A number of leaked documents termed as Pandora Papers claim to have unearthed secret financial dealings. These pertain to current and former world leaders, politicians among others. These have been found to have links with 91 countries.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) involved the BBC, The Guardian and The Indian Express among 150 media outlets. They claim to have obtained millions of confidential files to find clandestine financial dealings of many big names.
Some of the names include cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, pop singer and dancer Shakira, supermodel Claudia Schiffer and an Italian mobster known as Lell the Fat One, as per the ICIJ report.
However, as per Sachin Tendulkar’s attorney, the cricket player’s investment is legitimate and has been declared to tax authorities.
Shakira’s attorney, on the other hand, says that the singer declared her companies, which do not provide tax advantages.
Schiffer’s representatives assert that the supermodel correctly pays her taxes in the U.K., where she lives.
Pandora Papers
In the ICIJ’s latest investigation, the Pandora Papers bring to light renewed attention to the use of offshore companies by several big shots.
These include Pakistani political players also. The offshore holdings of people close to Pak PM Imran Khan also find mention in the papers; along with his Finance Minister and a top financial backer.
The ICIJ secret documents expose offshore dealings of many among the likes of the King of Jordan, presidents of Ukraine, Kenya and Ecuador, the PM of the Czech Republic and former British PM Tony Blair.
The files also fetch the financial activities of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unofficial minister of propaganda. More than 130 billionaires from Russia, the U.S., Turkey and other nations.
The ICJI also emphasises that the global investigation provides an unequalled perspective on how the rule of law has been bent and broken around the world by a system of financial secrecy enabled by wealthy nations.
This analysis of the secret documents identified 956 companies in offshore havens. These are tied to 336 high-level politicians and public officials.
Panama Papers
The Panama Papers case or Panamagate was a landmark verdict by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. It had disqualified the then incumbent Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif from holding public office for life.
It is officially titled Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi v. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.
The aftermath of Panamagate had uncovered links between the Sharif family and eight offshore companies.
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