BRIT politicians and 12 world leaders are using tax havens to hide their
wealth, according to the largest leak of financial information.
The revelation is among 11million documents stolen and leaked from a highly
secretive Panama law firm.
They reveal six members of the House of Lords, three former Tory MPs and
dozens of donors to UK political parties have had secret off-shore assets.
Lord Ashcroft, Baroness Pamela Sharples and former Tory MP Michael Mates are
among the British politicians named in the data leak.
It comes just weeks after
Prime Minister David Cameron has also slammed tax avoidance schemes and will
now face added pressure to act when he holds his latest summit on the issue
next month.
The files also claim to show how secret off-shore deals and loans worth
£2billion made members of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle super-rich.
Although the Russian President’s name does not appear on any documents, they
suggest his family had access to the cash.
They also refer to secret off-shore companies linked to the families of
Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak, Libya’s ex-leader Muammar
Gaddafi and Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.
The data alleges Iceland PM Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson had an undeclared interest
worth millions of pounds in his country’s bailed-out banks.
Gunnlaugsson also invested millions of dollars of inherited money through an
offshore company he bought with his wife in 2007.
He says he has not broken any rules, but faces calls for his resignation after
the revelations.
The files also name celebrities including movie star Jackie Chan, who has at
least six companies managed through the Panama firm, and soccer superstar
Lionel Messi.
The documents, from law company Mossack Fonseca, were handed to a German
newspaper, via the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
It is not known who leaked them.
The 40-years of data starts from 1977 to the end of 2015 and lists nearly
15,600 paper companies set up for clients who wanted to hide their financial
affairs.
It shows Mossack Fonseca helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and
evade tax.
One memo from a firm partner said: “Ninety five per cent of our work
coincidentally consists in vehicles to avoid taxes.”
The company says it has operated for 40 years and has never been charged with
any criminal acts.
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A spokesman said: “If we detect suspicious activity or misconduct, we are
quick to report it to the authorities.”
The papers also reveal how the £26million stolen during London’s infamous
Brink’s-Mat heist in 1983 may have been channelled into an offshore
company set up by Mossack Fonseca.
Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists, said: “I think the leak will prove to be probably the
biggest blow the offshore world has ever taken because of the extent of the
documents.”