![]() Usually for reasons of tax, secrecy or regulation. By holding those assets in an offshore company, it is possible to hide from the rest of the world the identity of the person they actually belong to, or the “beneficial owner”. ![]() ![]() Companies registered offshore can be used to hold assets such as property, aircraft, yachts and investments in stocks and shares. Their clients are typically seeking to discreetly set up companies or trusts in lightly regulated tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Panama, the Cook Islands and the US state of South Dakota. The 14 offshore service providers in the leak provide corporate services to individuals or companies seeking to do business offshore. In the UK, the investigation has been led by the Guardian and BBC Panorama. In order to facilitate a global investigation, the ICIJ gave remote access to the documents to journalists in 117 countries, including reporters at the Washington Post, Le Monde, El País, Süddeutsche Zeitung, PBS Frontline and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The ICIJ, a Washington DC-based journalism nonprofit, is not identifying the source of the leaked documents. Where did the Pandora documents come from? That makes it larger in volume than both the Panama papers (2016) and Paradise papers (2017), two previous offshore leaks. In total, the trove consists of 11.9m files leaked from a total of 14 offshore service providers, totalling 2.94 terabytes of information. The files were leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which shared access with the Guardian, BBC and other media outlets around the world. They provide a rare window into the hidden world of offshore finance, casting light on the financial secrets of some of the world’s richest people. The Pandora papers are the largest trove of leaked data exposing tax haven secrecy in history. 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 is even art ranging from looted Cambodian antiquities to paintings by Picasso and murals by Banksy. Many use shell companies to hold luxury items such as property and yachts, as well as incognito bank accounts. More than 100 billionaires feature in the leaked data, as well as celebrities, rock stars and business leaders. 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. 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. They expose the secret offshore affairs of 35 world leaders, including current and former presidents, prime ministers and heads of state.
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