“Panama Papers. Will Belarus get its turn in the grandiose Panama Papers scandal?

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Monday, May 9, released the full Panama Papers database, which provides information on the owners of offshore companies from different countries peace. At first, in Russia, according to this database, there were 2,229 offshore owners, and 7,319 companies, but then the list was updated.

Now there are 6,285 Russians in the database. There are also 11,516 offshore companies associated with Russian citizens, and 5,534 addresses in Russia are mentioned, RIA Novosti notes.

For comparison, according to the same database, 8,995 offshore owners are among Chinese citizens, 4,536 among US citizens, 920 among British citizens. There are only 165 offshore owners from Ukraine.

On the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database project website you can find information on more than 100,000 offshore companies. After launching a database search, there were no unreleased documents left from the Panama Papers.

The consortium's YouTube account contains instructions explaining how to use the database.

According to a study by Columbia University professor James Henry, published on May 8 by The Guardian, more than $12 trillion was transferred from Russia, China and other developing economies through offshore companies. Chinese citizens are hiding $1.2 trillion offshore. Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, which have been involved in high-profile corruption scandals V last years, are also among the countries that are disadvantaged in this sense, the newspaper writes.

According to the ICIJ database, 1,784 citizens of Malaysia, 2,961 citizens of Indonesia and 780 citizens of Thailand own offshore companies.

On April 3, 2016, the same ICIJ published large-scale material about the network of offshore companies around the world. The publication was made possible thanks to the leak of documents from the Panamanian company - the registrar of offshore companies Mossack Fonseca. Hundreds of journalists from different countries, including employees of the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the British The Guardian and the Russian Novaya Gazeta, participated in the analysis and addition of the MossFon data received from an anonymous source.

The man who organized the leak of the Panama Papers about offshore companies first explained his motives on May 6 through the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, hiding under the pseudonym John Doe. He explained that he does not cooperate with any intelligence service in the world and has never worked for intelligence agencies. John Doe stated that he considers the current world order to be unfair and believes that crimes are often committed through offshore companies and, in general, this institution is used to make the rich get richer to the detriment of the interests of the less wealthy.

More than 300 economists from 30 countries called for the abolition of offshore companies

As soon as the investigation, dubbed " Panama Papers", was posted online, non-governmental international organization anti-corruption Transparency International called on the leaders of the G20 countries to “immediately” get together and ban offshore companies around the world.

On Monday, May 9, more than three hundred economists from 30 countries made a similar appeal to world leaders. Among the authors of the appeal is the laureate Nobel Prize in Economics 2015 Angus Deaton, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund Olivier Blanchard and many other prominent economists who call for the abolition of offshore tax havens. In their opinion, tax incentive zones “do not serve economic purposes” and add nothing to “global welfare,” writes.

The announcement comes ahead of an international anti-corruption summit to be held in London on May 12, with the participation of politicians from 40 countries, as well as representatives World Bank and the IMF. It will be hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

“Overcoming offshore companies will not be easy, since there is a huge personal interest of those who are satisfied with the current state of affairs,” note the authors of the appeal. In their opinion, “there is no economic justification” for the continued existence of offshore companies.

As stated in the German publication Süddeutsche Zeitung, the documents sent to him by an unknown whistleblower, and previously stolen from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, should be called the largest leak of information to which representatives gained access. The newspaper received these files about a year ago. Based on them, an investigation was carried out, which resulted in the identification of companies registered in offshore companies and owned by a large number of well-known companies in the world. politicians, athletes and celebrities. With their help, they could earn a lot of money while evading. We are talking, perhaps, about several tens of billions. Last Sunday, several influential publications published a report on the investigation, which caused a strong response in the West.

In total, more than 11 million files were stolen from the Panamanian company. These documents contain the results of the law firm's work over the past 45 years. Mossack Fonseca is known to specialize in registering offshore companies.

The person who provided the information did not want any financial reward, employees of the aforementioned German newspaper note. The only thing he asked was to ensure his anonymity. All materials received were handed over to ICIJ, an investigative journalism organization. About 4 hundred employees of various Western media studied the information received. The corruption research organization OCCRP was also involved in the work.

Anyone wishing to open a business in Panama should first contact a local law firm. Among them is Mossack Fonseca, which is one of the leading companies. The head office of this company is located in the capital of Panama. Thanks to a large number representative offices, the company can operate in many other countries.

It was founded by a certain Jürgen Mossack, whose father, as noted, was an SS man and fled to Panama after the war. Also a co-founder is the famous writer Ramon Fonseca. He recently served as advisor to the head of Panama.

As the Guardian assures, the above company is considered 4th among other leading companies in the profile market. The documents, which came into the hands of an employee of the German publication, indicate that over the entire period of activity, the firm’s lawyers have helped with the registration of more than 200 thousand enterprises in offshore jurisdictions for representatives of more than two hundred. As investigators note, approximately five thousand financial institutions, including such well-known ones as the English HSBC and UBS from, regularly used the services of the law firm and, at the request of their clients, registered more than 15 thousand commercial organizations in offshores.

Money laundering through offshore companies was carried out by Russian officials through their relatives.

Among the most notable clients of the Panamanian company are such famous politicians as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, some relatives of people from his inner circle Russian leader, the head of Iceland Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and many others. However, as indicated, the creation of companies in offshore zones is not prohibited, if the registered companies conduct legal activities. At the same time, it was possible to find out that in a number of cases the Panamanian company did not conduct proper checks in order to ensure that there was no criminal component.

For example, investigators managed to track down a rather dubious transaction carried out by several offshore companies. So 4 years ago, a certain Sandalwood Continental, registered in the Virgin Islands, lent two hundred million dollars to another organization based in the territory - Horwitz Trading Ltd. Just one day later, the first transferred the right to the debt to Ove Financial Corp. At the same time, the amount of compensation was only one. The latter, literally a few hours later, paid the debt to another organization for the same price. As a result, in just one day, this money changed four owners and passed through two financial institutions. Thus, the mentioned amount turned out to be practically untraceable, investigators note.

According to the data specified in the report, the above companies are related to Yuri Kovalchuk, who in the West is called nothing less than the banker of the Russian president, and a fairly well-known musician, Sergei Roldugin. The latter himself admitted that he is on friendly terms with Putin.

In total, according to investigators, about $2 billion was transferred through such companies related to a number of Russian officials. It is also noted that a certain part of these funds may have been used by them for personal needs.

In particular, about 5 years ago, Sandalwood issued a loan in excess of $11 million to an organization that owns the Igora ski resort, located in the Leningrad region. According to British media reports, it was here that Ekaterina Tikhonova’s wedding took place. According to Reuters, the latter is Putin's native.

However, no companies opened in offshore companies owned by Putin were found. In general, the stolen papers mention more than 140 different famous political figures and public figures. In particular, it is noted that the owner of offshore companies is the Argentine football player Lionel Messi and the famous Jackie Chan. There are at least six commercial entities registered in his name and managed by Mossack Fonseca.

In 2006, instead of Ulyukaev Jr., a certain Yulia Khryapina became the director of Ronnieville and remained in this status until the liquidation of the company in May 2009. The authors of the investigation hypothesize that this is the wife of Minister Ulyukaev, based on certain similarities between a photo from a copy of Khryapina’s passport found in the Mossack Fonseca database and a later photo available on the Internet showing the minister, his wife and newborn daughter. In addition, Khryapina’s place of birth according to her passport is Crimea, and Ulyukaev declared plots and houses in Crimea registered in his wife’s name. And finally, according to a team of investigative journalists, Yulia Sergeevna Khryapina was listed research fellow Gaidar Institute, where Ulyukaev worked until 2000. RBC on Sunday evening was unable to find an employee with such full name on the institute’s website, but Google cache and searching on the website of the Gaidar Institute, information about it was preserved.

The investigation also mentions presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov. His surname sounds in connection with the company Carina Global Assets Ltd, registered in the British Virgin Islands in 2014. The application for registration of the company indicates the beneficiary - “professional figure skater” Tatyana Navka and attached her photograph. From the same application it follows that the firm can purchase investment assets for the benefit of the beneficiary and manage assets worth more than $1 million.

The offshore was registered before the wedding of Peskov and Navka, which took place in 2015. The wife of Putin’s press secretary herself told Novaya Gazeta that she never had offshore companies or accounts. Journalists were unable to find out whether the beneficiary of this company changed in 2015.

Ivan Malyushin, deputy manager of the president’s affairs in 2003-2015, was listed as the sole beneficiary of the Panamanian Anttrin Services Corp. until 2013. But until mid-2013, there was no ban on offshore ownership. The authors of the investigation indicate that the company was liquidated three weeks late after the law came into force. Her main activity was “consulting services in the field of construction and property management,” which coincided with Malyushin’s core responsibilities in business management, the authors claim. At the same time, he was one of the richest civil servants in 2013: he owned more than 9 hectares of land, seven houses and 12 apartments.

Maxim Liksutov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow, in different time was the beneficiary of three offshore companies: Venlaw Consultants Co. Inc. (Bahamas), TG Rail Limited (Cyprus), Cantazaro Limited (Cyprus). A month and a half before the ban on offshore companies came into force, he transferred the shares to his wife Tatyana, whom he then divorced. Thus, the law was not violated.

Governors

Andrei Turchak, governor of the Pskov region, was also involved in the investigation. Kira Turchak, the governor's wife, was the sole shareholder of Burtford Unicorp Inc. from 2008 to 2015. in the Virgin Islands. The ban on owning foreign assets came into force in 2013, but Turchak’s wife remained a shareholder of the offshore until May 2015, notes “ New Newspaper».

At the beginning of 2013, it turned out that the Turchaks had owned a company since 2008, to which a house in France worth €1.3 million was registered, the publication recalls. Andrei Turchak did not declare these assets either as governor or as a senator before that. He later explained that it was a mistake and reported on the sale of the villa.

Turchak told Novaya Gazeta that Burtford Unicorp was established in 2008 to finance a mortgage transaction for the purchase of an apartment in France and was officially closed on March 7, 2014. ​

The first director of Burtford Unicorp Inc. in 2008, Maxim Zhavoronkov, at that time deputy director of the Leninets company, associated with the Turchak family, became. And since 2009, he has been working as deputy governor of Turchak.

Governor Chelyabinsk region Boris Dubrovsky used the Panamanian offshore Spaceship Consulting S.A. in 2014. when purchasing bills Russian company, which he himself controlled, write the authors of Novaya Gazeta. In March and April 2014, Spaceship Consulting conducted two similar transactions: it bought promissory notes from Magnitogorsk LLC Property Center (IC) for 5 million and 7 million rubles, and then sold them again to Dubrovsky for an identical amount. The Chelyabinsk governor owned the information center through his company Novatek, journalists note. For money transfers, he used an account in the Swiss BPER - the Private Bank of Edmond de Rothschild.

On January 15, 2014, Dubrovsky became acting governor of the Chelyabinsk region. By law he had to get rid of foreign financial instruments within three months, however, according to documents available to journalists, he did not do this. In agreements on the purchase and sale of bills of exchange, acting The governor indicated that he owned an account in the Swiss bank Rothschild.

Deputies and senators

Viktor Zvagelsky, State Duma deputy from " United Russia" was the ultimate beneficiary of Bariton Consultants Ltd (BVI) at least as of 2014, the investigation says. And Delcroft Real Estates Inc. (Panama) has belonged to him since 2011 and there is no data on the liquidation of this company, the authors claim. On behalf of Bariton Consultants, Zvagelsky could acquire assets in any part of the world and open accounts. According to experts interviewed by Novaya Gazeta, this activity can be classified as entrepreneurial, which is prohibited by the law “On the Status of a Deputy.”

The deputy himself confirmed his connection with Bariton Consultants, but claims that he took all steps to withdraw from the membership in 2012. And he said he had never heard anything about Delcroft Real Estates.

Mikhail Slipenchuk, State Duma deputy from United Russia, is the ultimate beneficiary of EuroImpex Group Corp. (BVI), the authors claim, citing internal audits of MF conducted in 2013 and 2015. But he himself claims that he sold his stake in the company back in 2007.

Suleiman Geremeev, senator from Chechnya, in 2004-2006 had general power of attorney to conduct the affairs of Grant Pacific Corporation (BVI). But at that time he was not a parliamentarian, but only an assistant to the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, in working with security forces, so there was no violation of the law, the authors believe.

Alexander Babakov, a State Duma deputy from United Russia, while a State Duma deputy in 2007-2011 (at that time he was a member of the Socialist Revolutionary faction) owned 100% of the shares of AED International Ltd. A month before filing the declaration in 2011, before the next Duma elections, he transferred the company to his 23-year-old daughter.

Security forces

Alexey Patrushev, whom Novaya Gazeta calls the nephew of Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, was a shareholder of Misam Investments Ltd in the BVI from 2010 to 2012. The Secretary of the Security Council does not personally appear anywhere in these companies, and Alexey Patrushev is not a civil servant, and he is not subject to restrictions related to foreign accounts, the authors note.

Igor Zubov, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, is mentioned in the investigation in connection with his son’s business: from February 2001 to June 2004, Denis Zubov was the sole owner of The Monumental Property Company Ltd, registered in the BVI.

Zubov Jr. became the owner of the company at the age of 22, and the company itself was involved in real estate. Now Denis Zubov owns half of the oil trader Metalit with revenue of almost 20 billion rubles. in 2014, writes Novaya Gazeta.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs told the publication that Igor Zubov does not have offshore accounts, and they are not authorized to comment on “issues related to the conduct of financial and economic activities by subjects of civil and corporate legal relations.”

A number of high-ranking Russian officials, deputies, governors, security officials and their close relatives are owners of companies in Panama and the British Virgin Islands. About it we're talking about in an investigation published April 3 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

It is reported that since 2013, civil servants in Russia have been prohibited from taking part in business transactions abroad and having accounts abroad. In addition, in 2015, the law on deoffshorization came into force, according to which Russian residents and companies are required to inform authorized bodies about their share in offshore companies if this share exceeds 10% of the total capital.

However, journalists announced the discovery of more than ten companies associated with Russian government officials, deputies, senators, security officials or members of their families. However, there were no direct violations of the law in most of the cases described, the investigation reports.

The Prime Minister of Iceland interrupted the interview after a question about an offshore company, of which, according to journalists, he is the owner. The corresponding video was published by The Guardian.

Prime Minister of Iceland Sigmundur Gunnlaigsson, after being asked about an offshore company, which, according to materials from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICJ), he is the owner of, said that he was not ready to answer such questions and decided to stop the interview.

The Australian Taxation Office will conduct a large-scale investigation into more than 800 Australian citizens due to the fact that their names are mentioned in documents of the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca.

The documents reveal how Mossack Fonseca, in a number of cases, helped clients launder money, evade sanctions and evade taxes. The Australians mentioned in the documents are suspected of tax evasion, writes the BBC.

For a week now, a scandal has been brewing with the release of documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca containing information about offshore companies various famous and not so famous people.

Many are wondering who organized this leak of information and for what purpose. Indicate those who officially pay for the activities of the ICIJ (various charities, including " Open Society» George Soros, as well as the US Agency for international development USAID). It should be noted that according to some publications, the case began with the fact that an unknown informant sent information to the German Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2014, but Top Secret, which published an interview with several participants in the journalistic investigation, claims that the case began back in 2011, when the director of the ICIJ An unknown person sent Gerard Ryle HDD with 260 gigabytes of information and he suggested that the Consortium participants take up this topic. But in 2011 and 2014, the global political situation was completely different, and accordingly, the goals and customers could be different. The option “done by someone who benefits” is also difficult to apply - the investigation brings characters from all countries into the light of day.

But I want to say something else:
1. Could it happen that such a large-scale investigation (several hundred journalists from several dozen countries) went unnoticed by the world's largest intelligence agencies? In my opinion, this is completely unrealistic, tales about the benefits of careful instructions in the style of “do not use WiFi in in public places and don’t leave the computer open” - this is for children. And if so, the only politicians who appeared were those whom the real leaders of the processes decided to slaughter for bad behavior.
2. For some reason, most media talk about more or less famous people, but forget that the largest transnational banks are under attack. In the recent past, US regulators have flogged major European bankers, and it looks like another large tranche of fines now amounting to tens of billions of dollars is just around the corner. It is quite possible that this, gaining control over the banking network, was the real goal of the show organizers.

3. 32 trillion was discovered in offshore accounts. dollars. This, by the way, is the annual GDP of the United States and the European Union combined. As the authors of the investigation say, most of the accounts are completely legal, the money on them is completely legal and there is no crime in this. This is money removed from taxation in the countries where it was earned.. Not all over the world there is such a liberal taxation system as in Russia, but let’s assume that 15% of this money was due for payment. At a minimum, FIVE TRILLION dollars were STOLEN IN A COMPLETELY LEGAL WAY from people who, through their labor, created the material wealth of our world. This money was to be used to build schools in South-East Asia and roads in the Russian outback, hospitals in African countries and jobs in Latin America. But instead, the money is spent on luxury goods for the jaded masters of life, on generous handouts to the servants who revolve around them - cooks, couturiers, politicians. And almost no one talks about it. British Guardian 2012 regularly publishes reports on its investigations into offshore fraud and it doesn't cause any resonance