A group of news organisations has released the following main findings after reviewing what it describes as a massive leak of confidential financial records revealing assets held offshore by politicians and public officials worldwide.
The news reports have been published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and its media partners in the Pandora investigation, including The Washington Post, the BBC, The Guardian, Radio France and the Indian Express.
Reuters could not independently verify the allegations or documents detailed by the consortium and its partners.
JORDAN'S KING ABDULLAH
Jordan's King Abdullah amassed about $100 million worth of property in the United States and the UK through secret companies. They were purchased between 2003 and 2017 via firms registered in tax havens and include properties in Malibu, southern California, and Washington and London.
DLA Piper, a London law office representing Abdullah, told the ICIJ that he had "not at any point misused public monies or made any use whatsoever of the proceeds of aid or assistance intended for public use".
CZECH PRIME MINISTER ANDREJ BABIS
The Pandora news reports said Babis moved $22 million through offshore companies to buy an estate on the French Riviera in 2009 while keeping his ownership secret. The report did not say the transactions broke the law.
Babis, speaking on Sunday in a TV debate ahead of Oct. 8-9 elections, denied wrongdoing and said "the money left a Czech bank, was taxed, it was my money, and returned to a Czech bank".
Babis, founder of the Agrofert farming, food, chemicals and media empire, entered politics in 2011 on an anti-corruption agenda.
SVETLANA KRIVONOGIKH
The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2021/pandora-papers-offshore-finance/?itid=hp-top-table-high said Russian woman Svetlana Krivonogikh became the owner of a Monaco apartment via an offshore company incorporated on the Caribbean island of Tortola in April 2003 just weeks after she gave birth to a girl. At the time, she was in a secret, years-long relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Post said, citing Russian investigative outlet Proekt.
The Post said Krivonogikh, her daughter, who is now 18, and the Kremlin did not respond to requests for comment.
PAKISTAN
The ICIJ said the leaked documents showed members of Prime Minister Imran Khan's inner circle, including cabinet ministers, have secretly owned companies and trusts holding millions of dollars of hidden wealth. The documents also showed the personal wealth of Pakistani military leaders, it added.
The consortium said the documents contained no suggestion that Khan himself owns offshore companies.
It said Finance Minister Shaukat Fayaz Ahmed Tarin and members of his family own four offshore firms. According to Tariq Fawad Malik, a financial consultant who handled the paperwork on the companies, they were set up as part of the Tarin family's intended investment in a bank with a Saudi business, the ICIJ said. The deal did not proceed.
The ICIJ quoted Tarin as saying in a statement: "The off-shore companies mentioned were incorporated as part of the fund raising process for my bank."
SOUTH DAKOTA
The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/oct/03/pandora-papers-biggest-ever-leak-of-offshore-data-exposes-financial-secrets-of-rich-and-powerful said the files provided evidence that South Dakota now rivalled opaque jurisdictions in Europe and the Caribbean for financial secrecy.
The documents reveal almost $360 billion in customer assets are sitting in trusts in South Dakota, some of it tied to offshore-based people and companies accused of human rights abuses and other wrongdoing, it said. State officials declined to comment to the paper.
AZERBAIJAN
The investigation found Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his family have secretly been involved in British property deals worth more than 400 million pounds ($542 million), according to the BBC.
The files show how the family bought 17 properties, including a 33 million pound office block in London for the president's 11-year-old son.
The research also reveals how another office block owned by the family nearby was sold to the Crown Estate for 66 million pounds in 2018. The Crown Estate said it carried out the checks required in law at the time of purchase but is now looking into the matter. The Aliyevs declined to comment to the BBC.
KENYA
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and six members of his family have been linked to 13 offshore companies, according to the documents.
The Kenyattas' offshore investments included a company with stocks and bonds worth $30 million, the BBC reported. The Kenyattas had not yet responded to requests for comment, it added.
Reuters
Mon Oct 04 2021
A general view shows buildings in Panama City, Panama October 3, 2021. - REUTERS/Aris Martinez
Cef ternama Singapura, Tariq Helou meninggal dunia pada usia 29 tahun
Pemergian cef Helou mengejutkan seluruh komuniti kulinari di Singapura.
EPL: Man United sama hebat dengan skuad tercorot liga
Penjaga gol Manchester United, Andre Onana menjadi punca buat pasukannya kehilangan kemenangan menentang Burnley.
Pedofilia MRSM Tumpat: Polis selesai panggil 14 individu
Polis selesai memanggil 14 individu untuk dirakam keterangan berhubung kes pedofilia melibatkan seorang guru di Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) di Tumpat.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Pengundi tentukan kemenangan, bukan Tun M - Azmin
Kemenangan DAP dalam PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu hanya akan ditentukan oleh pengundi dan bukannya bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Calon PN sah miliki Sarjana Eksekutif UMPSA
Calon Perikatan Nasional (PN), Khairul Azhari Saut, 54, disahkan memiliki Sarjana Eksekutif Pengurusan Perniagaan dari Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA).
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Calon PN tunjuk bukti kelayakan akademik
Calon Perikatan Nasional (PN) bagi Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Kuala Kubu Baharu, Khairul Azhari Saut menunjukkan bukti berkaitan kelayakan akademiknya bagi menjawab isu berkenaan.
Enakmen kawalan hiburan baharu, Kelantan yakin tidak bercanggah
Kerajaan Kelantan yakin proses penggubalan Enakmen Kawalan Hiburan baharu Kelantan yang akan dibentang pada sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) selepas ini tidak bercanggah dengan aturan sedia ada.
Misi teroka peluang ekonomi, tarik pelaburan baharu di WEF - PM
Delegasi Malaysia akan berkongsi dasar dan hala tuju negara di samping mempertegas pendirian negara dalam isu geopolitik serantau di hadapan pemimpin dunia.
JBPM Terengganu berdepan kesukaran padam kebakaran
JBPM Terengganu menghadapi kesukaran memadamkan kebakaran di Kampung Sungai Ikan Kuala Nerus yang melibatkan lebih 75% tapak pelupusan sampah
Polis jangka laporan baharu selepas berkas guru tahfiz
Polis Kelantan menjangkakan lebih banyak laporan polis berkenaan pencabulan di sebuah pusat tahfiz di Machang selepas penahanan seorang guru.
[KOLUMNIS] 150 tahun Perjanjian Pangkor: Detik hitam tergadainya tanah air
Tanggal 20 Januari 1874 bukanlah suatu tarikh yang patut rakyat Malaysia rayakan tetapi sekurang-kurangnya diingati sebagai pedoman agar kedaulatan negara tidak tergadai lagi.
PRU15: Kami bukan 'produk pelancongan', kami sebahagian arkitek pembentukan Malaysia - Presiden Baba Nyonya
Sumbangan yang diberikan oleh kaum itu dalam pembentukan Malaysia juga adalah sesuatu yang turut dirakam sejarah negara ini.
Tiada persetujuan menimbang tara dalam pertikaian Malaysia dengan waris Sultan Sulu - Tommy Thomas
Ia termaktub sepertimana di bawah bidaan undang-undang oleh waris untuk mendapatkan pampasan bagi tanah Sabah.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Khamis, 24 Mac 2022.
Astro, anggota kumpulan reggae UB40, meninggal dunia
Astro bersama UB40 sehingga 2013 dan dikenali dengan lagu-lagu seperti Red Red Wine dan Can't Help Falling In Love.
Letak jawatan: Sajid Javid ganti Matt Hancock
Johnson berkata, Hancock sepatutnya meninggalkan pejabat dalam keadaan berbangga dengan pencapaiannya selama ini, bukan hanya dalam menangani wabak, malah sebelum COVID-19 menyerang.
Malaysia, UK lancar buku panduan mengenai bandar raya pintar
Malaysia dan UK bersama melancarkan buku panduan bertajuk "Smart City Handbook: Malaysia" bagi memupuk kolaborasi dan kerjasama dalam aspek pembangunan bandar raya pintar.
Jaguar menjadi jenama kereta elektrik sepenuhnya menjelang 2025
Syarikat berkenaan ingin memberi penekanan kepada kelestarian kereta elektrik terhadap dua jenama keluarannya itu.
COVID-19: Setiausaha Kesihatan Britain kuarantin diri, dikhuatiri ada kontak rapat
Beliau bertindak selepas mendapat notifikasi daripada aplikasi pengesanan kontak nasional bahawa beliau merupakan kontak rapat dengan kes positif COVID-19.
Penulis legenda novel perisik John le Carre meninggal dunia
Mendiang meninggal dunia selepas mengalami radang paru-paru.