Around 12 million documents, 14 financial organizations and institutions, as well as 600 journalists in 117 countries – this is the largest leak of documents in the history of offshore zones around the world, called the “Pandora” dossiers, shows an investigation published yesterday. Consortium for Investigative Journalism (ICJ), quoted by Franz Pres.
And it reveals how more than 330 politicians and high-ranking officials have evaded taxes, managed huge assets in offshore areas and made dubious deals.
174 of the companies are related to owners from our country. The revelations are the work of an international consortium of investigative journalists. According to the documents, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš, for example, has declared an offshore company through which he bought villas in France worth 22 million dollars. King Abdullah II of Jordan owns real estate worth about $ 100 million.
The list of shares in offshore companies or transactions concluded through such companies also includes the President of Ukraine – Volodymyr Zelensky, his colleagues from Cyprus and Kenya. According to the data – the 11-year-old son of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev – Haidar, owns property in London for about 44 million dollars.
“We have emails, copies of passports, bank statements showing how presidents, kings, princesses, billionaires and criminals have been hiding money and managing cash flows,” said Will Fitzgibbon of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
According to the documents, the King of Jordan Abdullah II has established at least 30 offshore companies in countries or territories representing a “tax haven”. Through these companies, he bought 14 luxury properties in the United States and the United Kingdom for over $ 106 million.
Czech Prime Minister Andrei Babis has invested $ 22 million in fictitious companies, which he used to finance the purchase of a large property known as Mujac.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not directly mentioned in the documents, but he is linked to secret assets in Monaco through collaborators.
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Laco has invested in two thirds based in the US state of South Dakota.
The Journalists’ Consortium has established links between offshore assets and 336 senior politicians and civil servants, including heads of state, ministers, ambassadors and others.
Two of the politicians in question are from Bulgaria. However, their names will not be mentioned.
Among the celebrities mentioned in the investigation are Colombian singer Shakira, German model Claudia Schiffer and an Indian woman.
In most countries, investing in offshore companies and accounts is not prosecuted. However, when it comes to statesmen, the consortium points out that some of them often talk about the fight against corruption.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (IJIS) was established in 1997 by the American Center for Political Honesty in 2017. Its network includes 280 investigative journals in over 100 countries and territories, as well as about 100 media partners.
