Thread: Offshore Accounts Of World Leaders Revealed

Wonder if either the names Trump or Clinton are on that list ?

Originally Posted by Iceman123

It IS illegal in Australia to enter into a tax avoidance scheme.

thought tax avoidance legal in all tax paying economies.
evasion , illegal.

Originally Posted by birding

Wonder if either the names Trump or Clinton are on that list ?

My bet, yes. Maybe not Panama but the British Isle or something like that.
The question is will this scandal still be alive and kicking in about 2-3 weeks ?

Originally Posted by billy the kid

Originally Posted by Iceman123

It IS illegal in Australia to enter into a tax avoidance scheme.

thought tax avoidance legal in all tax paying economies.
evasion , illegal.

I'm sure as long as no laws are broken it is perfectly legal to avoid paying tax.

First heads are rolling

Panama Papers: Iceland Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson is/has to resign.



Hope more are rolling soon




Just wonder where Prince Charles Co. is hiding his money ?

Panama Papers: Iceland PM Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson resigns

Iceland's prime minister has resigned - the first major casualty of the leaked Panama Papers that have shone a spotlight on offshore finance.

The leaks, from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, showed Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson owned an offshore company with his wife but had not declared it when he entered parliament

He is accused of concealing millions of dollars' worth of family assets.

Mr Gunnlaugsson says he sold his shares to his wife, and denies any wrongdoing.

He is one of dozens of high-profile global figures mentioned in the 11.5 million leaked financial and legal records, which were first published on Sunday.

Panama Papers: Iceland PM Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson resigns - BBC News

Panama Papers scandal prompts quick action by Thai AMLO

Thailand reacted promptly to the "Panama Papers" scandal with the Anti Money Laundering Office (AMLO) saying it will seek coordination from foreign anti money laundering sources for information of Thais on the list if they were engaged in money laundering offshore or not.

AMLO advisor Pol Col Sihanart Prayoonrat said any further information received will be revealed at a press conference on April 8.

AFP reported that the Panama scandal erupted on Sunday when media groups began revealing the results of a year-long investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specialises in creating offshore shell companies.

The scandal triggered tax evasion probes by several countries after a massive leak of confidential documents lifted the lid on the murkey offshore financial dealings of a slew of politicians and celebrities.

Among those named in the “Panama Papers” are close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, relatives of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, as well as Barcelona striker Lionel Messi.

Twenty one names of Thai nationals are said to be among the list. They are linked to 963 companies.

more here Panama Papers scandal prompts quick action by Thai AMLO - Thai PBS English News

What a cnut, and he was elected to clean FIFA up!

Infantino is the Swiss-Italian former Uefa secretary general who won the race to succeed the disgraced Blatter in February. The files show that in 2006, when he worked at Uefa, the organisation sold the rights for broadcasting its club competitions in South America.

The rights to the Champions League, the Uefa Cup and the Super Cup were acquired by an Argentinian company called Cross Trading. Cross Trading immediately sold on to broadcaster Teleamazonas for about three or four times the amount paid for them. The contracts covered the period from 2003 to 2006 and from 2006 to 2009.

Cross Trading is a subsidiary of a company called Full Play, which is owned by Hugo Jinkis. Last year in an unrelated matter, Jinkis was alleged by US prosecutors to have handed over millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks to football executives to obtain and retain media and marketing rights.

Jinkis, along with his son Mariano, is under house arrest in Argentina.

Jinkis’s involvement in the deals with Uefa from a decade ago are set out in the Panama Papers. Cross Trading signed a deal with Uefa’s broadcasting and marketing partner, called Team. Infantino’s name appears on the contract as Uefa’s director of legal services.

They're all at it, 'Arry. Some might resign, most are too arrogant and will just deny everything despite the facts, a few may get fines, but none will go to prison...

What about the Icelandic PM; he has resigned, but will he be prosecuted and jailed?

Originally Posted by Cujo

it is perfectly legal to avoid paying tax.

cheers.

Its the bent accountants, bent lawyers running illegal schemes to evade tax. got it.

Hilarious to see Infantino on the list.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

but will he be prosecuted and jailed?

not sure if he broke the law or broke the trust Icelandic people crave in their leaders.

He is still in parliament.

Originally Posted by billy the kid

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

but will he be prosecuted and jailed?

not sure if he broke the law or broke the trust Icelandic people crave in their leaders.

He is still in parliament.

He broke the law by not declaring all his assets. That's required of all politicians in Iceland, many other countries too.

UEFA Offices Raided Over Panama Papers Scandal

Swiss police have raided UEFA's offices after its former secretary general and now FIFA president Gianni Infantino became embroiled in the Panama Papers scandal.

Documents leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca reportedly show he signed a contract on behalf of UEFA to sell TV rights for the Champions League and other club competitions.

Mr Infantino, in his former role as UEFA director of legal services, co-signed the contract in 2006 with two businessmen who have since been caught up in football's corruption case, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists analysing the 11 million leaked files.

Both UEFA and Mr Infantino deny any wrongdoing.

The 46-year-old Swiss-Italian said he is "dismayed" and "will not accept" his integrity is being doubted.

UEFA said in a statement: "UEFA can confirm that today we received a visit from the office of the Swiss Federal Police acting under a warrant and requesting sight of the contracts between UEFA and Cross Trading/Teleamazonas.

"Naturally, UEFA is providing the Federal Police with all relevant documents in our possession and will cooperate fully."

Mr Infantino's alleged deal was with Hugo Jinkis and his son Mariano Jinkis, who have since been accused of bribery as part of the US investigation into corruption at FIFA.

Both are currently under house arrest in Argentina.

UEFA Offices Raided Over Panama Papers Scandal

FIFA, scandal and money laundering, who'd have thunk it!

How many of Africa's politicians are on that list, oh it doesn't matter as its been going on for decades, aid money to Africa ends up back in Europe's banks. Too bad about the poor in Africa, charities make up for their governments disinterest in them.

Bob Geldof and Bono are wankers, Feed The World my arse!

Originally Posted by VocalNeal

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Originally Posted by VocalNeal

I don't see what is wrong with offshore assets. It only seems that jealous people without offshore accounts seem to care.

Duh.

Three words: Ill gotten gains.

Not all people who have offshore account have ill gotten gains. They simple wish to retain some semblance of privacy. Especially financial privacy.

Not really any different to a developer in Thailand selling property and having the money deposited say in Hong Kong. Or a Thai based company manufacturing parts that they sell from an on-line shop in Germany where all the prices are in Euros and the money is transferred to...

Bankruptcy fraud and the avoidance of paying lawsuit judgments, or hiding money from an ex spouse are the only reasons for keeping legitimately earned money offshore other than tax evasion.

Cameron stepped in to shield offshore trusts from EU tax crackdown in 2013



here we go
what a surprise..

Cameron stepped in to shield offshore trusts from EU tax crackdown in 2013 | Politics | The Guardian

David Cameron intervened personally to prevent offshore trusts from being dragged into an EU-wide crackdown on tax avoidance, it has emerged.
In a letter to the then president of the European council, Herman Van Rompuy, in 2013, the prime minister said that trusts should not automatically be subject to the same transparency requirements as companies.

Richard Burgon, a shadow Treasury minister, said: “Another day and another story emerges which exposes what the Conservative party really thinks in its heart of hearts about tackling tax avoidance.
“It’s time that they treated tax avoidance as the serious matter people across Britain know it is. And one way they can do that is to stop trying to block or undermine measures to tackle it.”
Judith Sargentini, a Dutch MEP who led the European parliament’s work on the draft law, told the Financial Times that the UK’s argument against a crackdown on trusts was that it would be an invasion of privacy - and that trusts have a special role in Britain in helping families manage issues around inheritance.
“I saw it [the British position] as a danger and a possible loophole,” Sargentini said. “Some member states saw it as an underhand way for the UK to get an advantage.”

Originally Posted by blue

an invasion of privacy -

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

They're all at it, 'Arry. Some might resign, most are too arrogant and will just deny everything despite the facts, a few may get fines, but none will go to prison...

What about the Icelandic PM; he has resigned, but will he be prosecuted and jailed?

Iceland is the only country who actually went after the banksters and did jail a few of them unlike other countries namely the UK where as far as I know none have even been arrested and never likely to be never mind actually being prosecuted and jailed. So I guess if the Icelandic has broken the law he will be charged.

I'm not sure if he has broken the law , because the the day before a new asset disclosure law for politicians came into force , he sold his half of the shares to his wife for a $1

still a conflict of interest though, why has he not resigned altogether from government ?

Originally Posted by blue

I'm not sure if he has broken the law , because the the day before a new asset disclosure law for politicians came into force , he sold his half of the shares to his wife for a $1

Did she keep the receipt?

Originally Posted by billy the kid

Originally Posted by blue

an invasion of privacy -

almost as good as Mossack Fonseca complaining that they are a victim of crime

Putin Denounces 'Panama Papers' as Western Plot

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied allegations that documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm contain evidence of corruption among his closest associates, saying the so-called Panama Papers are part of a Western campaign to undermine Russia.

Speaking Thursday to a media forum in St. Petersburg, the Russian president said the leaked documents are part of an attempt to make his country "more docile," to create "distrust within society toward the authorities, the state administration bodies, and to set one against the other."

Citing an allegation made by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Putin accused the U.S. government of being behind the Panama Papers. "That behind this stands...officials and official bodies of the United States, WikiLeaks has now shown us."

Putin noted that he himself was not mentioned in the documents. "You went through these offshore [documents]," he told the assembled journalists. "Your humble servant is not there, so there is nothing to talk about. But there is an assignment! [So] what did they do?...They found acquaintances and friends."

According to the journalists who analyzed the Panama Papers, the cellist Sergei Roldugin, a close friend of Putin since the 1970's, is linked in the documents to offshore transactions worth $2 billion.

Putin defended Roldugin Thursday.

"Many creative people in Russia, maybe every second one, is trying to do business, and, as far as I know, Sergei Pavlovich [Roldugin] as well," he said. "But what is his business? He is a minority shareholder in one of our companies and earns some money there, but this is certainly not billions of dollars. Nonsense, there's nothing like that."

Putin said Roldugin had spent his own money to advance Russian culture, and to acquire musical instruments abroad and bring them to Russia.

"I am proud that I have such friends," said the Russian president.

The Panama Papers consist of more than 11.5 million documents leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that detail hidden offshore accounts held by world leaders and celebrities.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in a collaborative effort by more than 300 journalists from more than 70 countries, analyzed the financial data.

Released recently, the ICIJ report contains details on more than 214,000 offshore entities connected to people in more than 200 countries and territories. It also named 140 international politicians, including 12 current and former political leaders, who allegedly set up offshore bank accounts to hide their assets and possibly evade taxes.

Putin Denounces 'Panama Papers' as Western Plot

David Cameron confesses he DID have £30k stake in dad's offshore fund

DAVID Cameron today came clean on his financial affairs – admitting he and his wife sold shares worth more than £30,000 in an offshore tax haven fund set up by his late father.

After five days of mounting pressure on the PM to reveal his financial interests in Blairmore Holdings, the PM confessed he had owned 5,000 shares until he moved into No10 six years ago.

Ian Cameron's company avoided paying UK tax for years by operating out of the Bahamas and Jersey.

In the bombshell admission the PM admitted he had sold the shares to the tune of £31,500 in 2010 but claimed the profits were “subject to all the taxes in all the normal ways”.

In an interview with ITV News, he said: “I should deal with the past as well. Because of course I did own stocks and shares in the past - quite naturally because my father was a stockbroker.

“I sold them all in 2010, because if I was going to become Prime Minister I didn't want anyone to say you have other agendas, vested interests.

“Samantha and I had a joint account. We owned 5000 units in Blairmore Investment Trust, which we sold in January 2010. That was worth something like £30,000.”

The confession comes five days after Downing Street said the PM's finances were a "private matter", before issuing four statements amid a flurry of speculation.

But today No10 came clean, clarifying that Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha bought their holding in April 1997 for £12,497 and sold it in January 2010 for £31,500.

The annual personal allowance for an individual in 2009-10 was £10,100 - meaning jointly the profit was just outside the threshold.

No10 said Mr and Mrs Cameron bought their holding in April 1997 for £12,497 and sold it in January 2010 for £31,500.

In the interview with ITV's political editor Robert Peston, Mr Cameron said it had been "a difficult few days" since the mass leak of records from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca as he launched a staunch defence of his father.

"I think a lot of the criticisms are based on a fundamental misconception, which is that Blairmore Investment, a unit trust, was set up with the idea of avoiding tax," he said.

"It wasn't. It was set up after exchange controls went, so that people who wanted to invest in dollar-denominated shares and companies could do so, and there are many other, thousands of other unit trusts set up in this way.

"It was reported to the HMRC, the Inland Revenue. It reported itself every year. It was properly audited.

"It wasn't a family trust. It wasn't for the benefit of one particular family; anyone could have bought units in it. And crucially, if you were a UK citizen and bought units in it, then you paid income tax on the dividends, and you paid capital gains tax when you sold the shares.

"So you're subject to full UK taxation.

"So that's what it was. There are many other unit trusts like it, and I think it's being unfairly described, and my father's name is being unfairly written about.

"But look, I'm very clear about my situation. I'm happy to answer questions about it. And above all, I'm going to go on fighting very hard to make sure we have greater transparency, greater rules on tax avoidance, and aggressive tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. It's very important that we do.

"Now, I've been very clear about the future. I've said I'm not going to benefit from any family trusts. I've been very clear about the present: I don't own any shares, I don't own any unit trusts or any investments like that. I own two homes, one of which I rent out, and I have a salary as Prime Minister.

"So my affairs are very transparent. Happy to make them more transparent.

"But I should deal with the past as well, because of course, I did own stocks and shares in the past, quite naturally, as my father was a stockbroker.

"I sold them all in 2010, because if I was going to become Prime Minister, I didn't want anyone to say you've got other agendas or vested interests or all the rest of it. Samantha and I had a joint account, and we owned 5,000 units in Blairmore Investment Trust, which we sold in January 2010. That was worth something like £30,000."

Mr Cameron said he was not able to "point to every source of every bit of the money" that his father left him when he died - which he said amounted to around £300,000.

Pressed on whether he benefited from any part of the estate that was based in Jersey, he said: "Dad's not around for me to ask the questions now. But he was a very hardworking man. He built up a business. He left his house to my brother. He left me some money, and left things to my brothers and sisters, too.

"And I think, you know, there's pretty good transparency about all of that. And as I've said, in the future I'm not benefiting from any Cameron family trust. At the moment I own no shares, no investments. I have savings."

The interview comes after it emerged that shortly before his death in 2010 Ian Cameron owned more than 6,000 shares in a Jersey fund he helped to manage, known by various names including the Close International Equity Growth Fund.

The assets were left to his wife Mary in his will, leaving open the possibility that the PM could benefit from the fund in the future.

Mr Cameron, who has been a prominent campaigner for increased tax transparency, also repeated his willingness to publish his own tax returns.

David Cameron confesses he DID have £30k stake in dad's offshore fund