Hidden Treasures

Panama Papers: A World of Hidden Treasures

A massive, unprecedented leak of documents exposes the offshore holdings of 12 current and former world leaders and reveals how associates of Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin – indeed, the President’s name doesn’t appear in any of the records – secretely shuffled as much as $2 billion dollars through banks and shadow companies. The files are part of a leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca & Co., a law firm based in Panama with more than 40 offices worldwide. All the global power élite is more or less involved. The files expose offshore companies controlled by the Prime Ministers of Iceland and Pakistan, the King of Saudi Arabia and the family of the President of Azerbaijan. World leaders who have advocated anti-corruption manifestos also feature in the leaked papers. The files unveil offshore companies linked to the family of President of the People’s Republic of China, 习近平 (Xí Jìnpíng), who in his audacity does not hesitate to call himself “anticorruption paladin”, as well as Ukrainian President Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko, who presented himself as a reformer candidate in a country shaken by corruption and civil war. The files eventually shine new light on offshore dealings by the late father of British Prime Minister David William Donald Cameron, a leader actually campaigning for tax-haven reform. Italy is currently represented by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. Tomorrow never knows.