Reactions to the Panama Papers

This article lists some of the reactions and responses from countries and other official bodies regarding the leak of legal documents related to offshore tax havens from the law firm Mossack Fonseca, called the Panama Papers.

[6] The family of Argentine football player Lionel Messi announced that they will file a complaint after reports accused him of assembling a tax evasion network in Panama.

[8][9] On April 8, Armenian Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center filed a petition with the Ethics Committee for High Level Officials, requesting an investigation of Poghosyan.

[12] According to ICIJ website, "The family of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev leads a charmed, glamorous life, thanks in part to financial interests in almost every sector of the economy.

... [Aliyev's daughter] Arzu, has financial stakes in a firm that won rights to mine for gold in the western village of Chovdar and Azerfon, the country's largest mobile phone business.

[15][16] On April 7, 2016, The Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh launched an inquiry to obtain details of the businesses and individuals and said that tax evaders would be brought to trial and punished.

[17] A research in the Panama papers, from a group of Dutch journalists from the daily newspaper Trouw, has shown that TV Globo is cited "many times" in a money laundering investigation of the De Nederlandsche Bank which revealed that for years the media outlet conducted several "irregular financial transactions" through tax havens in order to pay broadcast rights for the Copa Libertadores.

Considering the material to be a concerted foreign media attack on China, internet information offices were immediately given verbal orders to delete reprinted reports on the Panama Papers, and not to follow up on related content without exceptions.

[36] In a 2013 letter unearthed by the Financial Times to then-president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron said that offshore trusts should not automatically be subject to the same transparency requirements as shell companies.

Brodjonegoro, immediately responded quickly to the leaked data of tax evasion "Panama Papers" by instructing the Directorate General of Taxation (DGT) to follow up the findings.

Leaked investment data originating from Panama law firm, Mossack Fonseca, attracted Bambang's attention because they can be a source of new information about the potential tax that has not been traced.

Among the Israeli names found in the leaked documents are: top attorney Dov Weissglass, who was the bureau chief of the late prime minister Ariel Sharon; Jacob Engel, a businessman active in the African mining industry; and Idan Ofer, a member of one of Israel's wealthiest families, according to Haaretz.

"[61] New Zealand's Inland Revenue Department said that they were working to obtain details of people who have tax residence in the country who may have been involved in arrangements facilitated by Mossack Fonseca.

Alemán criticized vigorously the statements made by the Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) José Ángel Gurría and Minister of Finance of France, Michael Sapin and considered as disrespectful and irresponsible, especially when publications speak of a total of 21 jurisdictions, but only lash out at Panama.

[71] Alemán explained that talks have started with the French ambassador in Panama, with whom the issue will be discussed preliminarily and establish avenues of understanding to clarify the situation being implicated the country.

The lawyer and excontralor of the Republic Alvin Weeden explained that its illegal when the product created or sold to others is used for money laundering or arms smuggling, terrorism, and tax evasion.

[80] Vladimir Putin does not appear in any of the records but the names of many of his associates do, such as construction billionaires Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, as well as the professional musician Sergei Roldugin and business magnate Alisher Usmanov.

[80] The documents leaked indicated that Sergei Roldugin, a professional cellist described by Novaya Gazeta as Vladimir Putin's best friend and the godfather of his eldest daughter, had acquired assets worth at least $100 million, including a 12.5% stake in Video International, Russia's largest television advertising firm.

[93] The Tunis trial court prosecutor ordered a judicial inquiry opened into the Panama Papers and the Tunisian political figures suspected of hiring the firm.

[94] The Tunisian Assembly of the Representatives of the People established a parliamentary commission of inquiry as well[95] When Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ran for office in 2014, he pledged to sell his candy business (Roshen) if elected, but leaked documents indicate that on August 21, 2014 he instead had Mossack Fonseca set up offshore holding company Prime Asset Partners Ltd in the British Virgin Islands and moved his company there, roughly two months after the election.

[96] Oleh Lyashko, leader of the Radical Party, urged lawmakers to begin impeachment proceedings,[96] And even some of his allies backed calls for a parliamentary commission to investigate the allegations.

[96] In the Ukrainian Parliament, relations between the Poroshenko bloc and the People's Front party of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk had over previous months already soured, with mutual accusations of corruption.

[citation needed] Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn, said "The government needs to stop pussyfooting around on tax dodging"[111] and called for "direct rule" to be imposed over British Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies that act as tax havens,[112] a move former Business Secretary Vince Cable agreed with, although former attorney general Dominic Grieve described it as a "bit of a nuclear option"[113] which would "destroy the livelihoods" of BVI inhabitants in the finance industry.

[116] Jennie Granger, a spokeswoman for HMRC said that the department had received "a great deal of information on offshore companies, including in Panama, from a wide range of sources, which is currently the subject of intensive investigation".

[121] By November 2016 it was reported that a total of 22 people had been subjected to investigation by HMRC relating to potential tax evasion as a result of the Panama Papers, with a further 43 "under review".

Corporate Services (Nevada) Ltd. had no affiliation with the Panamanian Mossack Fonseca, but the Panama Papers show that it was in fact a wholly owned subsidiary and tried to hide the relationship, ordering emails and other computer footprints deleted.

[144][149] The names of a few Americans are however mentioned: Josmel Velásquez, brother of a security official under the late Hugo Chávez, was arrested April 15 trying to catch a flight out of the country due to an offshore company revealed by the Panama Papers.

[155] Venezuelan news site Armando.info reported that Josmel's brother Adrian, a former aide to late President Hugo Chávez, had opened a shell company though Mossack Fonseca in the Republic of the Seychelles with a $50,000 deposit.

[157] Hrafnsson's comments were reinforced by a tweet from WikiLeaks which criticized the decision of the ICIJ to not allow full and transparent access to the Panama Papers, stating that, "If you censor more than 99% of the documents you are engaged in 1% journalism by definition.

[158] WikiLeaks also argued via a tweet that the connection between the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the American government would undermine the integrity of the news leak;[158] this position was also, in turn, criticized as a theory which "Vladimir Putin would love.