of pounds offshore". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "Huge offshore data leak reveals financial secrets of global elites — from the Queen to former PMs". CBC News. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  14. ^ "Offshore Trove Exposes Trump-Russia Links And Piggy Banks Of The Wealthiest 1 Percent". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  15. ^ a b McIntire, Mike; Chavkin, Sasha; Hamilton, Martha M. (5 November 2017). "Commerce Secretary's Offshore Ties to Putin 'Cronies'". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "The Influencers - Paradise Papers". ICIJ. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  17. ^ "Paradise Papers Exposes Donald Trump-Russia links and Piggy Banks of the Wealthiest 1 Percent". ICIJ. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  18. ^ Swaine, Jon; Harding, Luke (5 November 2017). "Russia funded Facebook and Twitter investments through Kushner associate". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "Trump’s cabinet members amongst those named in Paradise Papers". Daily Balochistan Express. 6 November 2017.
  20. ^ "Ellen Johnson Sirleaf". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  21. ^ "Bukola Saraki". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  22. ^ "Paradise Papers: Biggest data leak reveals trails of Indian corporates in global secret tax havens". The Indian Express. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  23. ^ "Paradise Papers: ICIJ releases another database revealing offshore companies". Geo TV. 6 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Paradise Papers: ICIJ names Pakistanis Shaukat Aziz and Ayaz Khan Niazi". Geo.tv. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  25. ^ Paradise Papers : Secrets of the Global Elite www.ICIJ.org November 5, 2017]
  26. ^ "Noor al-Hussein". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  27. ^ International Consortium of Investigative Journalists https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/stories/rami-makhlouf. Retrieved 5 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. ^ "Four Things The Paradise Papers Tells Us About Malta". Lovin Malta. 5 November 2017.
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