The families of some of China's top communist brass -- including President Xi Jinping -- used offshore tax havens to conceal their fortunes, a treasure trove of leaked documents has revealed.
At least eight current or former members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the ruling Communist Party's most powerful body, have been implicated, highlighting the hot-button issue of wealth among China's ruling elite.
The eight are among 140 political figures around the world alleged to have links to offshore accounts, after an investigation into the leak of 11.5 million documents from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca.
One of the people named in the leaks is Xi's brother-in-law Deng Jiagui, who set up two British Virgin Islands companies in 2009 when his famous relation was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee but not yet president.
Xi has been dogged by foreign media reports of great family wealth. The claims are ignored by mainstream Chinese outlets, and their publication on the Internet in China is suppressed.
In 2012 the Bloomberg news agency published investigations into the vast wealth said to have been amassed by Xi's family, revealing that Deng and his wife had accumulated several hundred million dollars in company shares and property assets.
Since becoming president that same year, Xi has staked his reputation on pushing for transparency by initiating a vast anti-graft campaign to clean the party's ranks of corruption and to reassert his authority.
The daughter of former premier Li Peng -- who was in power from 1987 to 1998 --- was also identified in the documents.
They revealed that Li Xiaolin, the former vice president of state-run power company China Power Investment Corporation, was the beneficiary of a Liechtenstein foundation controlling a firm registered in the British Virgin Islands during the period when her father was in office.
A granddaughter of Jia Qinglin, a former member of the Politburo Standing Committee, Li Xiaolin was also the sole shareholder in several offshore companies, through which she discretely controlled companies within China.
The so-called "Panama Papers" were obtained from an anonymous source by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with media worldwide by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
Chinese media remained silent on the revelations about the country's elite.
But while the the ICIJ's website is officially blocked in the country, users of the micro-blog Weibo who had managed to see the findings began discussing them online.
"My confidence in socialism has suddenly collapsed," quipped one user, before the post was promptly removed.
The revelations come two years after an ICIJ investigation identified nearly 22,000 offshore clients from mainland China and Hong Kong, including relatives of former president Hu Jintao, former premier Li Peng and late leader Deng Xiaoping, the man credited with opening up China's economy in the 1980s.
AFP
Mon Apr 04 2016
The families of some of China's top communist brass -- including President Xi Jinping (pic) -- used offshore tax havens to conceal their fortunes, a treasure trove of leaked documents has revealed. - AFP photo / POOL / Ed Jones
10 Berita Pilihan - (20 Mei 2024)
Antara pelbagai berita dalam dan luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Cuba ceroboh masuk Istana Negara, dua individu dipenjara dua bulan
Pertuduhan dibuat mengikut Seksyen 447/451 Kanun Keseksaan dan dibaca bersama Seksyen 34 kanun sama.
Kerajaan Malaysia bekerjasama dengan rakan antarabangsa untuk bawa keluar pasukan perubatan MERCY
Kerajaan Malaysia sedang bekerjasama dengan rakan antarabangsa untuk membawa keluar sebuah pasukan perubatan Malaysia yang terperangkap di Rafah, Gaza, menurut Kementerian Luar (Wisma Putra).
PM Anwar ulangi gesaannya untuk AS hentikan keganasan Israel di Gaza
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim mengulangi gesaannya supaya Amerika Syarikat (AS) melakukan apa sahaja yang diperlukan untuk menghentikan keganasan Israel di Gaza.
10 individu ditahan dalam enam serbuan khas aktiviti penyeludupan
Polis menahan 10 individu termasuk seorang wanita dalam enam serbuan menerusi operasi khas Biro Jenayah Hidupan Liar/Perisikan Siasatan Khas.
65 murid keracunan makanan di Sungai Petani
Seramai 65 murid Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar Puteri Jaya dipercayai mengalami keracunan makanan selepas makan di kantin sekolah pagi tadi.
Pengadu terima panggilan pertama Ebit Lew jam 3.40 pagi - Saksi
Seorang wanita hari ini memberitahu Mahkamah Majistret bahawa dia menerima panggilan telefon pertama daripada Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew atau Ebit Lew pada jam 3.40 pagi, 4 Mac 2021.
[TERKINI] Netanyahu tiba di Kneeset teruskan persidangan
Sementara itu, Perdana Menteri Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu dan Menteri Pertahanan Yoav Gallant dilihat meneruskan sesi baharu pembukaan parlimen disaat berita mengenai permohonan waran tangkap hangat diperkatakan ketika ini.
Dalam rakaman yang dikongsikan Reuters, Netanyahu berjalan memasuki dewan dengan kawalan ketat anggota keselamatan.
Dalam rakaman yang dikongsikan Reuters, Netanyahu berjalan memasuki dewan dengan kawalan ketat anggota keselamatan.
[TERKINI] Ketua Pendakwa Raya mohon waran tangkap terhadap Netanyahu
Mimpi ngeri Israel yang menyuarakan kebimbangan Mahkamah Jenayah Antarabangsa (ICC) bersedia mengeluarkan waran tangkap terhadap Perdana Menteri Benjamin Netanyahu serta pegawai-pegawainya bakal menjadi kenyataan selepas notis permohonan diserahkan ICC kepada tiga panel hakim yang terlibat dalam pra-perbicaraan jenayah pembunuhan beramai-ramai di Gaza.
AWANI Ringkas: Buang bayi - Sepasang kekasih ditahan di Kemaman
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
China rakan penting Malaysia dalam pembangunan telekomunikasi dan ekonomi digital - Teo
China merupakan rakan kongsi penting dalam pembangunan telekomunikasi dan ekonomi digital di Malaysia.
Microsoft minta pekerja mereka di China untuk berpindah negara
Antara pilihan yang diberikan termasuk AS, Ireland, Australia, dan New Zealand.
AirAsia dipilih rakan penerbangan rasmi Sidang Kemuncak Malaysia-China 2024
Sidang kemuncak itu adalah peluang strategik untuk meningkatkan hubungan perdagangan, pelaburan dan kebudayaan Malaysia.
China gesa noktahkan kesengsaraan rakyat Palestin
China akan terus bekerjasama dengan masyarakat antarabangsa untuk menggerakkan penyelesaian isu Palestin secara menyeluruh.
Amerika kenakan tarif sehingga 100% pada EV, panel solar, semikonduktor China
SEPERTI yang telah dijangka Amerika Syarikat meningkatkan tarif import beberapa produk keluaran China.
China mempunyai kapal perang direka khusus angkut dron
Rekod negara pertama yang mempunyai kapal yang direka khusus untuk dron dipegang oleh China.
Terbuka Thai: Soon Huat-Lai Jemie terkandas pusingan pertama
Soon Huat-Lai Jemie tewas kepada Ruttanapak-Jhenicha 21-19, 17-21 dan 13-21 dalam masa 56 minit.
China dakwa Biden naikkan tarif sebagai kempen pilihan raya
Kementerian Perdagangan Beijing berkata AS sepatutnya segera membetulkan amalan salahnya dan membatalkan tarif tambahan yang dikenakan.
China-Perancis kecam serangan Israel di Rafah, gesa gencatan senjata serta-merta
Gencatan senjata serta-merta dan bantuan kemanusiaan yang besar-besaran ke Gaza adalah keperluan mendesak yang perlu dilaksanakan, kata China dan Perancis.
2 maut, lebih 20 cedera dalam serangan pisau ke atas hospital di China
Sekurang-kurangnya dua orang terbunuh manakala 23 lagi cedera dalam serangan menggunakan pisau di sebuah hospital di wilayah barat daya Yunnan di China.