It is an open secret that the very rich, and its powerful world they hide their financial situation from governments. The ICIJ released 11,5 million documents it calls "The Panama Papers" revealing people and situations.
The International Journal of Journalists' Consortium (ICIJ) has created an interactive publication that reveals how money moves through Panama and other common tax havens trying to cover traces of drug trafficking, arms and famous people.
The leak is extended 40 years back and contains transactions, emails, bank accounts, loans, transactions and unreal money.
There are many household names and it is reported that the leak originated from Mossack Fonseca's law firm. The names include associates of the Russian leader Vladimir Putin linking him to $2 billion in moves. The Prime Ministers of Iceland are mentioned, of Ukraineand Argentina who are connected to various companies to hide their assets, bonds and inheritances from a possible taxation.
In total, there are 140 former and current politicians named in the documents.
The house of Mossack Fonseca, mentions big names of FIFA but also the big one Lionel Messi who appears to be named in some deals. There are also known faces dealing with Mexican drug lords, terrorists or even North Korea.
Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with offshore transactions as they exist legally channelα που επιτρέπουν στα άτομα και τις επιχειρήσεις να κατέχουν χρήματα σε χώρους μακριά από την έδρα τους. Όμως τα έγγραφα δείχνουν σαφείς φορολογικές παρακάμψεις, ξέπλυμα χρήματος και άλλες παράνομες δραστηριότητες, που κατά καιρούς καλύπτονται από μεγάλες τράπεζες όπως η HSBC.
The leak is called 'The Wikileaks of the mega-rich' and will have a significant impact on many countries if the off-shore accounts are accepted.
https://panamapapers.icij.org/the_power_players/?lang=en#50
http://interactive.fusion.net/dirty-little-secrets/index.html
