Will it be Belarus' turn in the grandiose scandal with the Panama Papers? Foreign press about Russia and beyond.

The Organized Crime and Corruption Research Center (OCCRP), which continues to publish documents from the scandalous Panama Papers, reported on the connection of cellist Sergei Roldugin, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, with an offshore company where funds from the Russian budget were transferred.

The theft scheme was discovered at the time by Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died at the age of 37 in a Moscow pre-trial detention center in 2009. According to Hermitage Capital, Magnitsky’s arrest was initiated by the very people he accused.

According to OCCRP, in 2008, part of the amount of $230 million as a result of several transactions was transferred to the account of Delco Networks, registered in the British Virgin Islands.

According to information from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism, this company in the same year bought 70 thousand shares of Rosneft from the Panamanian offshore of Sergei Roldugin called International Media Overseas.

Roldugin's connection with the embezzlement scheme uncovered by Magnitsky is in the graphic. Photo: occrp.org

Experts believe that in this way the funds ultimately came to a company owned by a close Russian authorities face.

On April 3, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism published material about corruption in the highest echelons of power in several countries around the world. Russia was dedicated Substantial part this investigation.

Among other things, it is alleged that people close to President Putin laundered more than $2 billion through Rossiya Bank and Panamanian offshore companies. The Kremlin calls the investigation an “information hoax.”

A deal to purchase 70 thousand shares of Rosneft from the Panamanian offshore of Sergei Roldugin called International Media Overseas. Photo: screenshot of document occrp.org

Vladimir Putin himself confirmed that his friend and, according to some sources, Godfather his eldest daughter Maria, Roldugin is engaged in business, but all the money, according to Putin, the cellist spends on buying musical instruments abroad for Russian institutions.
“What Sergei Pavlovich Roldugin bought, and he bought, in my opinion, two violins, two cellos, these are unique things! The last one he purchased was about $12 million. I don’t know if we have such tools in the country at all. Rostropovich had one, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t buy it, the state didn’t have the money - it went to Japan,” on the last “Direct Line”.
Previously, the Russian president was proud to have friends such as musician Sergei Roldugin. Sergei Magnitsky exposed a total of 5.4 billion rubles ($230 million) that were transferred to France and Luxembourg.

The Panama Papers were obtained from the law firm Mossack Fonseca in Panama, which provides offshore company registration and management services. The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung received them and provided them to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina

According to the documents, the brother and father of the Argentine president were directors of the company Fleg Trading Ltd, registered in the Bahamas in 1998 and closed in 2009. Macri did not indicate anything about this company in his declaration, but declared $158 thousand of foreign assets in 2008, without specifying them sources and location.

Sigmundur Gunnlaigsson, Prime Minister of Iceland

Hid millions of dollars of investment from Icelandic banks in offshore companies. According to the documents, Gunnleygsson and his wife bought the offshore company Wintris in 2007 and did not indicate it in the declaration. In 2010, the Icelandic prime minister sold 50% of the company to his wife for $1.

Bidzina Ivanishvili, former Prime Minister of Georgia

He hid from the tax authorities that he owns the company Lynden Management Ltd in the British Virgin Islands and did not record it in any declaration. Through Lynden Management, Ivanishvili and his partners controlled about 20% of the shares of the American pharmaceutical company Raptor Pharmaceuticals.

Ali Abu Ragheb, former Prime Minister of Jordan

A few months before the end of his term as prime minister, he registered the offshore company Jaar Investment Ltd, which opened accounts with Arab Bank in Geneva. Together with his wife, he became a director of Jay Investment Holdings Ltd in the British Virgin Islands. Until December 2014, Ragheb owned three companies in the Seychelles. His children, directors of other companies, had accounts at Arab Bank in Geneva.

Iyad Allawi, former Vice President of Iraq

In 1985, he registered the company I.M.F through Mossack Fonseca. Holdings Inc. In 2013, the total value of its assets was $1.5 billion. Another company that Allawi did not list in his declaration is Moonlight Estates Limited.

Ian Cameron, late father of British Prime Minister David Cameron

He helped create and develop the offshore company Blairmore Holdings Inc in 1982, and was involved in its activities until his death in 2010. In 1998, Blairmore was valued at $20 million.

Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan

Aliyev and his wife bought Rosamund International Ltd in the British Virgin Islands in 2003. Aliyev was listed as the director and co-owner of Rosamund International Ltd, and therefore violated the law prohibiting the president from doing business.

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia

Through offshore companies he owned a yacht and real estate in London, which was valued at $34 million. A number of companies are registered in the name of the monarch, including Safason Corporation SA SPF, Verse Development Corporation, InRow Corporation, Crassus Limited and Park Property Limited.

Rami and Hafiz Makhlouf, cousins ​​of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

For many years foreign companies who sought to operate in Syria had to first be approved by Rami Makhlouf, Bashar al-Assad's cousin. Due to international pressure and sanctions, the Makhlouf brothers hid funds in offshore companies registered through Mossack Fonseca. But the Panama Company severed ties with the Makhlouf brothers in early 2011 due to international sanctions.

Lionel Messi, football player

Messi and his father own an offshore company, Mega Star Enterprises, registered in Panama. She was first mentioned in the Mossack Fonseca archives on June 13, 2013. Spanish prosecutors have charged both Messis with multimillion-dollar tax fraud.

Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine

Despite Peter's own statements in a blind trust. He began restructuring the assets of the Roshen company, creating for this three offshore companies, which he mentioned in the declaration. The president's lawyers noted that the shares of Prime Asset Partners Limited have no par value. But there is a document confirming that the president owns 1,000 shares, each worth $1.

Friends of Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

The materials include four companies associated with Russia - Sonnette Overseas, International Media Overseas, Sunbarn and Sandalwood Continental. International Media Overseas and Sonnette Overseas are owned by a close friend Russian President cellist Sergei Roldugin. The investigation also mentions offshore companies of the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, minister economic development Alexey Ulyukaev, son Russian oligarch and Putin's friend Igor Rotenberg and other Russian politicians. The amount of withdrawn offshore companies can reach $2 billion.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Monday, May 9, released the full Panama Papers database, which provides information on the owners of offshore companies from different countries peace. At first, in Russia, according to this database, there were 2,229 offshore owners, and 7,319 companies, but then the list was updated.

Now there are 6,285 Russians in the database. There are also 11,516 offshore companies associated with Russian citizens, and 5,534 addresses in Russia are mentioned, notes RIA Novosti.

For comparison, according to the same database, 8,995 offshore owners are among Chinese citizens, 4,536 among US citizens, 920 among British citizens. There are only 165 offshore owners from Ukraine.

On the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database project website you can find information on more than 100,000 offshore companies. After launching a database search, there were no unreleased documents left from the Panama Papers.

The consortium's YouTube account contains instructions explaining how to use the database.

According to a study by Columbia University professor James Henry, published on May 8 by The Guardian, more than $12 trillion was transferred from Russia, China and other developing economies through offshore companies. Chinese citizens are hiding $1.2 trillion offshore. Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, which have been involved in high-profile corruption scandals in last years, are also among the countries that are disadvantaged in this sense, the newspaper writes.

According to the ICIJ database, 1,784 citizens of Malaysia, 2,961 citizens of Indonesia and 780 citizens of Thailand own offshore companies.

On April 3, 2016, the same ICIJ published large-scale material about the network of offshore companies around the world. The publication was made possible thanks to the leak of documents from the Panamanian company - the registrar of offshore companies Mossack Fonseca. Hundreds of journalists from different countries, including employees of the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the British The Guardian and the Russian Novaya Gazeta, participated in the analysis and addition of the MossFon data received from an anonymous source.

The man who organized the leak of the Panama Papers about offshore companies first explained his motives on May 6 through the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, hiding under the pseudonym John Doe. He explained that he does not cooperate with any intelligence service in the world and has never worked for intelligence agencies. John Doe stated that he considers the current world order to be unfair and believes that crimes are often committed through offshore companies and, in general, this institution is used to make the rich get richer to the detriment of the interests of the less wealthy.

More than 300 economists from 30 countries called for the abolition of offshore companies

Once the investigation, known as the Panama Papers, was posted online, non-governmental international organization Anti-corruption team Transparency International called on the leaders of the G20 countries to “immediately” get together and ban offshore companies around the world.

On Monday, May 9, more than three hundred economists from 30 countries made a similar appeal to world leaders. Among the authors of the appeal is the laureate Nobel Prize in Economics 2015 Angus Deaton, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund Olivier Blanchard and many other prominent economists who call for the abolition of offshore tax havens. In their opinion, tax incentive zones “do not serve economic purposes” and add nothing to “global welfare,” writes.

The announcement comes ahead of an international anti-corruption summit to be held in London on May 12, attended by politicians from 40 countries, as well as representatives of the World Bank and IMF. It will be hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

“Overcoming offshore companies will not be easy, since there is a huge personal interest of those who are satisfied with the current state of affairs,” note the authors of the appeal. In their opinion, “there is no economic justification” for the continued existence of offshore companies.

On the third of April last year the Panamanian storm broke out. The basis for drastic climate change was the publication of the results of a journalistic investigation into the case of a large Latin American offshore registrar - the law firm Mossack Fonseca. In a matter of hours, the storm spread to all continents and caused significant political damage to many famous people.

The full extent of the destruction on this moment impossible to estimate. Journalists published only part of the materials and promised to supplement the lists of offshore owners by name in May. In anticipation of new scandals and revelations, experts and simply caring people are trying to assess the consequences and understand how to continue to live.

Meanwhile, the consequences for those involved are not at all the same.

photo from cartoonaday.com

Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson suffered the most. Only two days passed between the report's publication and his resignation. The politician was not even given time to make excuses. Although, what could a civil servant, who made the fight against offshore companies one of the key slogans of the election campaign, say in response to questions from angry citizens about his own shadow operations. Indeed, it is wiser to remain silent and leave the office amid disapproving noise.

The leader of the ice country was not the only figure of this magnitude to find himself on the incriminating list. In total, it included twelve active world political leaders with different shares of participation.

But it is worth noting that the scandal did not spare even those whose names were not directly included in the list - they are accused on the basis of circumstantial evidence, linking them with close associates who took over multimillion-dollar transactions.

Among those indirectly involved was Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

Panamanian offshore companies: investigation of the scandal with the list of Russians

photo from thenewdaily.com.au

Russia is accustomed to corruption. Despite annual restarts of programs and the introduction of new regulatory measures and penalties, we consistently maintain high level in the field of corruption of the bureaucracy. Habit is a terrible thing - what caused a waterfall of emotions the first time can only make you chuckle thoughtfully by the tenth time. Therefore, the results of the investigation seriously shocked a few people - mostly journalists. The general public reacted with restraint, and when compared with Iceland, there was no reaction at all - even the police officers were not interested in the dull pickets in the center of Moscow,

At the same time, there are a lot of Russians in the global compromising evidence. There are governors, officials from the presidential staff, and heads of large state companies. Of particular interest were the names of people who are part of the president's circle - the Rotenberg brothers and cellist Sergei Roldugin, in particular. In total, independent journalists discovered connections between offshore companies and the families of twelve officials.

What exactly is the problem?

photo from www.dw.com

An offshore is a tax haven on foreign territory, where you can place your capital without fear for its safety: all kinds of benefits and special conditions that's a guarantee. Law firms executing management will monitor your savings in compliance with the best financial traditions. In the end, everyone will be happy: the country where you keep your money can support its own economic system; you hid shadow income and avoided taxes.

But! In addition to ethical considerations, there is an official ban on civil servants in Russia from participating in business transactions abroad and from having accounts abroad. Deputies State Duma it is forbidden to practice entrepreneurial activity basically. Therefore, offshore companies are nothing more than a violation of all the listed regulations.

Draw your attention to:

Despite the serious accusations against officials that journalists rushed to bring forward, there is no direct evidence that allows us to say unequivocally without a special investigation that this or that person is guilty of violating the law.

Panamanian offshore companies: all the names of Russian citizens that you should pay attention to

photo from the site srv1.imgonline.com.ua

Pending publication detailed materials investigations, in which, obviously, we will find even more interesting information, let’s briefly look at the names included in the list.

Dmitry Peskov

On duty, the presidential press secretary often appears in front of the public. It is much more difficult for a public person to leave his private life outside of his profession. Hence the questions about expensive watch, high-end honeymoon trips and so on. It is not surprising that his name appeared in the news headlines in the offshore case. What is the reason?

His wife: professional figure skater Tatyana Navka was listed as a beneficiary of one of the companies. The famous athlete’s comment was unequivocal: there have never been offshore companies; who could use the name does not know.

In fact: the company was registered in 2014, before the wedding of Tatyana Navka and Dmitry Peskov. There is no information about the current beneficiary.

Dmitry Ulyukaev

He is not an official. Unlike his father, Alexey Ulyukaev, Minister of Economic Development.

Dmitry was the director of one of the offshore companies at the time when Alexey Valentinovich served as first deputy chairman of the Central Bank.

In fact: from a formal point of view, there are no violations. Especially if you forget to mention that at the time of registration of the company, Dmitry was only 21 years old.

In addition to the Ulyukaev family, a certain Yulia Khryapina was involved in the case of this company. Based on some guesses, analysis of photographs and the establishment of possible connections between Ms. Khryapina and Alexei Ulyukaev, it is believed that this may be the official’s wife.

In fact: there is no direct evidence.

Ivan Malyushin

From 2003 to last year, citizen Malyushin served as deputy manager of the presidential affairs. In the scandal about Panamanian offshore companies, he is mentioned in the list of Russians who were beneficiaries of one of the companies registered in Panama.

In fact: the company, of which Malyushin was listed as a beneficiary, ceased to exist in 2013. The formal ban on offshore ownership is tied to the same year. The only problem is that the company was abolished three weeks after the amendments prohibiting civil servants from participating in foreign business and having foreign accounts came into force.

Maxim Liksutov

The vice-mayor of Moscow was listed as a beneficiary in several offshore companies.

In fact: before the 2013 restrictions came into force, Liksutov’s shares were transferred to his wife, from whom he subsequently divorced.

Along with officials, regional heads (Andrey Turchak, Boris Dubrovsky), representatives of the legislative branch (Dmitry Zvagelsky, Mikhail Slipenchuk, Suleiman Geremeev, Alexander Babakov), and security officials (Alexei Patrushev, Igor Zubov) were drawn into the case. However, even in their case, without a special investigation, the charges look weak.

Panamanian offshore companies of Putin's friends: the scandal they are talking about

photo from panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de

What received the most attention was not the Rotenberg brothers, whose names often come up when trying to accuse the president of corruption, but cellist Sergei Roldugin. The musician is known for his close friendship with the president, and therefore his name among the owners of offshore companies with a turnover of several billion dollars attracted special attention.

Questions were raised not only by the existence of companies, but also by their operating patterns. Here is one example: a company owned by a musician agrees on the purchase of shares in the oil and gas company Rosneft. The contract is concluded. But suddenly the deal breaks down. The firm receives $750,000 as compensation. Transparent scheme? It may not seem like much to us, but without an investigation and concrete evidence, convictions are not made.

By the way, on the offshore case, the Kremlin adheres to the position taken a week before publication: earlier comments were published stating the possible injection of information compromising Russia. After the release of the investigation materials, their results were called “speculation”, and it was announced that there were no intentions to file lawsuits based on them.

photo from birdinflight.com

Leitmotif: no matter what corruption connections journalists, opposition politicians or other interested parties draw, accusations of violation of the law must be supported by evidence and investigations. So far they have not been carried out, which means that loud words about revealing the fraud of the century remain nothing more than words.

The Panama scandal erupted in early April, but still continues to “delight” the public with new details.

History of the Panama scandal

Let us recall that in early April, as a result of an information leak, it became known that a large Panamanian firm called Mossack Fonseca & Co was involved in large-scale corruption deals aimed at hiding the income of unscrupulous taxpayers around the world. Among the TNCs that hid their income in Panamanian offshores are Coca-Cola, Apple, Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, Ford, Goldman Sachs. The Center for the Study of Corruption and Organized Crime reported on May 9 that Panama scandal More than 200 thousand offshore companies are involved. The list of the “Panamanian archives” mentions more than a dozen full namesakes of Russian millionaires. True, most of their offshore companies ceased to be active by 2015, most likely due to the adoption of the law on foreign organizations. It is possible that there are no fewer offshore companies among Russian millionaires - their owners simply prefer to register companies in the name of other persons. The Panamanian lists include many large politicians, including heads of state such as: the presidents of Ukraine, Argentina and the UAE, the Prime Minister of Iceland and the King of Saudi Arabia. British Prime Minister David Cameron risks losing his post due to his involvement in illegal financial transactions.

Putin's entourage in the Panama Archives lists

Well-known Russian politicians also appear on the Panama lists. For almost a month it has been discussed that the childhood friend and godfather of one of Putin’s daughters, Sergei Rodulgin, had financial assets in Panamanian offshores. Although the president himself stated that Rodulgin spends all his savings on musical instruments and does not engage in illegal financial transactions.
The online newspaper “Economic News” reports that another wave of publications of documents from “ Panama Papers“confirmed the participation of the president’s cousin, Igor Putin, in Panamanian offshore companies. But Dmitry Peskov and his wife in new version there are no Panama lists, although their names were listed in the first document published by journalists. It became known about new names that appear in the “Panamanian archives”. Thus, according to unconfirmed reports, the lists include offshore accounts registered to the Rotenberg brothers - Boris and Arkady, as well as Ramzan Kadyrov and his relatives.

The Yabloko party began its “Panamagate”

Russian Political Party Yabloko could not remain indifferent to the unfolding events and stated that it would also look for the owners of Panamanian offshore accounts among Russian political figures.
The head of the party center for anti-corruption policy, which is part of the Yabloko party, Sergei Mitrokhin, called on party supporters to look for the names of regional deputies and officials in the database of the list published by journalists of the ICIJ organization. Let us remind you that the list was opened on May 9 and is located here. Most likely, activists of the Yabloko party will not be able to find major “finds” - the names of all famous personalities from the Panama list have already thundered in the media. But now it’s the turn of local and regional officials to worry. The Vedomosti newspaper reports that the Yabloko party has already found several new names of officials from the list: the names of two regional deputies and the son of the former prime minister of Udmurtia coincided.