Panama Papers leak: how financial services firms hide money for the rich and powerful

[Winehole23]

Over a year ago, an anonymous source contacted the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and submitted encrypted internal do ents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm that sells anonymous offshore companies around the world. These s firms enable their owners to cover up their business dealings, no matter how shady.

In the months that followed, the number of do ents continued to grow far beyond the original leak. Ultimately, SZ acquired about 2.6 terabytes of data, making the leak the biggest that journalists had ever worked with. The source wanted neither financial compensation nor anything else in return, apart from a few security measures.


The data provides rare insights into a world that can only exist in the shadows. It proves how a global industry led by major banks, legal firms, and asset management companies secretly manages the estates of the world’s rich and famous: from politicians, Fifa officials, fraudsters and drug smugglers, to celebrities and professional athletes.
A group effort

The Süddeutsche Zeitung decided to analyze the data in cooperation with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). ICIJ had already coordinated the research for past projects that SZ was also involved in, among them Offshore Leaks, Lux Leaks, and Swiss Leaks. Panama Papers is the biggest-ever international cooperation of its kind. In the past 12 months, around 400 journalists from more than 100 media organizations in over 80 countries have taken part in researching the do ents. These have included teams from the Guardian and the BBC in England, Le Monde in France, and La Nación in Argentina. In Germany, SZ journalists have cooperated with their colleagues from two public broadcasters, NDR and WDR. Journalists from the Swiss Sonntagszeitung and the Austrian weekly Falter have also worked on the project, as have their colleagues at ORF, Austria’s national public broadcaster. The international team initially met in Washington, Munich, Lillehammer and London to map out the research approach.

http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/...b8d3c3495adf4/

[boutons_deux]

Corporate Media Gatekeepers Protect Western 1% From Panama Leak

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 do ents 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. Theirfunders 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 do ents 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?

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archi...m-panama-leak/

[Winehole23]

Murray gets rekt in the comments section. you don't ever read past the lede, do you?

[Winehole23]

international corruption has consequences that are felt here:

No corner of the globe is untouched – including the United States.


States such as Delaware, Nevada and Wyoming register thousands of corporations annually, often without identifying the true owners. Some of the billions of dollars splashing through the domestic economy come from anonymous foreigners who inflate real estate prices in places like Miami, buying properties outright in cash.


“We know (of) … upwards to $6 to $10 billion a year laundered through the U.S.,” said Patrick Fallon Jr., head of the FBI’s financial crimes section.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nati...e69729112.html

[boutons_deux]

international corruption has consequences that are felt here:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nati...e69729112.html

But according to WC, we 99% are simply jealous of the hard-gotten gains of the 1%

Hilarious how Putin is the lead story. No top DC politicians like Bishop Gekko or Issa in the Panama files?

[pgardn]

But according to WC, we 99% are simply jealous of the hard-gotten gains of the 1%

Hilarious how Putin is the lead story. No top DC politicians like Bishop Gekko or Issa in the Panama files?

Can you wait?

[boutons_deux]

Can you wait?

I'm sure the US tax evaders haven't watied, sending their army of lawyers all over this, suppressing the incriminating evidence.

name and shame? only if you'r some low-level criminal does your mugshot get published in the daily papers.

[TDMVPDPOY]

if they can bring maddoff to justice, i dont see why the irs cant take a on that lists of people?

[boutons_deux]

if they can bring maddoff to justice, i dont see why the irs cant take a on that lists of people?

Madoff screwed a bunch wealthy people.

Tax evaders screw governments.

Repugs say it's patriotic to screw govt out of taxes, and 10Ms of American agree, having been LIED to by the VRWC/Repugs/Fox that NOTHING good can come from govt, so it.

[boutons_deux]

if they can bring maddoff to justice, i dont see why the irs cant take a on that lists of people?

50K Americans were exposed as tax evaders by a Euro whistle blower. Please link to the IRS website where I can see the list of these 50K tax evaders.

HSBC laundered $100Ms for drug cartels, and still operates in USA, retains its banking license.

No Law Is Above The Man.

[pgardn]

Read the Slomo quote in Club.

I was wondering why people who should know better were hiding money using the same intermediary as drug dealers and desperate/or untouchable despots.

[pgardn]

Slomo:

It's not a leak per se, but German investigators bribing employees to become whistle blowers. They did the same thing a few years back with Liechtenstein, forcing both Switzerland and Liechtenstein to change their banking legislations. I have to admit that Merkel does put her money where her mouth is - she said she was going after tax evaders and she is (apparently with gusto).

Let's be honest what the Germans are doing is neither difficult nor innovative. You just need to mean it as opposed to be in favour of it only in principles. A nice you touch is how the Germans buy the info, follow it up and once they are done share the info with anybody for free.

Of course this will not catch the really big ones, because having this kind of companies, accounts and other assorted arrangements is technically not illegal as long as you have squared off their status with your local tax authorities. So only the semi rich and idiots are going to be caught out, the smart (and super wealthy) have probably made sure that they are right on the edge of the law and will get away with it.

[101A]

But according to WC, we 99% are simply jealous of the hard-gotten gains of the 1%

Hilarious how Putin is the lead story. No top DC politicians like Bishop Gekko or Issa in the Panama files?

1%? 3,500,000 people in this country alone?
That's not that elite.

Most probably can't find Panama on a bet.

Probably closer to .01%, or even .001%; but I do think bankers should pretty much be strung up. Lawyers should be drawn and quartered.

[Pelicans78]

35% income tax is the real crime in this country.

[boutons_deux]

35% income tax is the real crime in this country.

bull . the real crime is $1.5T/year to support American Economic/Miliary Empire, when a few $100B could fix all the bridges and roads, and a few $100B more could replace lead piping, lead paint, fix up the leady, crummy water systems.

[Winehole23]

Globalization is supposed to be about the free movement of people, goods, and capital. But in fact, the system is set up to enable that mobility mainly for the rich (or for large corporations). The result is global tax evasion, the offshoring of labor, and an elite that flies 35,000 feet over the problems of nation states and the tax payers within them.

Where do we go from here? I think we’re heading towards a root to branch re-evaluation of how our market system works–and doesn’t work. The debate over free trade is part of that re-evaluation. The calls for a global campaign against tax evasion are, too. I think there will also be intense scrutiny about the ease with which financial capital can move around the world – we’ve already seen that with the hoopla over tax inversions, but we’ll see a lot more backlash, in new areas.


“I expect that the populist backlash will be intense and will impact everything from high-end real estate to PACs (effectively political s companies),” says one of my favorite sources, Peter A er, a behavioral economist. “Voters are increasingly angry at the seeming transience of the financial/corporate/political elite. The 1% can move anywhere they want—and profit handsomely from the relocation, but the 99% can’t. Worse, the 99% are left with the aftermath—the empty buildings of a deserted Detroit, the toxic waste from chemical plants in West Virginia or the unsustainable tax liabilities of Puerto Rico.”


Fixing all this is a growth issue, and not just for the U.S. and other rich countries. As Global Financial Integrity recently found, developing economies lost $7.8 trillion in cash because of maneuvers like those allegedly done by Mossack Fonseca, between 2004 and 2013. What’s more, illicit outflows are increasing at a rate of 6.5 % a year—twice the rate of GDP growth.

http://time.com/4280864/panama-papers-capitalism/

[boutons_deux]

"root to branch re-evaluation of how our market system works–and doesn’t work"

Lots of people have done that, years ago, but nobody can do anything about it.

BigCorp/1% (aka capitalists) have rigged the world's financial system, ed labor, and it's un able, because BigCorp/1% has corrupted the political systems.

[Winehole23]

the first domino falls:

Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson announced his resignation on Tuesday amid mounting public anger over evidence that he and his wife owned a secretive offshore company called Wintris, which managed millions of dollars of investments in three Icelandic banks that collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2016...-panama-papers

[hater]

Lol rest of the world shocked at something most Americans do

I myself have various bank accounts in the island banana nations

[pgardn]

Lol rest of the world shocked at something most Americans do

I myself have various bank accounts in the island banana nations

Where do you get your bull ?

Two lies in two sentences, let's go for three.

[Nbadan]

A firm with ties to senior members of the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign registered to lobby on behalf of a major Russian bank just weeks before a massive leak exposed the bank’s role in a web of secret financial dealings that have enriched members of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.

The “Panama Papers” are being called “the Wikileaks of the mega-rich.” Corporate do ents leaked from the law firm Mossack Fonseca show how world leaders have used offshore tax havens to hide their involvement in lucrative companies and business deals around the world.

Among those companies is the Russian Sberbank, whose U.S. investment banking branch recently enlisted the services of the Podesta Group. According to its lobbying registration form, the firm will work on banking, trade, and foreign relations issues.

One of the three lobbyists working on the account is Tony Podesta, a bundler for the Clinton campaign and the brother of campaign chairman John Podesta, who co-founded the firm.

http://freebeacon.com/issues/panama-...odesta-client/

ummmpphh...4 years of this...

[pgardn]

http://freebeacon.com/issues/panama-...odesta-client/

ummmpphh...4 years of this...

We have yet to see any really significant US political figures or ultra rich involved compared to the rest of the world. Probably because it's fairly stupid to work with a firm who has primary clients that are drug dealers, despots, oligarchs... In other words one can actually get caught and prosecuted in the US, and there are other ways to hide money that may or may not be illegal here. It's easier to get the straightforward cheaters.

[Nbadan]

That's because the rich in the US have learned to hide behind their company names

On October 12, 2011, Sen. Bernie Sanders opposed the Panama–United States Trade Promotion Agreement on the senate floor. More that didn't make it to CSPAN:

"Mr. President, the trade agreement with Panama would effectively bar the U.S. from cracking down on illegal and abusive offshore tax havens in Panama. In fact, combating tax haven abuse in Panama would be a violation of this free trade agreement, exposing the U.S. to fines from international authorities.

In 2008, the Government Accountability Office said that 17 of the 100 largest American companies were operating a total of 42 subsidiaries in Panama. This free trade agreement would make it easier for the wealthy and large corporations to avoid paying U.S. taxes and it must be defeated. At a time when we have a record-breaking $14.7 trillion national debt and an unsustainable federal deficit, the last thing that we should be doing is making it easier for the wealthiest people and most profitable corporations in this country to avoid paying their fair share in taxes by setting-up offshore tax havens in Panama.

Adding insult to injury, Mr. President, the Panama FTA would require the United States to waive Buy America requirements for procurement bids from thousands of foreign firms, including many Chinese firms, incorporated in this major tax haven. That may make sense to China, it does not make sense to me.

Finally, Panama is also listed by the State Department as a major venue for Mexican and Colombian drug cartel money laundering. Should we be rewarding this country with a free trade agreement? I think the answer should be a resounding no."

Source: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsro...red-free-trade

[Nbadan]

The passports of at least 200 Americans show up in this week’s massive leak of secret data on secretive offshore s companies.

Mossack Fonseca is a leading global player in the incorporation of offshore companies across the globe. It was the subject of the largest-ever financial breach, and 11.5 million of its do ents are the subject of a collaborative analysis by McClatchy and about 350 journalists under the umbrella of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. McClatchy was the only U.S. newspaper company involved.

~~~

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.

Further complicating matters, some U.S. citizens enjoy dual citizenship and open accounts under foreign passports. Others appeared to be American retirees purchasing real estate in places like Costa Rica and Panama.

Among the cases McClatchy and its partners found:

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nati...#storylink=cpy

[pgardn]

We have yet to see any really significant US political figures or ultra rich involved compared to the rest of the world. Probably because it's fairly stupid to work with a firm who has primary clients that are drug dealers, despots, oligarchs... In other words one can actually get caught and prosecuted in the US, any there are other ways to hide money that may or may not be illegal here. It's easier to get the straightforward cheaters.