it’s possibly the biggest data breach in
history and a financial scandal with
repercussions felt all over the world
welcome to watchmojo.com
this installment we’re counting down ten
crucial facts you should know about the
Panama papers number ten what are the
Panama papers the Panama papers are a
set of eleven and a half million
confidential documents that detail the
banking activities of more than 214,000
offshore companies operating through the
Panamanian law firm mossack fonseca the
papers which date back to the 1970s were
anonymously leaked in early 2015 and the
information they contain was first made
public on April 3rd 2016 we are a firm
of nearly 40 years existence we have
formed more than 250,000 anonymous
corporations through our history and we
take care only at the legal pile as of
mid April 15 current or former world
leaders had been referenced in the
documents as well as hundreds of other
politicians public officials sports
people and celebrities number nine what
are the most serious allegations
while each case is individual and using
offshore business entities is not
usually against the law in itself
offshore accounts can be set up to avoid
taxation and are sometimes linked to
money gotten illegally or immorally
allegations of tax evasion were being
leveled at a number of high-ranking
public figures and the integrity of
those listed in or linked to the papers
was being brought under scrutiny it’s
true the papers revealed the identity of
a suspiciously rich cellist as 2.6
terabytes of data had been given up by
the anonymous source most sac fonseca
was at the center of what was being
called the biggest data leak in history
furthermore only a small percentage of
the information had been published as of
April 2016 and pressure was expected to
mount on governments to reform tax
systems to ensure that richer people are
taxed correctly number eight who leaked
the papers and where can you read them
the documents were given to the German
newspaper suddeutsche Zeitung by an
anonymous source the source reportedly
claimed that his life would be in danger
if his identity were revealed due to the
sensitive nature of the information held
in the papers and the powerful people to
which it related um it was over a year
ago that this anonymous source contacted
süddeutsche Zeitung I’m saying hello my
name is John Doe and asked us if we are
interested in data süddeutsche Zeitung
shared the documents with the
international consortium of
investigative journalists which then
distributed them to around 400
journalists at 107 media organizations
around the world the data was held for
more than a year before initial reports
were published the IC IJ promised to
publish a full list of companies
involved with most sac fonseca by May
2016 number 7 who has been implicated
senior politicians from all over the
world were linked some directly and some
indirectly to the Panama papers Mauricio
Macri the President of Argentina Khalifa
bin Zayed Al Nahyan the President of the
United Arab Emirates Petro poroshenko
the president of Ukraine King Salman of
Saudi Arabia and sigmundur David
Gunnlaugsson
the prime minister of Iceland had all
been directly named as of mid April 2016
as had the family members of Nawaz
Sharif the Prime Minister of Pakistan
various friends of Vladimir Putin were
also listed as well as the late father
of British Prime Minister David Cameron
leading to speculation that both had
been avoiding tax through association he
had owned shares he just sold them so
saying I own no shares he’s not really
the whole story away from politics
several famous faces had also been
linked including Argentine footballer
Leonel Messi former UEFA president
Michel Platini film director Pedro
almodóvar actor Jackie Chan and
American business magnate David Geffen
number six
have there been immediate consequences
the Panama papers inspired a series of
resignations including that of Icelandic
PM collection within days of the papers
going public
good luck Shen stepped down from his
role amid mounting pressure the
documents revealed that he and his wife
Anna singer Luke Paul’s daughter had
invested money offshore in 2007 after
the sale of Anna’s father’s business
Juan Pedro damiani a prominent member of
the FIFA Ethics Committee also resigned
after being named in the leaked the
documents connected Damiani to AO Kenyan
Figueiredo the ex FIFA vice-president
currently being investigated for
corruption number five what has the
International response been there were
calls for further resignations in the
wake of the scandal and pressure had
increased on governments to reform
taxation systems to allow for greater
transparency Britain France Australia
and Mexico were among the nations in
which official investigations into
potential tax evasion were being planned
FIFA had also launched a preliminary
investigation into damiani though the JP
Damiani legal firm was quick to deny any
wrongdoing or connection with Figueiredo
there were a series of denials issued
out of Russia as well with the Kremlin
accusing the u.s. of staging the leak in
an attempt to discredit Vladimir Putin
ahead of national elections number four
how has this affected Panama the story
angered many Panamanians
as they believed that most of the blame
for the scandal was being put on their
nation when it affected many
the local newspaper lysed Raya carried
the headline the Panama papers are a
global attack against the financial
system while an advisor to the foreign
ministry described the criticism being
aimed at Panama as quote unfair and
quote media sensationalism most sac
Fonseca released its own statement
addressing the data breach it said quote
our industry is not particularly well
understood by the public and
unfortunately this series of articles
will only serve to deepen that confusion
number three why are so few Americans
implicated so far there was a notable
absence of American clients on the most
active on SiC a list according to marina
Walker Guevara the deputy director of
the IC IJ however this quote doesn’t
show that the US is outside of the
offshore system the u.s. is actually a
big player one reason why America
features less prominently is that
secretive banking is possible within
America itself with Business Insider
listing Delaware and Wyoming as examples
of states in which anonymous companies
can be created to shield wealth another
reason is that the US has strengthened
its laws and increased the severity of
punishments in recent years so that many
tax havens are now wary of American
customs because it carries greater risk
number two what is a tax haven I’m
curious about your bank secrecy laws
here tax havens are places where
significant amounts of money can be
stored without being subjected to the
usual levels of tax often located on
small island nations such as the British
Virgin Islands or the Bahamas some
people choose to live in a tax haven
because of the money that can be saved
while others set up shell companies
based in tax havens as a front for the
money they have a shell company appears
to be a legitimate business but it only
really exists as a means of passing
money around
it doesn’t actually provide a service or
it provides a very small service at odds
with the amount of money being put
through it from a financial standpoint
you are now in heaven for shell company
owners though their fortunes are hidden
from the taxman number one will this
lead to financial reform the publication
of the Panama
papers exposed an ugly world truth and
confirmed what many already suspected
while the majority of people pay their
taxes fairly some of the richest have
said about dodging their share perhaps
the most shocking aspect of the most
active on SiC a leak is that it likely
represents just the beginning with more
names expected from this breach and
thousands more supposedly partaking in
similar practices but with different
firms the calls for global financial
reform can scarcely have been louder
what change could be a long time coming
as the scale of the problem is only just
becoming clear did these facts get you
thinking to vote for which new story is
covered next
head over to watchmojo.com slash suggest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 10s published
every week
history and a financial scandal with
repercussions felt all over the world
welcome to watchmojo.com
this installment we’re counting down ten
crucial facts you should know about the
Panama papers number ten what are the
Panama papers the Panama papers are a
set of eleven and a half million
confidential documents that detail the
banking activities of more than 214,000
offshore companies operating through the
Panamanian law firm mossack fonseca the
papers which date back to the 1970s were
anonymously leaked in early 2015 and the
information they contain was first made
public on April 3rd 2016 we are a firm
of nearly 40 years existence we have
formed more than 250,000 anonymous
corporations through our history and we
take care only at the legal pile as of
mid April 15 current or former world
leaders had been referenced in the
documents as well as hundreds of other
politicians public officials sports
people and celebrities number nine what
are the most serious allegations
while each case is individual and using
offshore business entities is not
usually against the law in itself
offshore accounts can be set up to avoid
taxation and are sometimes linked to
money gotten illegally or immorally
allegations of tax evasion were being
leveled at a number of high-ranking
public figures and the integrity of
those listed in or linked to the papers
was being brought under scrutiny it’s
true the papers revealed the identity of
a suspiciously rich cellist as 2.6
terabytes of data had been given up by
the anonymous source most sac fonseca
was at the center of what was being
called the biggest data leak in history
furthermore only a small percentage of
the information had been published as of
April 2016 and pressure was expected to
mount on governments to reform tax
systems to ensure that richer people are
taxed correctly number eight who leaked
the papers and where can you read them
the documents were given to the German
newspaper suddeutsche Zeitung by an
anonymous source the source reportedly
claimed that his life would be in danger
if his identity were revealed due to the
sensitive nature of the information held
in the papers and the powerful people to
which it related um it was over a year
ago that this anonymous source contacted
süddeutsche Zeitung I’m saying hello my
name is John Doe and asked us if we are
interested in data süddeutsche Zeitung
shared the documents with the
international consortium of
investigative journalists which then
distributed them to around 400
journalists at 107 media organizations
around the world the data was held for
more than a year before initial reports
were published the IC IJ promised to
publish a full list of companies
involved with most sac fonseca by May
2016 number 7 who has been implicated
senior politicians from all over the
world were linked some directly and some
indirectly to the Panama papers Mauricio
Macri the President of Argentina Khalifa
bin Zayed Al Nahyan the President of the
United Arab Emirates Petro poroshenko
the president of Ukraine King Salman of
Saudi Arabia and sigmundur David
Gunnlaugsson
the prime minister of Iceland had all
been directly named as of mid April 2016
as had the family members of Nawaz
Sharif the Prime Minister of Pakistan
various friends of Vladimir Putin were
also listed as well as the late father
of British Prime Minister David Cameron
leading to speculation that both had
been avoiding tax through association he
had owned shares he just sold them so
saying I own no shares he’s not really
the whole story away from politics
several famous faces had also been
linked including Argentine footballer
Leonel Messi former UEFA president
Michel Platini film director Pedro
almodóvar actor Jackie Chan and
American business magnate David Geffen
number six
have there been immediate consequences
the Panama papers inspired a series of
resignations including that of Icelandic
PM collection within days of the papers
going public
good luck Shen stepped down from his
role amid mounting pressure the
documents revealed that he and his wife
Anna singer Luke Paul’s daughter had
invested money offshore in 2007 after
the sale of Anna’s father’s business
Juan Pedro damiani a prominent member of
the FIFA Ethics Committee also resigned
after being named in the leaked the
documents connected Damiani to AO Kenyan
Figueiredo the ex FIFA vice-president
currently being investigated for
corruption number five what has the
International response been there were
calls for further resignations in the
wake of the scandal and pressure had
increased on governments to reform
taxation systems to allow for greater
transparency Britain France Australia
and Mexico were among the nations in
which official investigations into
potential tax evasion were being planned
FIFA had also launched a preliminary
investigation into damiani though the JP
Damiani legal firm was quick to deny any
wrongdoing or connection with Figueiredo
there were a series of denials issued
out of Russia as well with the Kremlin
accusing the u.s. of staging the leak in
an attempt to discredit Vladimir Putin
ahead of national elections number four
how has this affected Panama the story
angered many Panamanians
as they believed that most of the blame
for the scandal was being put on their
nation when it affected many
the local newspaper lysed Raya carried
the headline the Panama papers are a
global attack against the financial
system while an advisor to the foreign
ministry described the criticism being
aimed at Panama as quote unfair and
quote media sensationalism most sac
Fonseca released its own statement
addressing the data breach it said quote
our industry is not particularly well
understood by the public and
unfortunately this series of articles
will only serve to deepen that confusion
number three why are so few Americans
implicated so far there was a notable
absence of American clients on the most
active on SiC a list according to marina
Walker Guevara the deputy director of
the IC IJ however this quote doesn’t
show that the US is outside of the
offshore system the u.s. is actually a
big player one reason why America
features less prominently is that
secretive banking is possible within
America itself with Business Insider
listing Delaware and Wyoming as examples
of states in which anonymous companies
can be created to shield wealth another
reason is that the US has strengthened
its laws and increased the severity of
punishments in recent years so that many
tax havens are now wary of American
customs because it carries greater risk
number two what is a tax haven I’m
curious about your bank secrecy laws
here tax havens are places where
significant amounts of money can be
stored without being subjected to the
usual levels of tax often located on
small island nations such as the British
Virgin Islands or the Bahamas some
people choose to live in a tax haven
because of the money that can be saved
while others set up shell companies
based in tax havens as a front for the
money they have a shell company appears
to be a legitimate business but it only
really exists as a means of passing
money around
it doesn’t actually provide a service or
it provides a very small service at odds
with the amount of money being put
through it from a financial standpoint
you are now in heaven for shell company
owners though their fortunes are hidden
from the taxman number one will this
lead to financial reform the publication
of the Panama
papers exposed an ugly world truth and
confirmed what many already suspected
while the majority of people pay their
taxes fairly some of the richest have
said about dodging their share perhaps
the most shocking aspect of the most
active on SiC a leak is that it likely
represents just the beginning with more
names expected from this breach and
thousands more supposedly partaking in
similar practices but with different
firms the calls for global financial
reform can scarcely have been louder
what change could be a long time coming
as the scale of the problem is only just
becoming clear did these facts get you
thinking to vote for which new story is
covered next
head over to watchmojo.com slash suggest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 10s published
every week
Please follow and like us: