Paradise Papers reveal tax haven secrets of ultra-rich, most powerful people – English-BanglaNewsUs
  • নিউইয়র্ক, রাত ৯:৫৩, ২০শে সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০২৬ খ্রিস্টাব্দ


Paradise Papers reveal tax haven secrets of ultra-rich, most powerful people

bnewsus
Published November 6, 2017
Paradise Papers reveal tax haven secrets of ultra-rich, most powerful people

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists or ICIJ has released another explosive set of leaked documents, this time revealing how the ultra-rich and most powerful people of the world, including the estate of England’s Queen Elizabeth II, have secretly invested in offshore tax havens.

 

President Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has been found doing business with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law through a shipping venture in Russia, run by people who include some with sanctions by the US on them.

 

The leaked files from Appleby, a prestigious offshore law firm with offices in Bermuda and beyond, include details of tax planning by nearly 100 multinational corporations, including Apple, Nike and Uber.

 

The files were obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and shared with ICIJ.

 

 

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross speaks to the Economic Club of New York in New York. Reuters

 

The Paradise Papers documents include nearly seven million loan agreements, financial statements, emails, trust deeds and other paperwork over nearly 50 years from inside Appleby.

The ICIJ put a notice on its website like it did during the Offshore Leaks and Panama Papers revelations: “There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts. We do not intend to suggest or imply that any people, companies or other entities included in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly.”

 

ICIJ said on Sunday it along with its 95 media partners will be publishing multiple stories in the coming days and weeks.

 

On Monday afternoon, stories on strategies used by multinational corporations to shift profits to low-tax jurisdictions will be published. They will also publish stories looking into the world of private jets and yachts registered by wealthy owners, including royalty and sports stars, in offshore tax havens.

 

Reports on tax haven shopping sprees by multinational companies in Africa and Asia that use shell companies in Mauritius and Singapore to reduce taxes will be published on Tuesday along with stories that look behind the huge offshore trust funds held by rich and powerful people and how prominent political donors in the US make use of offshore financial structures.

 

“And more to come on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and into the next week,” ICIJ said in an article on its website.

 

ICIJ will also release the structured data connected to the Paradise Papers investigation in the coming weeks on its Offshore Leaks Database.

 

 

According to the files leaked from the offshore law firm Appleby, the Duchy of Lancaster, which handles Queen Elizabeth II’s £500 million private estate and portfolio, invested about £10 million or $13 million of her money in Cayman Island and Bermuda.

The Duchy said it was not involved in decisions made by funds and there is no suggestion the Queen had any knowledge of the specific investments made on her behalf, the BBC reported.

 

The revelation on US Commerce Secretary Ross’ link with the Russian firm comes at a time when the US is investigating Russian meddling in their presidential election last year.

 

Partnerships used by Ross, a billionaire investor helping to shape Trump’s trade policy, have a 31 percent stake in Navigator Holdings, which the New York Times said earns millions of dollars a year transporting gas for Russian petrochemical firm Sibur.

 

Gennady Timchenko, a Russian oligarch and Putin associate subject to US sanctions, and Putin’s son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov, are Sibur stakeholders, said the Times, which based its report on files from Appleby, a prominent offshore law firm.

 

Spread the love