FILE – Jordan’s King Abdullah II speaks during a media conference prior to a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at NATO headquarters in Brussels, in this Wednesday, May 5, 2021, file photo. Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been stashing away 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 different firms located around the world. The report released Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021, by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. Jordan’s King Abdullah II is one of 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts.
FILE – Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is shown ahead of a meeting at the EU Charlemagne building in Brussels, in this Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019, file photo. Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been stashing away 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 different firms located around the world. The report released Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021, by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is one of 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts.
FILE – Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Andrej Babis speaks during the 4th Budapest Demographic Summit in Budapest, Hungary, in this Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021, file photo. Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been stashing away 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 different firms located around the world. The report released Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Andrej Babis is one of 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts.
FILE – Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta attends the annual tech conference “Inno Generation” organized by French investment bank Bpifrance in Paris, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been stashing away 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 different firms located around the world. The report released Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta is one of 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts.
FILE – Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso speaks as he delivers a proposed bill with economic, tax and labor reforms, in Quito, Ecuador, in this Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, file photo. Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been stashing away 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 different firms located around the world. The report released Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso is one of 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts.
FILE – In this Nov. 19, 2020 file photo, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks during a joint news conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (not shown) at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been stashing away 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 different firms located around the world. The report released Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is one of 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts.
FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, in this Monday, Sept. 27, 2021, file photo. Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been stashing away 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 different firms located around the world. The report released Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin is one of 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts.
Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Andrej Babis attends a TV debate ahead of the upcoming general election in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021.
FILE – In this May 10, 2021, file photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev speaks to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during their meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been stashing away 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 different firms located around the world. The report released Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is one of 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts.
FILE In this file photo taken on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks as he meets with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been stashing away 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 different firms located around the world. The report released Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries.
FILE In this file photo taken on Thursday, March 16, 2017, Head of Russian First Channel Konstantin Ernst attends a meeting in Moscow, Russia. Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been stashing away 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 different firms located around the world. The consortium of journalists revealed Putin’s image-maker and chief executive of Russia’s leading TV station, Konstantin Ernst, got a discount to buy and develop Soviet-era cinemas and surrounding property in Moscow after he directed the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Ernst told the organization the deal wasn’t secret and denied suggestions he was given special treatment.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II speaks during a meeting with tribal leader in Al-Qasta, south of Amman, Jordan, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. King Abdullah II denied Monday any impropriety in his purchase of luxury homes abroad, an effort to contain a budding scandal over reports of lavish spending at a time when he has sought international aid to pull his impoverished country out of recession and help it cope with soaring unemployment.
Chilean President Sebastian Piñera gives a press conference at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. Piñera is one of hundreds of current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of secret offshore bank accounts to hide their investments and shield assets, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in a global report released on Oct. 3, 2021, dubbed the “Pandora Papers.”
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta speaks behind bulletproof glass at the inauguration ceremony of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, after Abiy was sworn in for a second five-year term, in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. Calls grew Monday for an end to the financial secrecy and shell companies that have allowed many of the world’s richest and most powerful people to hide their wealth from tax collectors, following a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, with Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta one of 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts.
Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso waves as he arrives to meet with Indigenous groups at the government palace in Quito, Ecuador, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. Lasso is one of hundreds of current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of secret offshore bank accounts shielding assets, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in a global report released on Oct. 3, 2021, dubbed the “Pandora Papers.”
An exterior view of 56-60 Conduit Street in the Mayfair district of London, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. The property is linked to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a new report dubbed the Pandora Papers that sheds light on how world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires and others have used offshore accounts to shield assets collectively worth trillions of dollars over the past quarter-century.
A view of the entrance of the Chateau Bigaud, in Mougins, southern France, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. An investigation found that in 2009, Andrej Babis, the Czech prime minister, put $22 million into shell companies to buy the property near Cannes. The shell companies and the chateau were not disclosed in Babis’ required asset declarations, according to documents obtained by the journalism group’s Czech partner, Investigace.cz.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Calls grew Monday for an end to the financial secrecy that has allowed many of the world’s richest and most powerful people to hide their wealth from tax collectors.
The outcry came after a report revealed the way that world leaders, billionaires and others have used shell companies and offshore accounts to keep trillions of dollars out of government treasuries over the past quarter-century, limiting the resources for helping the poor or combating climate change.
The report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists brought promises of tax reform and demands for resignations and investigations, as well as explanations and denials from those targeted.
The investigation, dubbed the Pandora Papers, was published Sunday and involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries.
Hundreds of politicians, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have used shell companies or other tactics to hide their wealth and investments in mansions, exclusive beachfront property, yachts and other assets, according to a review of nearly 12 million files obtained from 14 firms located around the world.
“The Pandora Papers is all about individuals using secrecy jurisdictions, which we would call tax havens, when the goal is to evade taxes,” said Steve Wamhoff, director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington.