Pandora Papers

I'm shocked to find corruption in governments worldwide. ‘Pandora Papers’ investigation sheds light on secretive financial dealings of royalty, politicians, religious leaders and the global elite.

OK, so I'm not shocked at all. This is sort of Panama Papers 2.0

For those of you with a short memory, The Panama Papers was a trove of intelligence that was released by the same group of investigative journalists 5 years ago. This appears to be more of the same.

Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been hiding their investments in mansions, exclusive beachfront property, yachts and other assets for the past quarter-century, according to a review of nearly 12 million files obtained from 14 firms located around the world.

The report released Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. It’s being dubbed the “Pandora Papers” because the findings shed light on the previously hidden dealings of the elite and the corrupt, and how they have used offshore accounts to shield assets collectively worth trillions of dollars.

Presidents and Prime Ministers of various countries, Kings, moguls, friends of powerful people, etc. All hiding assets.

Many of the accounts were designed to evade taxes and conceal assets for other shady reasons, according to the report.

The article I really like is from the Washinton Post, unfortunately it is behind a paywall. Pandora Papers | A global investigation: Billions hidden beyond reach

The trove, dubbed the Pandora Papers, exceeds the dimensions of the leak that was at the center of the Panama Papers investigation five years ago. That data was drawn from a single law firm, but the new material encompasses records from 14 separate financial-services entities operating in countries and territories including Switzerland, Singapore, Cyprus, Belize and the British Virgin Islands.

The files detail more than 29,000 offshore accounts, more than double the number identified in the Panama Papers. Among the account owners are more than 130 people listed as billionaires by Forbes magazine and more than 330 public officials in more than 90 countries and territories, twice the number found in the Panama documents.

I don't expect there to me much fallout really. The King of Jordan, and Putin are fairly safe from anyone's retaliation. They might arrest some clerk, or some low-level lawyer, but the bureaucrats won't really allow their own to face consequences.