Oct. 4 (UPI) — An investigation into millions of confidential files has uncovered the alleged underhanded financial dealings of 35 current and former heads of state as well as more than 330 politicians and public officials.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released the report called the Pandora Papers on Sunday, accusing Jordan’s King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of using offshore companies to purchase Malibu beachfront property, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis of doing likewise to buy a French Riviera chateau and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair of purchasing a British Virgin Islands offshore company in order to avoid paying hundreds of thousands in property taxes.
The ICIJ said the trove of 11.9 million documents from 14 offshore services firms worldwide is larger than its Panama Papers that rocked the financial world in 2016.
“The Pandora Papers investigation unmasks the covert owners of offshore companies, incognito bank accounts, private jets, yachts, mansions, even artworks by Picasso, Banksy and other masters,” it said.
The consortium of 600 journalists from 150 news outlets accuse King Abdullah II of working with a Switzerland-based English accountant to anonymously purchase 14 luxury homes worth more than $106 million in the United States and Britain through the use of 36 shell companies between 1995 and 2017.
The report also states that Babis bought Chateau Bigaud in Mougins, France, in 2009 through shell companies, neither of which he declared as assets as required by Czech law.
Concerning Blair, the report alleges the he and his wife, Cherie Blair, came to own a $8.8 million Victorian building through buying the British Virgin Islands company that held its deed from Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani, Bahrain’s industry and tourism minister.
The consortium said that by purchasing the company in order to buy the property, the Blairs avoided paying more than $400,000 in property taxes.
The Pandora Papers also connects the inner circle of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to offshore companies and trusts worth millions of dollars while also linking the presidents of Ukraine, Kenya and Ecuador to offshore dealings.
Khan tweeted that they “welcome the Pandora Papers” and the “ill-gotten wealth of the elites” it exposed.
“My government will check all its citizens whose names appear in the Pandora Papers and if anything goes wrong, we will take appropriate action,” he said. “I urge the international community to do the same to address this blatant injustice.”
The consortium said it has identified 956 offshore tax haven companies linked to 336 politicians and public officials in the Pandora Papers.
“In an era of widening authoritarianism and inequality, the Pandora Papers investigation provides an unequaled perspective on how money and power operate in the 21st century — and how the rule of law has been bent and broken around the world by a system of financial secrecy enabled by the U.S. and other wealthy nations,” it said.
Oxfam International, a British confederation of charities, cheered the reporters who published the report while calling for immediate and long-promised action from world leaders on preventing the use of offshore tax havens.
“This is where our missing hospitals are. This is where the pay-packets sit of all the extra teachers and firefighters and public servants we need,” Oxfam International’s tax policy lead Susana Ruiz said in a statement. “Whenever a politician or business leader claims there is ‘no money’ to pay for climate damage and innovation, for more and better jobs, for a fair post-COVID recovery, for more overseas aid, they know where to look.”
Tax havens, Ruiz said, cost governments $472 billion a year.
“Ordinary taxpayers have to pick up the pieces. Developing countries are being hardest hit, proportionately,” she said. “We cannot allow tax havens to continue to stretch global inequality to breaking point while the world experiences the largest increase in extreme poverty in decades.”
The report comes years after the consortium’s Panama Papers was published, implicating some of the world’s rich and powerful with fortunes hidden in offshore havens.
Some of those connected included FIFA members, Putin and movie star Jackie Chan.
Emma Watson
Emma Watson is the latest public figure to be named in the Panama Papers leak. The 26-year-old actress set up a holding company to handle her earnings and property purchases. Ms. Watson is pictured attending the premiere of “This Is the End” in Los Angeles on June 3, 2013. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
David Cameron
On April 7, 2016, after three days of dodging questions regarding the matter, British Prime Minister David Cameron admitted that he had profited from an offshore account established by his late father prior to his election. Prime Minister Cameron speaking during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House on January 16, 2015. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell had the spotlight put on his personal financial dealings after it was discovered through the Panama Papers leak that the music mogul is the sole owner of two offshore accounts set up in the British Virgin Islands. Cowell is seen arriving for the first round of auditions for “The X Factor” in Los Angeles on May 8, 2011. File Photo by Phil McCarten/UPI | License Photo
Jackie Chan
Following the Panama Papers leak, it was found that movie star Jackie Chan had at least six companies managed through the law firm, Mossack Fonseca. Chan is seen during a handprint ceremony in the forecourt of the TCL Chinese Theatre (formerly Grauman’s) in Hollywood on June 6, 2013. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Pedro Almodovar
Pedro Almodovar found himself at the center of controversy following the release of the Panama Papers, however, his brother, Agustin, who conducted the offshore dealings, took blame for the incident. The Spanish director is pictured at the premiere of “Broken Embraces” at Somerset House in London on July 30, 2009. File Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI | License Photo
Heather Mills
Heather Mills’ name stood out among those listed in the Panama Papers leak though in a statement released to the press, she said, “I can say hand on heart I am a straight taxpayer and you will never find anything on me if you investigate thoroughly.” The former Mrs. Paul McCartney is seen at the 5th annual TV Land Awards at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, Calif., on April 14, 2007. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson
In response to the public outcry after being named in the massive Panama Papers leak, Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson of Iceland resigned as head of the government on April 5, 2016. Gunnlaugsson is pictured addressing the United Nations’ Summit on Sustainable Development on September 26, 2015 in New York City. UN Photo by Cia Pak
Jose Manuel Soria
Jose Manuel Soria, Spain’s minister of industry, energy and tourism, takes part in a press conference following a meeting of the Council of Ministers at the Palace of Moncloa in Madrid on December 12, 2014. Soria resigned on Friday, April 15, 2016, after his name was linked to offshore investments in the Panama Papers. Photo courtesy the Government of Spain
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin, after being implicated in underhanded dealings with the released of the Panama Papers, stated that he believed the entire thing to be an American-led effort to undermine Russia. The Russian leader is seen addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 28, 2015. Photo by Monika Graff/UPI | License Photo
Sarah Ferguson
The Panama Papers revealed that Sarah Ferguson’s assets were tied up in a complicated web of privacy between her holding company in the British Virgin Islands and management which was based in Geneva. The Duchess of York is seen at the 22nd amfAR Cinema Against AIDS gala at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France, on May 21, 2015. Photo by David Silpa/UPI | License Photo
Nick Faldo
The Panama Papers shed some light on British golfer Nick Faldo’s financial arrangements, showing that the golfer established an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands two years after turning professional and closing it around the time of his retirement. Faldo is pictured ahead of the start of the 144th Open Championship at St.Andrews, Scotland, on July 15, 2015. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo
Xi Jinping
Relatives of some of the top Chinese political figures, including President Xi Jinping, were disclosed to be owners of offshore companies in the Panama Papers leak. President Xi is pictured at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday, April 1, 2016. Pool Photo by Andrew Harrer/Pool | License Photo
King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
King Salman bin Abd alAziz of Saudi Arabia reportedly uses offshore holdings to pay the mortgages on numerous London properties. The Saudi King is shown during a bilateral meeting at the Oval Office on September 4, 2015. Pool Photo by Olivier Douliery/UPI | License Photo
Ayad Allawi
The Panama Papers revealed that former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, through the law firm Mossack Fonseca, had both an offshore company in Panama as well as a multi-million dollar home in England. Allawi is pictured answering questions during a joint news conference at the White House on September 23, 2004. File Photo by Michael Kleinfeld/UPI | License Photo
Mauricio Macri
Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina, was revealed in the Panama Papers to have been the director of a now shuttered trading company in the Bahamas. Macri is pictured arriving at the Nuclear Security Summit on the South Lawn of the White House on March 31, 2016. Pool photo by Ron Sachs/UPI | License Photo
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, president of the United Arab Emirates, has offshore companies through which he owns multiple properties in the British capitol of London. The Sheikh is seen during a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Gulf Kingdom on September 5, 2006. File Photo by Omar Rashidi/UPI | License Photo
