Panama Papers: A look at some of the people named in the leak

CTVNews.ca Staff, Published Monday, April 4, 2016 3:22PM EDT, Last Updated Monday, April 4, 2016 7:00PM EDT, http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/pa...n-the-leak-1.2844879

The massive data leak detailing the alleged offshore financial dealings of many of the world's rich and powerful individuals, includes world leaders, celebrities, business figures and sports stars.

The leaked data was published Sunday by a coalition of media outlets and the non-profit organization International Consortium of Investigative Journalism. 

The data mostly involved documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, a global firm with branches across the globe, ICIJ says. The data contained 11.5 million financial records dating back nearly 40 years, ICIJ added.

ICIJ noted in its initial release that many of the services provided by the offshore industry "are legal if used by the law abiding."

And added "But these documents show that banks, law firms and other offshore players have often failed to follow legal requirements that they make sure their clients are not involved in criminal enterprises, tax dodging or political corruption."

Here's a look at some of the people named in the Panama Papers.

Movie director Pedro Almodovar

The papers allege that Spanish movie director Pedro Almodovar set up an offshore company with his brother, Agustin Almodovar, in the British Virgin Islands from 1991 to 1994. 

Agustin Almodovar said Monday that he launched the company, but shut it down "because it did not fit with the way we worked."

He also apologized for the damage the company may have caused to his brother's public image, and blamed his initial lack of experience running the family business. He said he and his brother have met all their tax obligations.

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan was appointed director in at least four offshore shipping companies, according to the Panama Papers and partner newspaper The Indian Express. The authorized capital of these companies ranged between $5,000 to $50,000, but the companies traded in ships worth millions, the newspaper said.

Bachchan issued a statement addressing the allegations, according to daily newspaper The Hindu. 

The actor said in a statement that he does not know of any of the companies referred to by The Indian Express, and has never been a director of any of the companies listed in the Panama Papers.

"It is possible that my name has been misused," he said in the statement. "I have paid all my taxes including on monies spent by me overseas. Monies that I have remitted overseas have been in compliance with law, including remittances through LRS, after paying Indian taxes. In any event the news report in Indian Express does not even suggest any illegality on my part."

Jackie Chan

The Hong Kong actor and martial artist has at least six companies that are managed through Mossack Fonseca, the papers allege. ICIJ notes, however, that there is no evidence that Chan used his companies for improper purposes.

Lionel Messi 

The papers allege that Lionel Messi and his father were owners of a Panama-based shell company called Mega Star Enterprises Inc.

"This adds a new name to the list of shell companies known to be linked to Messi," ICIJ says. "His offshore dealings are currently the target of a tax evasion case in Spain."

Messi’s family released a statement on Monday denying wrongdoing, and threatening to sue any media outlets that release the information linking him to the accounts in Panama.

PM of Iceland

The papers allege that Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson owned an offshore company that held millions of dollars worth of bonds in Iceland banks. 

According to the papers, the prime minister and his wife owned a shell company called Wintris Inc., which held nearly $4 million in bonds in three major Icelandic banks. All three banks collapsed in 2008.

When he entered Parliament in 2009, he failed to declare his ownership of Wintris, and on the last day of that year, he sold his 50 per cent share of the company to his wife for $1, the papers allege. Gunnlaugsson allegedly sold the company one day before a new law took effect that would have required him to declare ownership of the company as a conflict of interest.

On Monday, Gunnlaugsson insisted that he would not resign over news of the offshore company, adding that nothing new was contained in the Panama Papers.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko

When Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, a candy magnate, won the Ukrainian election in 2014, he pledged to sell his candy business. However, the Panama Papers allege that he instead set up an offshore holding company that allowed him to move his business to the British Virgin Islands.

The move may have saved him millions of dollars in taxes, and has prompted accusations of tax evasion from opposition parties in the Ukraine.

On Monday, Poroshenko insisted that he has done nothing wrong, and says he hasn't managed his assets since winning office.

Close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin

According to the papers, some $2 billion in transactions were shuffled through banks and shadow companies by associates and close friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The papers highlight Putin's friend Sergey Roldugin, alleging that Roldugin owned three offshore companies that received advantageous loans. The papers say that one of these companies, International Media Overseas, secured the rights to a $200-million loan for $1.

The papers also allege that Putin's friends, brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, were owners of at least seven companies registered in the British Virgin Islands. These companies were involved in a variety of endeavours, from pipeline construction companies to buying construction equipment for an Italian villa for Arkady's son. 

On Monday, a spokesperson for Putin said the Russian leader was the "main target" of the Panama Papers, which he suggested was the result of "Putinophobia." The spokesperson also said that the Panama Papers aimed to smear Russia ahead of a parliamentary election scheduled for this year.

None of the allegations in the Panama Papers have been tested in court.

With files from The Associated Press

Breaking down the Panama Papers: Top tax havens and more

CTVNews.ca Staff, Published Monday, April 4, 2016 6:33PM EDT, http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/br...s-and-more-1.2845189

More than 11 million leaked documents from a Panama-based law firm are offering a glimpse into how the world’s rich and powerful obscure their wealth through the use of shell companies that conceal the identities of their real owners.

Reports show that since 1977, law firm Mossack Fonseca has incorporated more than 214,000 offshore companies. Though not illegal, these types of companies generally serve no purpose other than to hide funds from tax and law enforcement authorities.

According to one of the firm’s co-founders, many of the people identified in the documents are intermediaries – someone acting as a middleman on behalf of a client. Documents show that most of the firm’s intermediaries come from Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Intermediaries from those three countries also set up by far the most offshore companies.

Documents also revealed that the British Virgin Islands is by far the most popular tax haven, housing 50 per cent of all companies in Mossack Fonseca’s files. Panama, where the firm is headquartered, is a clear second.

Panama Papers name Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai among 500 Indians with hidden assets

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/s...assets/1/634465.html