‘Pandora Papers’ to open Pandora’s box

[Runner Up]

ISLAMABAD:
The world is all set to dive into the Pandora's box of offshore finances as a new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) into international finance and tax havens will be released to the public at 9:30pm on Sunday.

The ICIJ’s major investigation titled: “The Pandora Papers”, is said to be the result of 600 journalists in 117 countries studying for months roughly 11.9 million documents that leaked from the offshore environment. The countdown has begun as the names of several Pakistanis are said to be on the Pandora Papers.

Late on Saturday, the ICIJ announced that it was going to release the “most expansive exposé of financial secrecy yet”. In 2016, ICIJ had released the Panama Papers, which took the world by storm and eventually led to the downfall of governments, including that of Nawaz Sharif.

Journalist Umar Cheema, who was part of the ICIJ’s team investigating the Pandora Papers, told a private news channel that the names of several Pakistanis were on the Pandora Papers, adding that people should wait for just another day as the report will officially be released on October 3 (today).
“The number of people named in [the Pandora Papers] is more than those named in the Panama Papers,” Cheema said, adding “the names are kind of interesting, but you will have to wait for another 24 hours”. He said that the ICIJ teams worked on the project for two years.

Cheema tweeted that the major international financial investigation has now been concluded, saying it is the biggest investigation conducted so far. Political commentators were quick to add that it would be interesting to see how the government, judiciary and media react this time around.

The mega research into the financial world’s hidden secrets is expected to explain what some of the rich in the world did to hide their wealth and evade taxes from the states. The Panama Papers was a giant leak of more than 11.5 million financial and legal records exposing a system that enables crime, corruption and wrongdoing, hidden by secretive offshore companies.

The project named the Pandora Papers is in reference to the Greek mythology’s character in whose box would be all the ills of humanity. It is expected that Pandora Papers would open another Pandora’s box that might led to the downfall of several capitals of the world and big names.

Reportedly, the Pandora Papers is a result of the new massive leak of financial files that exposes how the global elite transfer money to tax havens by secret companies. It is said that the investigation will show the tax evasion of hundreds of former and current world leaders, businessmen, celebrities, fugitives and judges.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2323085/pandora-papers-to-open-pandoras-box

 

[Runner Up]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Get ready for our largest collaboration to date: more than 600 reporters from 117 countries have been working in secret to uncover groundbreaking stories hidden in a trove of more than 11.9 million documents.<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PandoraPapers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PandoraPapers</a> drop tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. EDT, 4:30 p.m. GMT. <a href="https://t.co/qyJbQYL2PD">pic.twitter.com/qyJbQYL2PD</a></p>— ICIJ (@ICIJorg) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICIJorg/status/1444376707834728456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry hoped that the Pandora Papers, expected to expose the financial secrets of the global elite later on Sunday, will strengthen Prime Minister Imran Khan's stance against money laundering.

In a statement on Twitter, Fawad said that if the Pandora Papers, like the Panama Papers, are going to shed light on how money is laundered from poor countries to tax havens then this will further reinforce Prime Minister Imran Khan's stance against money laundering.

He said that the premier has urged the international community multiple times to discourage the practice of money laundering through which the wealth stolen from poor countries is parked in rich states.

The information minister hoped that like the Panama Papers, these leaks will also open new ways to ensure transparency in financial practices and will help in the fight against corrupt practices.

Pandora Papers

The world is all set to dive into the Pandora's box of offshore finances as a new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) into international finance and tax havens will be released to the public at 9:30 pm on Sunday.

The ICIJ’s major investigation titled: “The Pandora Papers”, is said to be the result of 600 journalists in 117 countries studying for months roughly 11.9 million documents that leaked from the offshore environment. The countdown has begun as the names of several Pakistanis are said to be on the Pandora Papers.

Late on Saturday, the ICIJ announced that it was going to release the “most expansive exposé of financial secrecy yet”. In 2016, ICIJ had released the Panama Papers, which took the world by storm and eventually led to the downfall of governments, including that of Nawaz Sharif.

The mega research into the financial world’s hidden secrets is expected to explain what some of the rich in the world did to hide their wealth and evade taxes from the states. The Panama Papers was a giant leak of more than 11.5 million financial and legal records exposing a system that enables crime, corruption and wrongdoing, hidden by secretive offshore companies.

Reportedly, the Pandora Papers is a result of the new massive leak of financial files that exposes how the global elite transfers money to tax havens by secret companies. It is said that the investigation will show the tax evasion of hundreds of former and current world leaders, businessmen, celebrities, fugitives and judges.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/232313...RCMHZFeS1HVnpTSTdlOXdJV19VSmJRbzRROVktUFZYUlI

 

[Runner Up]

I think this time they will expose not only politicians from all over the world but also generals of armed forces.

 

[MenInG]

Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill on Sunday said that the premier "has no offshore company".

Addressing a gathering in Faisalabad, Gill said that the prime minister "neither engages in such activities and nor does he spare anyone who does".

"That being said, if I or anyone else has an offshore company, then it is we who will have to answer for that," he added.

Gill said that the address of the prime minister's residence is "2 Zaman Park". He said he was asked whether the premier has registered a property abroad under someone else's name, so he wishes to clarify that there are two properties, about half a kilometre apart, with two separate entrances, but with the "same address".

He said whosoever owns the offshore companies will have to answer for his businesses himself. The prime minister does not personally know the man, not has ever met him or his father, the premier's aide said.

"So this is in response to all those who are trying to spread misinformation."

Gill's remarks come as an exposé pertaining to offshore companies under the name "Pandora Papers" is set to be released today.

PM Imran Khan has 'two more offshore companies'
PML-N Secretary-General Ahsan Iqbal, while speaking to the media in Narowal today, said that the Pandora leaks have "opened a new pandora's box" when it comes to "Imran Niazi".

"That leader who used to present himself as sadiq (honest) and ameen (trustworthy), has two more offshore companies," Iqbal claimed.

The PML-N stalwart said that even before the data being released, government spokespersons "have begun defending him".

Iqbal said that the prime minister is "misleading" people by saying the inflation in the country is a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Inflation persists due to the government's poor economic policies," he said.

Iqbal demanded that the government make public details from the Toshakhana pertaining to the gifts received from foreign dignitaries.

"This corrupt, incompetent, unworthy government has no right to remain in power," he said. "There is something not just fishy, but super fishy going on," he added.

The PML-N leader, referring to PM Imran Khan, said that he put on a "cloak of honesty" and "fooled the people, all the while eroding Pakistan's respect and pride".

The Pandora Papers, set to release tonight at 9:30pm PST, will uncover financial secrets held by high-profile individuals across the world.

It is reported to be a development to what was earlier revealed in the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers.

The non-profit newsroom and journalist network based in Washington DC, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), has received more than 11.9 million documents containing 2.94 terabytes worth of confidential information from service providers who helped set up and manage offshore companies and trusts in tax havens around the world.

The ICIJ shared the data with 150 media organisations and has led the broadest collaboration in journalism history. It took the ICIJ almost two years to organise the investigation that involved more than 600 journalists in 117 countries, making it the biggest-ever journalism partnership.

By comparison, for the Panama Papers, almost 400 journalists from 80 countries participated in the investigation.

The News was the only ICIJ partner from Pakistan on both occasions. In addition, The News also partnered with the ICIJ in the Bahamas leak and the Paradise Papers.

The Pandora Papers leak will uncover financial secrets of more leaders and public officials than the Panama Papers did and provide more than twice as much information about the ownership of offshore companies, reports suggest.

The Panama Papers were based on the data of a Panama-based law firm called Mossack Fonseca that revealed offshore holdings of 140 politicians, public offshore and sports stars. Those documents were obtained by the German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, which contained records dating back 40 years.

The Pandora Papers investigation is bigger in size and revelations about politicians and public officials are also far more than what previously came to public attention.

From Pakistan, there were more than 400 individuals who surfaced in the Panama Papers. The number of Pakistanis featured in the Pandora Papers are expected to be far greater in number.

 

[MenInG]

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Sunday that details revealed in the "Pandora Papers" — major international research on the financial secrets held by high-profile individuals set to be released later today — will "further strengthen" Prime Minister Imran Khan's stance.

"Panama Papers revealed offshore assets of very corrupt people. Now another research of ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists) is coming. PM Imran stressed upon rich countries that hiding of poor countries' money in rich countries should be discouraged," he said in a tweet.

When details of money being moved from poor countries to rich countries are shared through Pandora Papers, like the Panama Papers previously, it would "further strengthen" PM Imran's stance, he added.

"We expect that this research, like Panama [Papers], will open new avenues of transparency and become another reason to discourage corruption," Chaudhry said.

According to the ICIJ, the Pandora Papers is the consortium's most expansive exposé of financial secrecy yet, even larger than its predecessor, the explosive Panama Papers, which had set off alarm bells across the world.

More than 600 reporters from around the world, belonging to 150 media organisations spanning 117 countries, participated in the research for two years for the Pandora Papers, which contain 11.9 million files.

From Pakistan, investigative journalists Umar Cheema and Fakhar Durrani of The News International were part of the investigation.

The exposé will be made public today at 4:30pm GMT, which means 9:30pm Pakistan Standard Time.

Read: How Pakistan's Panama Papers probe unfolded

Panamian govt expresses fears
Panama fears the publication of the new exposé about financial secrecy in global tax havens could again taint its reputation, which was seriously damaged by the Panama Papers scandal, according to a government letter released by local media.

"The damage could be insurmountable," the Panamanian government said in the letter, sent through a law firm to the ICIJ.

The letter warns that "any publication" reinforcing "a false perception" of the country as a possible tax haven "will have devastating consequences for Panama and its people."

The letter from the Panamanian government also references some of the reforms that the Central American country has made in recent years, although it remains on the EU list of tax havens.

It also indicates that since 2016 the registration of more than 395,000 companies and foundations has been suspended, around half of those existing at that time.

The government fears that Panama will again be the epicentre of a new global tax havens scandal like the one that followed the ICIJ's disclosure of the Panama Papers in 2016.

That massive data leak exposed widespread tax avoidance and evasion using complex structures of offshore shell companies and caused an international outcry.

The leak, linked to the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, damaged Panama's international image, despite the fact that most of the companies involved were overseas.

The investigation revealed the concealment of properties, companies, assets, profits and tax evasion by heads of state and government, political leaders and personalities from finance, sports and the arts.

Since then, Panama has carried out various legal reforms to strengthen banking controls and penalise tax evasion with jail time.

The Panama of 2016 "is nothing like the Panama of today", the government said in its letter.

Tax evasion through shell companies
The Panama Papers comprise 11.5 million leaked documents that detail financial and attorney-client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. The documents, some dating back to the 1970s, were created by, and taken from, Panamanian corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca and were leaked in 2015 by an anonymous source.

While offshore business entities are legal, reporters found that some of the law firm’s shell corporations were used for illegal purposes, including fraud and tax evasion.

John Doe, the whistleblower who leaked the documents, remains anonymous, even to the journalists who worked on the investigation. “My life is in danger,” he told them. In a May 6, 2016 statement, John Doe cited income inequality as the reason for his action, and said he leaked the documents “simply because I understood enough about their contents to realise the scale of the injustices they described”.

The documents were dubbed the Panama Papers because of the country they were leaked from; however, the Panamanian government expressed strong objections to the name over concerns that it would tarnish the government’s and country’s image worldwide, as did other entities in Panama and elsewhere.

More than 100 media organisations participated in the investigation, which led to taxmen in 22 countries worldwide raking in more than $1.2 billion in fines and back taxes.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">bonkers how much of the Pandora Papers revelations involve laundering money through real estate in London</p>— Nora Biette-Timmons (@biettetimmons) <a href="https://twitter.com/biettetimmons/status/1444709104111456257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

--

World should seriously question United Kingdom... their government is blabbering "honesty" the whole day but behind curtains the country is a hotbed for world's corrupt money...

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

What is the UK doing about it?
The UK has been criticised for allowing property to be owned by anonymous companies overseas.

The government published draft legislation in 2018 that would require the ultimate owners of UK properties to be declared. But it is still waiting to be presented to MPs.

A 2019 parliamentary report said the UK system attracts people "such as money launderers, who may wish to use property to conceal illicit funds".

It said criminal investigations are often "hindered" because police cannot see who ultimately owns properties.

The government recently raised the risk of money laundering through property from "medium" to "high".

It says it's cracking down on money laundering with tougher laws and enforcement, and that it will introduce a register of offshore companies owning UK property when parliamentary time allows.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-58780561

 

[Hermoine Green]

Disappointing news for GEO and PML-N who were already distributing Mithai )

 

[MenInG]

The secret deals and hidden assets of some of the world’s richest and most powerful people have been revealed in the biggest trove of leaked offshore data in history.

Branded the Pandora papers, the cache includes 11.9m files from companies hired by wealthy clients to create offshore structures and trusts in tax havens such as Panama, Dubai, Monaco, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.

They expose the secret offshore affairs of 35 world leaders, including current and former presidents, prime ministers and heads of state. They also shine a light on the secret finances of more than 300 other public officials such as government ministers, judges, mayors and military generals in more than 90 countries.

The files include disclosures about major donors to the Conservative party, raising difficult questions for Boris Johnson as his party meets for its annual conference.

More than 100 billionaires feature in the leaked data, as well as celebrities, rock stars and business leaders. Many use shell companies to hold luxury items such as property and yachts, as well as incognito bank accounts. There is even art ranging from looted Cambodian antiquities to paintings by Picasso and murals by Banksy.

The Pandora papers reveal the inner workings of what is a shadow financial world, providing a rare window into the hidden operations of a global offshore economy that enables some of the world’s richest people to hide their wealth and in some cases pay little or no tax.

There are emails, memos, incorporation records, share certificates, compliance reports and complex diagrams showing labyrinthine corporate structures. Often, they allow the true owners of opaque shell companies to be identified for the first time.

The files were leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington. It shared access to the leaked data with select media partners including the Guardian, BBC Panorama, Le Monde and the Washington Post. More than 600 journalists have sifted through the files as part of a massive global investigation.

The Pandora papers represent the latest – and largest in terms of data volume – in a series of major leaks of financial data that have convulsed the offshore world since 2013.

Setting up or benefiting from offshore entities is not itself illegal, and in some cases people may have legitimate reasons, such as security, for doing so. But the secrecy offered by tax havens has at times proven attractive to tax evaders, fraudsters and money launderers, some of whom are exposed in the files.

Other wealthy individuals and companies stash their assets offshore to avoid paying tax elsewhere, a legal activity estimated to cost governments billions in lost revenues.

After more than 18 months analysing the data in the public interest, the Guardian and other media outlets will publish their findings over the coming days, beginning with revelations about the offshore financial affairs of some of the most powerful political leaders in the world

They include the ruler of Jordan, King Abdullah II, who, leaked documents reveal, has amassed a secret $100m property empire spanning Malibu, Washington and London. The king of Jordan declined to answer specific questions but said there would be nothing improper about him owning properties via offshore companies. Jordan appeared to have blocked the ICIJ website on Sunday, hours before the Pandora papers launched.

The files also show that Azerbaijan’s ruling Aliyev family has traded close to £400m of UK property in recent years. One of their properties was sold to the Queen’s crown estate, which is now looking into how it came to pay £67m to a company that operated as a front for the family that runs a country routinely accused of corruption. The Aliyevs declined to comment.

The Pandora papers also threaten to cause political upsets for two European Union leaders. The prime minister of the Czech republic, Andrej Babiš, who is up for election this week, is facing questions over why he used an offshore investment company to acquire a $22m chateau in the south of France. He too declined to comment.

And in Cyprus, itself a controversial offshore centre, the president, Nicos Anastasiades, may be asked to explain why a law firm he founded was accused of hiding the assets of a controversial Russian billionaire behind fake company owners. The firm denies any wrongdoing, while the Cypriot president says he ceased having an active role in its affairs after becoming leader of the opposition in 1997.

Not everyone named in the Pandora papers is accused of wrongdoing. The leaked files reveals that Tony and Cherie Blair saved £312,000 in property taxes when they purchased a London building partially owned by the family of a prominent Bahraini minister.

The former prime minister and his wife bought the £6.5m office in Marylebone by acquiring a British Virgin Islands (BVI) offshore company. While the move was not illegal, and there is no evidence the Blairs proactively sought to avoid property taxes, the deal highlights a loophole that has enabled wealthy property owners not to pay a tax that is commonplace for ordinary Britons.

The leaked records vividly illustrate the central coordinating role London plays in the murky offshore world. The UK capital is home to wealth managers, law firms, company formation agents and accountants. All exist to serve their ultra-rich clients. Many are foreign-born tycoons who enjoy “non-domicile” status, which means they pay no tax on their overseas assets.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, is also named in the leak. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was elected in 2019 on a pledge to clean up his country’s notoriously corrupt and oligarch-influenced economy, is also named in the leak. During the campaign, Zelenskiy transferred his 25% stake in an offshore company to a close friend who now works as the president’s top adviser, the files suggest. Zelenskiy declined to comment and it is unclear if he remains a beneficiary.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, whom the US suspects of having a secret fortune, does not appear in the files by name. But numerous close associates do, including his best friend from childhood – the late Petr Kolbin – whom critics have called a “wallet” for Putin’s own wealth, and a woman the Russian leader was allegedly once romantically involved with. None responded to invitations to comment.

The Pandora papers also place a revealing spotlight on the offshore system itself. In a development likely to prove embarrassing for the US president, Joe Biden, who has pledged to lead efforts internationally to bring transparency to the global financial system, the US emerges from the leak as a leading tax haven. The files suggest the state of South Dakota, in particular, is sheltering billions of dollars in wealth linked to individuals previously accused of serious financial crimes.

The offshore trail also stretches from Africa to Latin America to Asia, and is likely to pose difficult questions for politicians across the world. In Pakistan, Moonis Elahi, a prominent minister in prime minister Imran Khan’s government, contacted an offshore provider in Singapore about investing $33.7m.

In Kenya, the president, Uhuru Kenyatta, has portrayed himself as an enemy of corruption. In 2018, Kenyatta, he told the BBC: “Every public servant’s assets must be declared publicly so that people can question and ask: what is legitimate?”

He will come under pressure to explain why he and his close relatives amassed more than $30m of offshore wealth, including property in London. Kenyatta did not respond to enquiries about whether his family wealth was declared to relevant authorities in Kenya.

The Pandora papers also reveal some of the unseen repercussions of previous offshore leaks, which spurred modest reforms in some parts of the world, such as the BVI, which now keeps a record of the real owners of companies registered there. However, the newly leaked data shows money shifting around offshore destinations, as wealthy clients and their advisers adjust to new realities.

Some clients of Mossack Fonseca, the now defunct law firm at the heart of the 2016 Panama papers disclosures, simply transferred their companies to rival providers such as another global trust and corporate administrator with a major office in London, whose data is in the new trove of leaked files.

Asked why he was migrating the new company, one customer wrote bluntly: “Business decision to exit following the Panama papers.” Another agent said the industry had always “adapted” to external pressure.

Some leaked files appear to show some in the industry seeking to circumvent new privacy regulations. One Swiss lawyer refused to email the names of his high-value customers to a service provider in the BVI, following new legislation. Instead, he sent them by airmail, with strict instructions they should not be processed in any “electronic way”. The identity of another beneficial owner was shared via WhatsApp.

“The purpose of this way to proceed is to enable you to comply with BVI rules,” the lawyer wrote. Referring to Mossack Fonseca, the lawyer added: “You are obliged to keep secrecy for our clients and to not make feasible at all a second ‘Panama papers’ story that happened to one of your competitors.”

Gerard Ryle, the director of the ICIJ, said leading politicians who organised their finances in tax havens had a stake in the status quo, and were likely to be an obstacle to reform of the offshore economy. “When you have world leaders, when you have politicians, when you have public officials, all using the secrecy and all using this world, then I don’t think we’re going to see an end to it.”

He expected the Pandora papers to have a greater impact than previous leaks, not least because they were arriving in the middle of a pandemic that had exacerbated inequalities and forced governments to borrow unprecedented amounts to be shouldered by ordinary taxpayers. “This is the Panama papers on steroids,” Ryle said. “It’s broader, richer and has more detail.”

At least $11.3tn in wealth is held offshore, according to a 2020 study by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “This is money that is being lost to treasuries around the world and money that could be used to recover from Covid,” Ryle said. “We’re losing out because some people are gaining. It’s as simple as that. It’s a very simple transaction that’s going on here.”

https://amp.theguardian.com/news/20...=Share_iOSApp_Other&__twitter_impression=true

 

[MenInG]

 

[Hermoine Green]

Son in Law of Calibri Queen , Raheel Munir named #PandoraPapers

 

[ElRaja]

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry hoped that the Pandora Papers, expected to expose the financial secrets of the global elite later on Sunday, will strengthen Prime Minister Imran Khan's stance against money laundering.

In a statement on Twitter, Fawad said that if the Pandora Papers, like the Panama Papers, are going to shed light on how money is laundered from poor countries to tax havens then this will further reinforce Prime Minister Imran Khan's stance against money laundering.

He said that the premier has urged the international community multiple times to discourage the practice of money laundering through which the wealth stolen from poor countries is parked in rich states.

The information minister hoped that like the Panama Papers, these leaks will also open new ways to ensure transparency in financial practices and will help in the fight against corrupt practices.

Pandora Papers

The world is all set to dive into the Pandora's box of offshore finances as a new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) into international finance and tax havens will be released to the public at 9:30 pm on Sunday.

The ICIJ’s major investigation titled: “The Pandora Papers”, is said to be the result of 600 journalists in 117 countries studying for months roughly 11.9 million documents that leaked from the offshore environment. The countdown has begun as the names of several Pakistanis are said to be on the Pandora Papers.

Late on Saturday, the ICIJ announced that it was going to release the “most expansive exposé of financial secrecy yet”. In 2016, ICIJ had released the Panama Papers, which took the world by storm and eventually led to the downfall of governments, including that of Nawaz Sharif.

The mega research into the financial world’s hidden secrets is expected to explain what some of the rich in the world did to hide their wealth and evade taxes from the states. The Panama Papers was a giant leak of more than 11.5 million financial and legal records exposing a system that enables crime, corruption and wrongdoing, hidden by secretive offshore companies.

Reportedly, the Pandora Papers is a result of the new massive leak of financial files that exposes how the global elite transfers money to tax havens by secret companies. It is said that the investigation will show the tax evasion of hundreds of former and current world leaders, businessmen, celebrities, fugitives and judges.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/232313...RCMHZFeS1HVnpTSTdlOXdJV19VSmJRbzRROVktUFZYUlI

i think pti have overestimated Pakistani sensitivity to corruption, its not like any of this would be surprising.

 

[JaDed]

In Pakistan, Moonis Elahi, a prominent minister in prime minister Imran Khan’s government, contacted an offshore provider in Singapore about investing $33.7m.


who is this never heard him speak..?

 

[JaDed]

Also what about influential people of Western countries? These papers make to seem only Asian/ Russian have offshore?

 

[cric_man]

In Pakistan, Moonis Elahi, a prominent minister in prime minister Imran Khan’s government, contacted an offshore provider in Singapore about investing $33.7m.


who is this never heard him speak..?

Chaudhries of Gujarat (Pakistan). King makers in Punjab. Mostly work behind the scenes. Their support was critical for PTI to form Government in Punjab.

 

[JaDed]

Chaudhries of Gujarat (Pakistan). King makers in Punjab. Mostly work behind the scenes. Their support was critical for PTI to form Government in Punjab.

Ahh ok thanks.

 

[Bewal Express]

Son in Law of Calibri Queen , Raheel Munir named #PandoraPapers

But the Noora Aristotle is calling for IK to resign. Did I miss something

 

[MenInG]

The Royal Hashemite Court say they reject Pandora Papers reports that King of Jordan Abdullah II secretly spent more than £70m on a property empire in the UK and U.S. saying such reports "included inaccuracies and distorted and exaggerated the facts"

 

[JaDed]

Developed nations will always be much smarter than the developing ones clear from this lol.

 

[OldWarHorse]

Does anything really substantial happen post these revelations?? Something for the journalists involved to get giddy about but its par for the course for the rich.

It'll die down soon enough

 

[Itachi]

Does anything really substantial happen post these revelations?? Something for the journalists involved to get giddy about but its par for the course for the rich.

It'll die down soon enough

What actually did you expect?

 

[JaDed]

700 Pakistanis and 300 Indians i mean lol Pandora should had been called Desi Scandal lol.

Anil Ambani already hated will get so much heat now

 

[OldWarHorse]

What actually did you expect?

Nothing really.

 

[Technics 1210]

No Americans in the list? Kiya baat he, their nation must be free of corruption, and filled with honest businessmen/politicians/celebrities all round!

 

[MenInG]

The Qatar ruling family bought two of the UK's most expensive houses in a deal that allowed them to avoid £18.5m in stamp duty, leaked documents show.

The family bought the properties in central London via offshore companies for over £120m and applied to make them into a 17-bedroom "super-mansion".

There is no suggestion that either the Qatari family or the sellers of the two properties acted illegally.

The Qatari government did not respond to questions about the BBC's findings.

The freehold of the properties is owned by the Crown Estate, the Queen's property empire that is managed by the Treasury and raises cash for the UK. It said "given the issues raised" it was now looking into the matter.

The leaked documents were part of the Pandora Papers. More than 600 journalists including BBC News Arabic have been trawling through the files from 14 sources for months.

In 2013, the British media reported Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser, wife of the then-Emir of Qatar, bought 1 Cornwall Terrace in London for £80m, making it the most expensive terraced property ever to be sold in the UK. Neighbouring 2-3 Cornwall Terrace was purchased for £40m.

Cornwall Terrace is believed to be the most expensive row of houses anywhere in the world. Facing Regent's Park, they were designed and built in the early 1800s by the renowned Georgian architects, James and Decimus Burton and John Nash, who also designed the park.

Following the purchases, the ruling family then attempted in 2015 to knock both properties into a single "super-mansion", with 17 bedrooms, 14 lounges, a cinema, a juice bar and a swimming pool.

Their application was rejected by Westminster council on the basis of a lack of residential housing in the borough, but a second application in 2020 appears to have been granted.

However, the new leaked documents reveal the properties were purchased via shell companies based in offshore tax havens and, by doing so, the ruling family avoided an estimated £18.5m Stamp Duty Land Tax when the leaseholds changed hands.

The documents show the ruling family registered a new offshore company called Golden Satalite to purchase 1 Cornwall Terrace, rather than in the name of a member of the family. As the property was already owned by a shell company, the family purchased the shares of this company and acquired the property as if it was an asset.

The Crown Estate last sold the leasehold for 1 Cornwall Terrace in 2005 for £21m. The house was subsequently sold on through an offshore company for £84m. This meant that unlike a normal house sale, neither HMRC nor the Crown Estate received any revenue or even notification of the sale.

Similarly, number 2-3 Cornwall Terrace was acquired through the purchase of a shell company created to own the leasehold.

Both shell companies are owned by Tharb, set up in Qatar and ultimately owned by the private office of the country's ruler, the Emir, Tamim Al Thani.

If the properties themselves had been purchased using the name of an individual from the Qatari royal family, it could have triggered stamp duty. Changes in UK tax law mean the properties would also now be liable to a 40% inheritance tax.

These property-owning shell companies are known as "special purpose vehicles" (SPVs) and are commonly used in tax avoidance.

Former Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and his wife Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser have attended many events with the Queen

Using company structures that fall outside of stamp duty in this manner is often a contentious issue. The HMRC says it cannot comment on identifiable taxpayers but that tax avoidance goes against "the spirit of the law".

Jonathan Benton, a former senior detective and an expert in international finance, said SPVs are frequently being used to purchase high-value properties in the UK.

"If property tax is avoided it is unfair. This type of action also contributes to the veil of secrecy offshore companies provide, and flies in the face of the broader global push for greater transparency."

Property tax experts point out there have been changes to tax laws which make it less attractive for overseas buyers to use offshore companies as they now have to pay capital gains tax and inheritance tax, as well as a tax that applies to companies that own properties.

Further analysis of the Pandora Papers by the BBC reveals there are numerous other property assets owned by the Qatar royal family in the UK through offshore companies, with an estimated value of over £650m, though it is unclear whether these purchases involved tax avoidance.

The UK government has made repeated pledges to introduce legislation making it compulsory to name those owning real estate via foreign companies in a bid to stamp out money-laundering.

A spokesman for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: "These are novel measures, and it is essential that the register strikes the right balance between improving transparency and minimising burdens on legitimate commercial activity and the government will legislate when Parliamentary time allows."

 

[Napa]

Also what about influential people of Western countries? These papers make to seem only Asian/ Russian have offshore?

US citizens used to hide their money in Swiss banks. The US government imposed heavy penalties to stop the.

https://sjes.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41937-018-0024-0

Poorer countries do not haveUS’s financial and economic clout (and maybe desire) to stop this.

 

[MenInG]

The secret owners of more than 1,500 UK properties bought using offshore firms have been uncovered by a BBC investigation.

The details are featured in the Pandora Papers leak of offshore financial documents and list property with an estimated value in excess of £4bn.

The owners include high-profile foreign politicians, individuals accused of corruption and UK political donors.

Ministers say they will bring in a new law when they have parliamentary time.

Successive Conservative governments have pledged to introduce legislation making it compulsory to name those owning property via foreign companies in a bid to stamp out money-laundering.

Among the revelations:

The wife of retail magnate Sir Philip Green went on a buying spree of London property while the couple's recently sold High Street empire teetered on the verge of collapse
The Qatari ruling family purchased two of London's most expensive homes through offshore companies, saving millions of pounds in tax
Ukrainian billionaire Gennadiy Bogolyubov, who is under investigation by the FBI and had hundreds of millions in assets frozen in a fraud case, owns more than £400m of UK property
A £40m London office block is owned by the son of sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Gutseriev
The BBC worked with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the Guardian, Finance Uncovered and other media outlets to identify in the leaked files the individuals behind overseas companies that owned property in England and Wales.

Owning real estate through an offshore firm is legal, and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing in simply using a foreign company to purchase property.

However, the UK government recently raised its own assessment of the money laundering risk for the property market from "medium" to "high".

The greatest level of risk is where there are "difficulties in determining the ultimate beneficial owners", according to a Home Office report in December 2020.

It comes as a number of world leaders - including the King of Jordan and the ruling family of Azerbaijan - have featured in the Pandora Papers leak after buying property in the UK using offshore companies.

The Greens

The wife of retail tycoon Sir Philip Green purchased multi-million-pound prime London real estate as BHS, the department store chain they had owned, headed for collapse.

Her identity as the buyer of properties in London was hidden because they were bought through anonymous companies based in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven.

The purchases included a £15m apartment in Mayfair and a new home for their daughter near Buckingham Palace, bought for £10.6m in 2016.

The buying spree took place in the months after the Greens sold BHS for a token sum to a one-time bankrupt who had no retail experience. The chain collapsed, leading to the loss of 11,000 jobs and vacant sites in town centres.

The downfall also led to an outcry when it emerged the business had left a black hole of up to £571m in its pension fund.

Through their lawyers, both Sir Philip and Lady Green declined to answer detailed questions, suggesting that these were private matters.

Qatari Ruling Family

The Pandora Papers leak also reveals the property portfolio of the Qatari ruling family owned through another cross-border network of companies.

The royal Al-Thani family purchased two properties on one of the world's most expensive terraces, overlooking Regent's Park in London. They were bought through offshore companies, saving millions of pounds in tax.

BBC analysis found numerous other properties owned by members of the family through these structures, estimated to be worth over £650m.

The Qatari government did not respond to questions about the BBC's findings.

Gennadiy Bogolyubov

Gennadiy Bogolyubov is a Ukrainian billionaire who is under investigation by the FBI for money laundering.

He and his business partner are accused of defrauding the bank they founded of more than £1bn.

Court documents included in the Pandora Papers reveal him to be the ultimate owner of a collection of UK properties likely to be worth over £400m, including a building on Trafalgar Square.

They are held via a network of companies, some offshore, that hide the identity of the owners.

Mr Bogolyubov is the co-founder of PrivatBank, Ukraine's largest lender.

The bank was nationalised in 2016 after regulators found a $5.5bn hole in its balance sheets.

PrivatBank has been pursuing Mr Bogolyubov and his business partner Igor Kolomoisky through court action in England and the US, trying to reclaim more than $3bn relating to the money lost during their leadership.

In 2020 the US Department of Justice sought to seize commercial properties in Texas, Ohio and Kentucky from the pair, suspecting that they were "acquired using funds misappropriated from Privatbank". The court cases are ongoing.

Mr Bogolyubov's assets are currently subject to a worldwide freeze, secured in court by PrivatBank in 2017.

In 2016 he decided to leave the country and settle in Switzerland, partly for "tax reasons".

Lawyers for Mr Bogolyubov declined to comment as legal action is ongoing.

Mikhail Gutseriev

Mikhail Gutseriev is a Russian oligarch who was sanctioned by the UK in August for his close relationship with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. The Pandora Papers reveal that his son owns a multi-million pound office block through a secret offshore company, purchased for more than £40m.

Picture of commercial property in London
Mr Gutseriev is the founder of Safmar Group, a Russian conglomerate with interests in oil, coal, property and retail.

Following the crackdown on human rights and democracy in Belarus in 2020, the UK and EU have recently brought in sanctions against President Lukashenko, along with Mr Gutseriev and other close associates.

The British government has accused the Belarusian regime of continuing to "crush democracy and violate human rights".

It described Mr Gutseriev as "a prominent Russian businessman who is one of the main private investors in Belarus and a longstanding associate of Alexander Lukashenko". It added that he had "provided support for the government of Belarus, including through use of his business interests".

Mr Gutseriev is no longer involved in Safmar, which is now part-owned by his son, Said, a British citizen.

Said Gutseriev's representatives told the BBC he did not have "any business links with his father".His lavish wedding made headlines in 2016 - it featured performances by Jennifer Lopez and Enrique Iglesias and was reported to have cost $1bn.

What is the UK government doing?

Plans for a register of foreign companies owning UK property were first announced in 2016 by then Prime Minister David Cameron, so that "corrupt individuals and countries will no longer be able to move, launder and hide illicit funds through London's property market, and will not benefit from our public funds".

Draft legislation was published two years later and "progress" on changing the law was promised in the 2019 Queen's Speech.

Earlier this year, following the G7 summit, the government reiterated its commitment to create a public register of overseas entities who own UK real estate.

However, the law has still not been introduced to Parliament and was not listed as one of the government's legislative priorities at this year's Queen's Speech.

Labour MP Margaret Hodge told the BBC that when in government David Cameron and his Chancellor George Osborne "promised us that they would create a public register of beneficial ownership here in the UK... but we've been waiting since 2016 for that promise to be enacted".

She added: "It's ready, it's sitting there, it's not complicated... but it has yet to emerge... so it's a scandal that that's not happened."

The government says it is cracking down on money laundering with tougher laws and enforcement, and that it will introduce a register of offshore companies owning UK property when parliamentary time allows.

World leaders

The UK property holdings of the King of Jordan and the ruling family of Azerbaijan were exposed by BBC Panorama on Sunday.

Lawyers for King Abdullah said he used his personal wealth to buy the homes and there was nothing improper about him using offshore firms to do so.

Other revelations from the Pandora Papers highlight further links between foreign leaders and offshore ownership of UK property.

The family of Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, which has dominated the country's politics since independence, secretly owned offshore companies for decades.

One of these firms bought an apartment in central London, according to Land Registry records.

The company was set up by Ngina Kenyatta, the president's mother, and her two daughters Kristina and Anna.

In 2018, Mr Kenyatta told the BBC Hardtalk programme that his family's wealth was known to the public, and as president he had declared his assets as required by law.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky participated in a network of offshore companies, co-owned with his long-time friends and TV business partners, the Guardian revealed on Sunday.

These firms held assets including apartments near London's Regent's Park.

A number of world leaders have released statements denying wrongdoing after featuring in the leak.

Tory donors
Closer to home, major political donors to the Conservatives have invested in properties through offshore companies.

Mohammed Amersi, bought two properties using offshore companies: a Mayfair townhouse and a country home in Gloucestershire. He was revealed by Panorama to have been involved in one of Europe's biggest corruption scandals. He denies any wrongdoing.

Lubov Chernukhin has given more than £1.8m to the party since 2012. The Pandora Papers leak revealed the scale of the secret offshore wealth she shares with her husband, a former Russian minister. It includes a house near Regent's Park in London now worth about £38m, and a mansion in Oxfordshire bought for £10m. The properties were secretly acquired through a network of offshore companies. Mrs Chernukhin's lawyers say she is a British citizen and is entitled to do as she wishes with her money

Russian businessman Victor Fedotov's companies have given £900,000 to MPs. He purchased a Hampshire manor house through a network of offshore companies. Files in the Pandora Papers suggest he made millions from a project that became mired in allegations of corruption. Mr Fedotov's lawyers said "there is no evidence whatsoever" he behaved improperly.

The BBC searched for information about donors to all of the political parties among the Pandora Papers documents but the stories that emerged from the files were about Conservative donors.

 

[MenInG]

The Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission (PMIC) has completed about 80 per cent of fact-finding inquiry into the much-hyped Pandora Papers revelations regarding offshore companies, money laundering and tax evasion by bigwigs, and (in response to its queries) received replies from almost all public office-holders, bureaucrats and generals whose names have appeared in the papers.

During the inquiry, it came to the PMIC’s notice that names of 700 Pakistanis, as claimed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalist (ICIJ), have appeared in Pandora Papers, but the PMIC has so far received 240 names from the consortium, and those individuals are being probed.

Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) told Dawn that contrary to an impression that a curtain had been drawn on Pandora Papers revelations, the PMIC would meet its deadline for completing first phase of the inquiry against 240 people by the end of this month (Jan 2022). The commission will further proceed on new names to be shared by the ICIJ.

“Of these 240 people, there are around 40 public office-holders, bureaucrats and military generals,” a source said, adding that almost all of them had furnished their replies to the PMIC’s queries.

The commission believes that not all 240 accused would have committed money laundering and tax evasion as opening firms abroad and placing assets there was not a crime unless they were involved in money laundering and violating tax laws.

Those whose names have already been published include some members of the federal cabinet, retired civilian and military officials and their family members, top businessmen and owners of some of the country’s top media houses.

However, all of them are not believed to be guilty as some of them have only established off-shore companies and did not park any asset there, some of them did business through these companies but they did not commit any money laundering or tax evasion and some of them, who are residing abroad, are bound to abide by tax and other laws of the countries they are living in and not the laws of Pakistan.

For instance, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, after his name appeared in Pandora Papers, clarified that he had established a company abroad for his own private bank but did not park any asset in the company.

Pandora Papers are said to be the largest investigation ever conducted by the ICIJ through a consortium of journalists across the globe. It was made public on Oct 3, 2021. The Pandora Papers are based on documents leaked to the ICIJ which expose offshore dealings by kings, presidents and prime ministers of more than 50 countries.

According the ICIJ, Pandora Papers contain names of more than 700 Pakistanis who secretly own or have owned an array of companies and trusts holding millions of dollars in offshore jurisdiction.

“Soon after the leak, the PMIC was tasked with the fact-finding inquiry and the commission sent a pro forma carrying some queries to majority of 240 persons, except a few whose names have not been verified so far. The PMIC engaged relevant institutions and has so far managed to complete 80 per cent inquiry,” the sources said.

The commission gave seven days to every accused person for furnishing replies to the queries and all public office- holders, bureaucrats and military generals have given their statements.

The commission, which has been probing the leak for three months, is being assisted by the State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Nadra, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and the Federal Board of Revenue.

On Oct 25, the commission called two Pakistani journalists who were part of the Pandora Papers and sought names of the accused and details about their off-shore financial activities.

However, except for a few names, the commission could not get any other information.

The PMIC contacted the ICIJ for seeking information about the accused, but the consortium replied that it shared such information only with journalists.

According to the sources, the PMIC faced hardship in verifying names of the accused and get further information about them. “We could not verify names of some accused as Nadra [National Database Registration Authority] database showed thousands of persons with the same name,” a senior official of the commission said.

He said almost 30 to 35 names, out of 240, were still untraceable, but the commission was trying to get information about them through other sources and departments concerned.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2022

https://www.dawn.com/news/1666908/80pc-inquiry-into-pandora-papers-leak-complete