A massive crowd of newly released confidential records reveals lucrative treasure troves for some of the world’s richest and most powerful characters, from Jordan’s king to spicy pop singer Sharika – and even an underground art dealer whose collections have been shown at The Met.
The records are called “Pandora Papers” and consist of nearly 12 million documents describing systematic tax evasion from 14 companies using offshore bank accounts that hide fortunes and assets of hundreds of wealthy customers.
Rich companies and individuals used shell companies and secret trusts to hide assets ranging from yachts and jets, to mansions and insurance companies.
The records, the largest leak of confidential documents ever, were compiled and released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a worldwide coalition of media organizations.
Companies affiliated with Abdullah spent nearly $ 70 million on luxury homes in Southern California between 2014 and 2017 – but avoided taxes on the skewed purchases, according to the report.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not directly named in the records – but it is his alleged mistress, the Washington Post said.
A shell company in the Virgin Islands bought in 2003 a ritzy Monaco apartment for Svetlana Krivonogikh for $ 4.1 million, the papers show.
Krivonogikh has reportedly had a years-long relationship with Putin and has had at least one child with him, according to the outlet.
Czech Prime Minister Andrei Babis, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta also protected their assets from taxes.
Douglas Latchford, an alleged antiques dealer linked to looted Cambodian artifacts – whose art collections have been displayed at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art – has reportedly used offshore accounts to hide profits from underground art trade.
Latchford was charged in 2019 with illegally trading priceless artifacts from the ancient Khmer Empire by forfeiting invoices and other records.
Tony Blair, Britain’s longest-serving prime minister, avoided paying more than $ 580,000 in property transfer taxes by buying a $ 11 million mansion in London by buying the property through shares of a British Virgin Islands holding company, the papers show.
Colombian-born singer Shakira, who is already in tax trouble for allegedly not paying his taxes in Spain, set up offshore units in the British Virgin Islands to hide assets, according to Pandora Papers.
Sports figures, including Canadian Olympic figure skater Elvis Stojko and Formula 1 racing driver Jacques Villeneuve, also made the long list.
The records, with 2.94 terabytes of data, dwarf Panama Papers in size.
source : awsforwp.com
