About the Paradise Papers Investigation

CAPITALISM, EXPOSURES - EXPOSÉS, 13 Nov 2017

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists – TRANSCEND Media Service

5 Nov 2017 – The Paradise Papers is a global investigation into the offshore activities of some of the world’s most powerful people and companies.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and 95 media partners explored 13.4 million leaked files from a combination of offshore service providers and the company registries of some of the world’s most secretive countries.

The files were obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The Paradise Papers documents include nearly 7 million loan agreements, financial statements, emails, trust deeds and other paperwork from nearly 50 years at Appleby, a leading offshore law firm with offices in Bermuda and beyond.

The documents also include files from a smaller, family-owned trust company, Asiaciti, and from company registries in 19 secrecy jurisdictions. The records range from complex, 100-page corporate transaction sheets and dollar-by-dollar payment ledgers to simple corporate registries of countries, such as Antigua & Barbuda, that do not publicly list names of company shareholders or directors.

As a whole, the Paradise Papers files expose offshore holdings of political leaders and their financiers as well as household-name companies that slash taxes through transactions conducted in secret. Financial deals of billionaires and celebrities are also revealed in the documents.

The Paradise Papers files include far more information about U.S. citizens, residents and companies than previous ICIJ investigations – at least 31,000 of them.

ICIJ collaborated with more than 380 journalists working on six continents in 30 languages. Many team members spent a year using online platforms to communicate and to share documents. Journalists tracked down court records, obtained financial disclosures of politicians in Africa, Europe, and Latin and North America, filed freedom of information requests and conducted hundreds of interviews with tax experts, policymakers and industry insiders.

Special thanks go to the the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting for supporting visual elements of the project, and Neo4j for database support.

Inside Paradise Papers:

Paradise Papers

VIDEO: Watch: The Paradise Papers – Secrets Of The Global Elite

Kremlin-owned Firms Linked to Major Investments in Twitter and Facebook  November 5, 2017 — The Russian government quietly held a financial interest in U.S. social media.

Justin Trudeau’s chief fundraiser linked to offshore tax maneuvers — Long-standing offshore ties of the Liberal Party moneyman and his famous family provide jarring contrast to Canadian prime minister’s campaign for tax fairness.

Room Of Secrets Reveals Glencore’s Mysteries — Law firm’s internal files reveal oil, mineral and grain trader Glencore signed secret deals and loaned millions to a high-risk business partner.

Offshore Trove Exposes Piggy Banks of the Wealthiest

The Influencers: Trump’s Allies in the Paradise Papers

Offshore Magic Circle’ Law Firm Has Record of Compliance Failures

TAX MANEUVERS November 6, 2017: Nike Stays Ahead Of The Regulators by Simon Bowers

HABITS OF THE RICH November 6, 2017: Offshore Gurus Help Rich Avoid Tax on Jets and Yachts by Ryan Chittum and Juliette Garside

The Team:

ICIJ Director: Gerard Ryle

Project Manager: Marina Walker Guevara

Editors: Michael Hudson, Dean Starkman, Martha M. Hamilton, Gerard Ryle, Marina Walker Guevara, and Tom Stites

Research Editor: Emilia Díaz-Struck

Chief Technology Officer: Pierre Romera

Online Editor: Hamish Boland-Rudder

Engagement Editor: Amy Wilson-Chapman

Data Editor: Mar Cabra

Associate Editor and fact-checker: Richard H.P. Sia

Fact-checker and copy editor: Joe Hillhouse

Consulting Digital Editor: Carlos Monteiro

Reporters: Scilla Alecci, Simon Bowers, Sasha Chavkin, Ryan Chittum, Will Fitzgibbon, Martha M. Hamilton, Cecile S. Gallego and Spencer Woodman

Data and Research Unit: Matthew Caruana Galizia, Rigoberto Carvajal, Miguel Fiandor Gutiérrez, Julien Martin, Delphine Reuter and Manuel Villa

Reporters:

• Lyas Hallas (Algeria)
• Mariel Fitz Patrick (Argentina)
• Hugo Alconada (Argentina)
• Iván Ruíz (Argentina)
• Maia Jastreblansky (Argentina)
• Ricardo Brom (Argentina)
• Emilia Delfino (Argentina)
• Sandra Crucianelli (Argentina)
• Inga Ting (Australia)
• Lisa Main (Australia)
• Marian Wilkinson (Australia)
• Michael Janda (Australia)
• Sashka Koloff (Australia)
• Stuart Washington (Australia)
• Carlos Monteiro (Australia)
• Gerard Ryle (Australia)
• Hamish Boland-Rudder (Australia)
• Rocco Fazzari (Australia)
• Edmund Tadros (Australia)
• Fiona Buffini (Australia)
• Geoff Winestock (Australia)
• Neil Chenoweth (Australia)
• Anne Davies (Australia)
• Ben Doherty (Australia)
• Christopher Knaus (Australia)
• Nick Evershed (Australia)
• Amy Wilson-Chapman (Australia / United States)
• Florian Klenk (Austria)
• Josef Redl (Austria)
• Bernt Koschuh (Austria)
• Günter Hack (Austria)
• Jakob Weichenberger (Austria)
• Kaspar Fink (Austria)
• Petra Pichler (Austria)
• Ulla Kramar-Schmid (Austria)
• Delphine Reuter (Belgium)
• Kristof Clerix (Belgium)
• Alain Lallemand (Belgium)
• Xavier Counasse (Belgium)
• Lars Bové (Belgium)
• Aubrey Belford (Bosnia)
• Ilya Lozovsky (Bosnia)
• Miranda Patrucic (Bosnia)
• Ana Kruger (Brazil)
• Douglas Pereira (Brazil)
• Fernando Rodrigues (Brazil)
• Luiz Felipe Barbien (Brazil)
• Mateus Netzel (Brazil)
• Yacouba Ladji Bama (Burkina Faso)
• Anne Panasuk (Canada)
• Benoit Michaud (Canada)
• Chelsea Gomez (Canada)
• Claudine Blais (Canada)
• Dave Seglins (Canada)
• Francis Plourde (Canada)
• Frederic Zalac (Canada)
• Gaétan Pouliot (Canada)
• Gil Shochat (Canada)
• Gillian Findlay (Canada)
• Gino Harel (Canada)
• Harvey Cashore (Canada)
• Julian Sher (Canada)
• Luc Tremblay (Canada)
• Rachel Houlihan (Canada)
• Valérie Ouellet (Canada)
• Zach Dubinsky (Canada)
• Andrew Bailey (Canada)
• Marco Oved (Canada)
• Robert Cribb (Canada)
• Alberto Arellano (Chile)
• Juan Andrés Guzmán (Chile)
• Carlos Eduardo Huertas (Colombia)
• David Tarazona (Colombia)
• Alexander Marin (Colombia)
• Pilar Cuartas (Colombia)
• Alejandra Fernández Morera (Costa Rica)
• Rigoberto Carvajal (Costa Rica)
• Andrea Rodríguez (Costa Rica)
• Emiliana Garcia (Costa Rica)
• Maria Fernanda Cruz (Costa Rica)
• Pavla Holcova (Czech Republic)
• Bo Elkjær (Denmark)
• Søren Kristensen (Denmark)
• John Hansen (Denmark)
• Per Thiemann (Denmark)
• Mónica Almeida (Ecuador)
• Paúl Mena Mena (Ecuador)
• Hisham Allam (Egypt)
• Efren Lemus (El Salvador)
• Jimmy Alvarado (El Salvador)
• José Luis Sanz (El Salvador)
• Jyri Hänninen (Finland)
• Minna Knus Galán (Finland)
• Cécile Shilis-Gallego (France)
• Julien Martin (France)
• Pierre Romera (France)
• Anne Michel (France)
• Benoit Vitkine (France)
• Cecile Prieur (France)
• Christophe Ayad (France)
• Franck Johannes (France)
• Francois Bougon (France)
• François Pilet (France)
• Jean-Baptiste Chastand (France)
• Jérémie Baruch (France)
• Maxime Vaudano (France)
• Nicolas Bourcier (France)
• Samuel Laurent (France)
• Serge Michel (France)
• Yann Bouchez (France)
• Edouard Perrin (France)
• Emmanuel Gagnier (France)
• Romain Verley (France)
• Solène Patron (France)
• Abdelhak El Idrissi (France)
• Adèle Humbert (France)
• Benoît Collombat (France)
• Jacques Monin (France)
• Benedikt Strunz (Germany)
• Brid Rösner (Germany)
• Christoph Lütgert (Germany)
• Elena Kuch (Germany)
• Jan Strozyk (Germany)
• Jochen Becker (Germany)
• Philipp Eckstein (Germany)
• Bastian Brinkmann (Germany)
• Bastian Obermayer (Germany)
• Christoph Giesen (Germany)
• Elisabeth Gamperl (Germany)
• Frederik Obermaier (Germany)
• Hannes Muzinger (Germany)
• Katrin Langhans (Germany)
• Laura Terbel (Germany)
• Mauritius Much (Germany)
• Nicolas Richter (Germany)
• Ralf Wiegand (Germany)
• Tobias Zick (Germany)
• Vanessa Wormer (Germany)
• Andreas Braun (Germany)
• Frank Konopatzki (Germany)
• Georg Wellmann (Germany)
• Jochen Taßler (Germany)
• Luiza Schmidt (Germany)
• Martin Suckow (Germany)
• Petra Blum (Germany)
• Petra Nagel (Germany)
• Harry Karanikas (Greece)
• Thanasis Troboukis (Greece)
• Angélica Medinilla (Guatemala)
• Daniel Villatoro (Guatemala)
• Enrique Naveda (Guatemala)
• Suchit Chávez (Guatemala)
• Investigative Reporting Team (Hong Kong)
• Andras Petho (Hungary)
• Blanka Zoldi (Hungary)
• Adalstein Kjartansson (Iceland)
• Bardi Stefansson (Iceland)
• Jóhannes Kr. Kristjánsson (Iceland)
• Jay Mazoomdaar (India)
• Ritu Sarin (India)
• Sandeep Singh (India)
• Shyamlal Yadav (India)
• Vaidyanathan Iyer (India)
• Agoeng Wijaya (Indonesia)
• Mustafa Silalahi (Indonesia)
• Stefanus Pramono (Indonesia)
• Wahyu Dhyatmika (Indonesia)
• Colm Keena (Ireland)
• John McManus (Ireland)
• Daniel Dolev (Israel)
• Uri Blau (Israel)
• Scilla Alecci (Italy)
• Alessia Cerantola (Italy)
• Gloria Riva (Italy)
• Leo Sisti (Italy)
• Paolo Biondani (Italy)
• Cataldo Ciccolella (Italy)
• Elisa Marincola (Italy)
• Giulio Valesini (Italy)
• Nobuo Kurihara (Japan)
• Yasu Sawa (Japan)
• Daisuke Kamikubo (Japan)
• Jun Matsuda (Japan)
• Junko Mito (Japan)
• Kanami Hashimoto (Japan)
• Kenya Shimodaira (Japan)
• Kotaro Yoshida (Japan)
• Masa Kado (Japan)
• Sadao Moriuchi (Japan)
• Shunsuke Itabashi (Japan)
• Yoji Kitamura (Japan)
• Hidefumi Nogami (Japan)
• Hiroshi Ishida (Japan)
• Keiichi Kitagawa (Japan)
• Kenichi Kimura (Japan)
• Michiko Yoshida (Japan)
• Ryo Takano (Japan)
• Toshi Okuyama (Japan)
• Alia Ibrahim (Lebanon)
• Diana Moukalled (Lebanon)
• Hazem al Amin (Lebanon)
• Mohanad Hage Ali (Lebanon)
• Birutė Davidonytė (Lithuania)
• Dovydas Pancerovas (Lithuania)
• Šarūnas Černiauskas (Lithuania)
• Koh Jun Lin (Malaysia)
• Lu Wei Hoong (Malaysia)
• Matthew Caruana Galizia (Malta)
• Jacob Borg (Malta)
• Keith Micallef (Malta)
• Mark Wood (Malta)
• Daniel Lizárraga (Mexico)
• Raúl Olmos (Mexico)
• Valeria Durán (Mexico)
• Jorge Carrasco (Mexico)
• Mathieu Tourliere (Mexico)
• Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab (Mexico)
• Ignacio Rodríguez Reyna (Mexico)
• Mago Torres (Mexico)
• Lkhagva Erdene (Mongolia)
• Nomin Chinbat (Mongolia)
• Ali Amar (Morocco)
• Salma Refass (Morocco)
• Ndanki Kahiurika (Namibia)
• Shinovene Immanuel (Namibia)
• Gaby de Groot (Netherlands)
• Jan Kleinnijenhuis (Netherlands)
• Karlijn Kuijpers (Netherlands)
• Martijn Roessingh (Netherlands)
• Joshua Olufemi (Nigeria)
• Musikilu Mojeed (Nigeria)
• Andreas Bakke Foss (Norway)
• Henning Carr Ekroll (Norway)
• Nina Selbo Torset (Norway)
• Per Anders Johansen (Norway)
• Umar Cheema (Pakistan)
• Mabel Rehnfeldt (Paraguay)
• Mariana Ladaga (Paraguay)
• Aramís Castro (Peru)
• Gonzalo Torrico (Peru)
• Milagros Salazar (Peru)
• Oscar Libón (Peru)
• David Hidalgo (Peru)
• Fabiola Torres (Peru)
• Nelly Luna (Peru)
• Óscar Castilla (Peru)
• Karol Ilagan (Philippines)
• Malou Mangahas (Philippines)
• Danuta Pawlowska (Poland)
• Mariusz Kania (Poland)
• Vadim Makarenko (Poland)
• Micael Pereira (Portugal)
• Carla Minet (Puerto Rico)
• Omaya Sosa (Puerto Rico)
• Paul Radu (Romania)
• Roman Anin (Russia)
• Mika Velikovskiy (Russia)
• Olesya Shmagun (Russia)
• Roman Shleynov (Russia)
• Dragana Pećo (Serbia)
• Stevan Dojčinović (Serbia)
• Anuška Delić (Slovenia)
• Micah Reddy (South Africa)
• Boyoung Lim (South Korea)
• Inbo Shim (South Korea)
• Jiyoon Kim (South Korea)
• Yongjin Kim (South Korea)
• Yoonwon Choi (South Korea)
• Adrián Blanco (Spain)
• Daniele Grasso (Spain)
• Jesús Escudero (Spain)
• Marcos García Rey (Spain)
• Mar Cabra (Spain)
• Miguel Fiandor (Spain)
• Joaquín Castellón (Spain)
• Nacho Bernaldo de Quirós (Spain)
• Nacho Calle (Spain)
• Verónica Ramírez (Spain)
• Namini Wijedasa (Sri Lanka)
• Fredrik Laurin (Sweden)
• Joachim Dyfvermark (Sweden)
• Karin Mattisson (Sweden)
• Kristina Lagerström (Sweden)
• Linda Larsson Kakuli (Sweden)
• Sven Bergman (Sweden)
• Ola Westerberg (Sweden)
• Alexandre Haederli (Switzerland)
• Catherine Boss (Switzerland)
• Christian Broennimann (Switzerland)
• Hannes von Wyl (Switzerland)
• Julie Jeannet (Switzerland)
• Marie Parvex (Switzerland)
• Mario Staeuble (Switzerland)
• Oliver Zihlmann (Switzerland)
• Titus Plattner (Switzerland)
• Prangtip Daorueng (Thailand)
• Pelin Unker (Turkey)
• Vlad Lavrov (Ukraine)
• Anna Babinets (Ukraine)
• Andrew Head (United Kingdom)
• Andy Verity (United Kingdom)
• Anna Meisel (United Kingdom)
• Calum McKay (United Kingdom)
• Chris Thornton (United Kingdom)
• Daniel de Simone (United Kingdom)
• David Langan (United Kingdom)
• David Thompson (United Kingdom)
• Guy Grandjean (United Kingdom)
• Ian Bendelow (United Kingdom)
• James Melley (United Kingdom)
• James Oliver (United Kingdom)
• Jonathan Coffey (United Kingdom)
• Jonathan Duffy (United Kingdom)
• Mark Daly (United Kingdom)
• Michel Schammel (United Kingdom)
• Naomi McCafferty (United Kingdom)
• Richard Bilton (United Kingdom)
• Steve Swann (United Kingdom)
• Tim Robinson (United Kingdom)
• Simon Bowers (United Kingdom)
• Richard Brooks (United Kingdom)
• Helena Bengtsson (United Kingdom)
• Hilary Osborne (United Kingdom)
• Juliette Garside (United Kingdom)
• Luke Harding (United Kingdom)
• Mat Heywood (United Kingdom)
• Nick Hopkins (United Kingdom)
• Ed Pilkington (United Kingdom/United States)
• Ewen MacAskill (United Kingdom/United States)
• Jon Swaine (United Kingdom/United States)
• Alexander Mierjeski (United States)
• Giannina Segnini (United States)
• Inti Pacheco (United States)
• Jeremy Blackman (United States)
• Keenan Chen (United States)
• Manuela Andreoni (United States)
• Micah Maidenberg (United States)
• Susanne Rust (United States)
• Sylvia Varnham O’Regan (United States)
• Dean Starkman (United States)
• Joe Hillhouse (United States)
• Manuel Villa (United States)
• Marina Walker (United States)
• Martha Hamilton (United States)
• Michael Hudson (United States)
• Richard H.P. Sia (United States)
• Ryan Chittum (United States)
• Sasha Chavkin (United States)
• Spencer Woodman (United States)
• Tom Stites (United States)
• Will Fitzgibbon (United States)
• Amy Walters (United States)
• Emily Harris (United States)
• Matt Smith (United States)
• Michael Montgomery (United States)
• Susanne Reber (United States)
• Jesse Drucker (United States)
• Michael Forsythe (United States)
• Mike McIntire (United States)
• Scott Shane (United States)
• Stephanie Saul (United States)
• Alejandro Fernández (United States)
• Antonio Cucho (United States)
• Damià Bonmatí (United States)
• David Adams (United States)
• Gerardo Reyes (United States)
• José Fernando López (United States)
• Juan Cooper (United States)
• Margarita Rabin (United States)
• Peniley Ramírez (United States)
• Ronny Rojas (United States)
• Tamoa Calzadilla (United States)
• Alfredo Meza (Venezuela)
• Ewald Scharfenberg (Venezuela)
• Fabiola Zerpa (Venezuela)
• Joseph Poliszuk (Venezuela)
• Roberto Deniz (Venezuela)
• Ronna Risquez (Venezuela)
• Valentina Lares (Venezuela)
• Emilia Diaz-Struck (Venezuela)
• Ray Choto (Zimbabwe)

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The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is a global network of more than 190 investigative journalists in more than 65 countries who collaborate on in-depth investigative stories. Founded in 1997 by the respected American journalist Chuck Lewis, ICIJ was launched as a project of the Center for Public Integrity to extend the Center’s style of watchdog journalism, focusing on issues that do not stop at national frontiers: cross-border crime, corruption, and the accountability of power. Backed by the Center and its computer-assisted reporting specialists, public records experts, fact-checkers and lawyers, ICIJ reporters and editors provide real-time resources and state-of-the-art tools and techniques to journalists around the world. MORE…

Leak to ICIJ – ICIJ encourages whistleblowers to securely submit content that might be of public concern. Leak to us

Go to Original – icij.org

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