{"id":3429,"date":"2021-10-06T22:55:59","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T22:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/?p=3429"},"modified":"2021-10-06T22:58:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T22:58:17","slug":"pandora-papers-leak-secret-deals-of-the-worlds-wealthiest-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsphere.com\/pandora-papers-leak-secret-deals-of-the-worlds-wealthiest-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Pandora Papers : Secret Deals of The World’s Wealthiest People"},"content":{"rendered":"
In a recent documents leak incident, dubbed Pandora Papers Leak, various secret deals of the world’s wealthiest people were hung out dry on public forums. The information unraveled has shed more light on the sources of wealth for many rich individuals in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A global investigation was carried out by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and more than 140 media organizations. The aim was to expose the secrets of certain influential individuals. The team comprised more than 600 journalists stationed in 117 countries who dedicated their time and resources to look into files obtained from 14 sources for many months. Two of the established media houses, BBC Panorama and the Guardian, were heading the investigation in the UK. ICIJ website depicted that “The 150 news outlets that joined the investigative partnership include The Washington Post, the BBC, The Guardian, Radio France, O\u0161tro Croatia, the Indian Express, Zimbabwe’s The Standard, Morocco’s Le Desk and Ecuador’s Diario El Universo.”<\/span><\/p>\n The organization’s officials argued that “A global team was needed because the 14 offshore providers that are the sources of the leaked documents are headquartered around the globe, from the Caribbean to the Persian Gulf to the South China Sea.”<\/span><\/p>\n A description of their accomplished work was embedded in the following statement: “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 \u2013 providing more information than what’s usually available to law enforcement agencies and cash-strapped governments.”<\/span><\/p>\n Pandora Papers Contents<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The leak has about 6,4 million documents, around three million images, a million-plus emails, about half a million spreadsheets, and eight hundred thousand other unclassified files. They all contain secretive details which one wanted to keep under wraps. Compared to the previous leaks, Pandora Papers was ranked second because of the huge number of files exposed, which range at 11,9 million contained in 2,94 terabytes of data. Offshore leaks in 2013 had 2,3 million files, Panama with 11,5 million in 2016, and Paradise Papers revealed 13,4 million documents in 2017<\/span>. “The leaked records come from 14 offshore services firms from around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore nooks for clients often seeking to keep their financial activities in the shadows. The records include information about the dealings of nearly three times as many current and former country leaders as any previous leak of documents from offshore havens.”<\/span><\/p>\n Based on the findings, “the new leak of documents reveals the real owners of more than 29,000 offshore companies. The owners come from more than 200 countries and territories, with the largest contingents from Russia, the U.K., Argentina, and China.”<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The biggest trend which involved most people was linked to amassing wealth on an offshore basis. Some individuals looked for tax havens or secrecy jurisdictions across the globe where there are low or no taxes, relaxed laws to set up a business, and the country’s regulations are not focused on identifying company owners. Such tax havens include the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Switzerland, and Singapore. Setting up a company in these territories is done primarily to avoid paying taxes in one’s country of origin, a move described as unethical, but it is not against the law. Also, there are many reasons why people keep their property in a foreign country, including safety from criminal attacks, seizure by a corrupt government, or safekeeping from threats by political unrest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, many countries are against offshores because they cost a state a significant amount of money. Stats from ICIJ shows that an estimated $5,6 trillion to $32 trillion is hidden offshore by wealthy persons. According to the International Fund, tax havens gallop about $600 billion in lost taxes annually, and such bills cost various governments in the world. The media houses argued that “The findings by ICIJ and its media partners spotlight how deeply secretive finance has infiltrated global politics \u2013 and offer insights into why governments and global organizations have made little headway in ending offshore financial abuses.”<\/span><\/p>\n Lakshmi Kumar, an agent at US think-tank Global Financial Integrity commented on how governments are being deprived of vital funds because of offshore and said, “The ability to hide money has a direct impact on your life\u2026 it affects your child’s access to education, access to health, access to a home.”<\/span><\/p>\n Various governments fail to end offshore activities because it is an area of interest for many leaders in governing boards. Ryle said, “the people that could end the secrecy offshore\u2026 are themselves benefitting from it. So there’s no incentive for them to end it”.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n