Who leaked the Panama Papers?
The Panama Papers scandal involved a leak of 11.5 million confidential documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reported the leak, which exposed more than 214,000 tax havens involving high-profile people, government officials, and entities from 200 different nations. Who Leaked the Panama Papers?
What are the Panama Papers?
The Panama Papers refer to the 11.5 million leaked encrypted confidential documents that were the property of Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. The documents were released on April 3, 2016, by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), dubbing them the “Panama Papers.”.
What is the Panama Papers case in Pakistan?
For the Pakistani landmark decision, see Panama Papers case. The Panama Papers ( Spanish: Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities.
How many companies were implicated in the Panama Papers?
The ICIJ later announced the release on May 9, 2016 of a searchable database containing information on over 200,000 offshore entities implicated in the Panama Papers investigation and more than 100,000 additional companies implicated in the 2013 Offshore Leaks investigation.
When were the Panama Papers released?
The documents were released on April 3, 2016, by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), dubbing them the “ Panama Papers .”. The document exposed the network of more than 214,000 tax havens involving people and entities from 200 different nations.
Where did the Panama Papers come from?
The files exposed a network of 214,000 tax havens involving wealthy people, public officials, and entities from 200 nations. The anonymous source who leaked the papers did so from Panama, hence the name Panama Papers.
Why did Germany arrest Mossack Fonseca?
Germany has issued an arrest warrant for Mossack Fonseca lawyers Juergen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca for tax evasion and operating a criminal organization. 1 However, because of Panama's extradition laws, they will not be handed over to German officials. In Panama, they face charges connected to the Panama Papers scandal and bribery with a Brazillian company, of which they spent two months in jail before bonding out.
What are the Panama Papers?
The Panama Papers are documents that contain personal financial information about many wealthy individuals and public officials that had previously been kept private. Among those named in the leak were a dozen current or former world leaders, 128 public officials, politicians, hundreds of celebrities, business people, and other wealthy individuals.
Why are the Panama Papers called the Panama Papers?
The Source of the Name "Panama Papers". The group of documents was referred to as the "Panama Papers" because the leak originated from Panama. However, the Panamanian government has registered strong objections to the name as it appears to put some blame or negative association on the country.
How many offshore entities are there in Panama Papers?
On May 9, all of the 214,488 offshore entities named in the Panama Papers became searchable via a database on the website of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
Who leaked the documents to the German newspaper?
An anonymous source, coined John Doe, from Panama leaked the documents to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) for no cosideration.
How many files were leaked in Panama?
The Panama Papers are an unprecedented leak of 11.5m files from the database of the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca.
How many documents are there in WikiLeaks?
There are 11.5m documents and 2.6 terabytes of information drawn from Mossack Fonseca’s internal database.
What do the documents reveal?
What do they reveal? The documents show the myriad ways in which the rich can exploit secretive offshore tax regimes. Twelve national leaders are among 143 politicians, their families and close associates from around the world known to have been using offshore tax havens.
What happened to the Panama Papers?
The Panama Papers hit the public spotlight in 2016. It blew open Pandora’s box and was headline news around the world. In some countries riots broke out. Elected officials resigned . Bankers were put in the hot seat. Rich people from all over the world went under investigation for tax evasion. When the 11.5 million documents (“Panama Papers”) were leaked to the public, the world was handed an inside view into the shady side of political fraud, corruption, crime and dirty money.
Why did the Panama Papers get targeted?
When journalists all over the world got access to the Panama papers, they started connecting important links and making their discoveries public. The delicate information they brought to light was essentially the catalyst that resulted in these journalists being targeted. It went to show that the powerful elite will often do anything to protect their public image.
What happened to Mossack Fonseca?
However, due to the disastrous fallout from the Panama Papers, Mossack Fonseca announced that it was shutting down in 2018. They were also busted by Panamanian authorities for shredding documents.
How many politicians were named in the Panama Papers?
More than 140 politicians in more than 50 countries were named in the Panama Papers for being connected to corporations in more than 21 tax havens worldwide. Even today, 4 years after the papers were leaked, journalists are still finding new names in the pages. Keep in mind, there are 11.5 million pages to search through – that’s a lot of manual work for people to do; it’s taking considerable effort to sort through all of the documents.
How many terabytes of documents did John Doe send?
John Doe sent the 2.4 terabytes worth of electronic documents to the news organization German Daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, which went on to share the 11.5 million documents with other news organizations. They shared them with the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the Guardian, BBC and other media organizations.
What would happen if there was a global government?
If there was a global government, the government would have global reach to curtail illegal money laundering. However, we all know that a world government will never happen. Nor should it, for other very good reasons. Governments and politicians already abuse their positions, as proven in the Panama Papers, do we really want to give them global power, too? You see…it’s complicated.
How many journalists were killed in 2018?
Galizia’s example is only one of many. In 2018 more than 30 journalists were killed.
What is the biggest data leak in history?
L ast Sunday , the world witnessed the biggest data leak in history. The Panama Papers, as the 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca have now been dubbed, were released by a massive global reporting partnership of over 100 publications led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
How many terabytes of data did the ICIJ leak?
The 2.6 terabytes of data detailing the firm’s financial dealings — leaked a year ago to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which then shared them with the ICIJ — cover a myriad offshore accounts and shell companies in tax havens like the British Virgin Islands, the Seychelles and, of course, Panama.
How many documents were leaked in the Pandora Papers?
The Pandora Papers are 11.9 million leaked documents with 2.9 terabytes of data that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published beginning on 3 October 2021. The leak exposed the secret offshore accounts of 35 world leaders, including current and former presidents, prime ministers, and heads of state as well as more than 100 billionaires, celebrities, and business leaders. The news organizations of the ICIJ described the document leak as their most expansive exposé of financial secrecy yet, containing documents, images, emails and spreadsheets from 14 financial service companies, in nations including Panama, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, surpassing their previous release of the Panama Papers in 2016, which had 11.5 million confidential documents (2.6 terabytes). At the time of the release of the papers, the ICIJ said it is not identifying its source for the documents.
Where do the leaked files come from?
The leaked files come from 14 offshore service providers that help clients establish companies in secrecy jurisdictions.
What is the Panamanian law firm?
An ICIJ report focused on the Panamanian law firm of Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee, or Alcogal, saying it was the "law firm of the Latin American elite", having created at least 14,000 shell companies and trusts in tax havens . Alcogal was thus mentioned more than any other offshore provider in the leaked documents.
How many people were in the leak?
In total, 35 current and former national leaders appear in the leak, alongside 400 public officials from nearly 100 countries and more than 100 billionaires. As per laws of tax, some of the activities were legal but could not be justified. Some files were showing the date of 1970, but they were actually created between the years 1996 to 2020. The data included 130 billionaires listed by the Forbes, over 330 politicians, celebrities, members of the royal families and even some religious leaders. Among those names are former British prime minister Tony Blair, Chilean president Sebastián Piñera, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, Montenegrin president Milo Đukanović, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, United Arab Emirates prime minister and Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Gabonese president Ali Bongo Ondimba, Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati, Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso, family members of former Argentine president Mauricio Macri and his spin-doctor, Ecuadorian Jaime Durán Barba, and Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades. More than 100 billionaires, 29,000 offshore accounts, 30 current and former leaders, and 336 politicians were named in the first leaks on 3 October 2021.
Who owns the office block in Azerbaijan?
The papers also reveal how an office block owned by Azerbaijan 's ruling Aliyev family was sold to the Crown Estate, the sovereign's public estate, for £66 million in 2018, netting the Aliyevs a £31 million profit. Another office block worth £33 million was sold to the family in 2009, and was gifted to the son of Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, Heydar. According to Las Vegas Sun, "Members of the inner circle of Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan are accused of hiding millions of dollars in wealth in secret companies or trusts". Supporters of former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko accused his successor Zelensky, who came to power on an anti-corruption campaign, of tax evasion. Elsewhere, close associates of Russian president Vladimir Putin, like Svetlana Krivonogikh and Gennady Timchenko, were revealed to have secret assets in Monaco, and Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš, who had campaigned on promising to crack down on corruption and tax evasion, did not declare the use of an offshore investment company in the purchase of eight properties, including two villas, in Mougins on the French Riviera for £12 million. Uhuru Kenyatta was also mentioned, despite being quoted in 2018 as stating, "Every public servant's assets must be declared publicly so that people can question and ask – what is legitimate?" Kenyatta and six members of his family have been linked to 13 offshore companies. The leaked list also includes transnational criminal organization leaders, such as Raffaele Amato, boss of the Amato-Pagano clan, a clan within the Camorra, dedicated to international drug trafficking. Amato used a shell company in the UK to buy land and real estate in Spain.
What Are The Panama papers?
- The Panama Papers refer to the 11.5 million leaked encrypted confidential documents that were the property of Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. The documents were released on April 3, 2016, by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), dubbing them the “Panama Papers.” The document exposed the network of more than 214,000 tax havens involv...
Understanding The Panama Papers
- The Panama Papers are documents that contain personal financial information about many wealthy individuals and public officials that had previously been kept private. Among those named in the leak were a dozen current or former world leaders, 128 public officials, politicians, hundreds of celebrities, business people, and other wealthy individuals. Offshore business entities are leg…
Documents Leaked by Anonymous Source
- In 2015, Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) was contacted by an anonymous source calling themselves "John Doe," who offered to leak the documents. Doe did not demand any financial compensation in return, according to the SZ. The total volume of data comes to about 2.6 terabytes, making it the biggest data leak in history, and it pertains to the period spanning from the 1970s to the spri…
The Source of The Name "Panama Papers"
- The group of documents was referred to as the "Panama Papers" because the leak originated from Panama. However, the Panamanian government has registered strong objections to the name as it appears to put some blame or negative association on the country. Panama attests that it has had no involvement in the actions of Mossack Fonseca. Nonetheless, the nickname h…