Pandora Papers: All the interesting facts you should know 2021
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), an international investigative journalism organization, on Sunday unveiled details of the overseas wealth of key figures from more than 200 countries.
According to ICIJ, the details have been compiled after a review of about 12 million files of 14 different financial companies around the world, dubbed 'Pandora Papers'.
According to the ICIJ website, 600 journalists from more than 150 media outlets from 117 countries took part in compiling the documents, entitled Pandora Papers.
According to ICIJ, the Pandora Papers include details of 35 world leaders from more than 91 countries and territories and more than 330 current and former politicians. They also include the names of several current and former heads of state and their close associates.
But the organization did not provide details on how it obtained the information or data from financial institutions.
The ICIJ had earlier in 2016 published details about the assets of hundreds of world leaders, politicians, businessmen, criminals and celebrities in various fields under the name 'Panama Papers'.
Why was the ICIJ investigation named Pandora Papers?
The ICIJ called its investigation "Pandora Papers" because it exposed the elite's secret transactions and attempts to conceal trillions of dollars' worth of assets through offshore accounts.
It is a name derived primarily from Greek traditions, and a proverb, "opening a Pandora's box," is now common in English and now in Urdu. It means bringing up something that can cause problems for many people.
Two journalists from Pakistan were involved in the preparation of the Pandora Papers, including Omar Cheema, who worked on the Panama Papers, and Fakhr Durrani, a correspondent for the local English newspaper The News.
According to the list released by ICIJ, these papers also include 700 Pakistanis who have offshore companies abroad.
According to the American business magazine Forbes, the 29,000 offshore companies listed in the Pandora Papers include 130 companies from the magazine's list of billionaires.
Where did the names of hundreds of world leaders come from?
The Pandora Papers include the names of more than 330 world leaders. The ICIJ has cited the recent revelations as the reason for the inclusion of so many political leaders.
ICIJ says the 14 financial companies it has collected data on include clients from two financial services providers, Alcogal and Trident Trust, as well as a large number of former politicians and government officials. Is. Most of his assets are registered in the British Virgin Islands and Panama.
According to ICIJ, more than half of the politicians and government officials named in the Pandora Papers are clients of Alcogl.
It should be noted that Alcogl is headquartered in Panama and its founders include several politicians. One of its founders is the former ambassador of Panama to the United States.
According to the AFP news agency, the Alcogal company has denied the allegations of involvement in suspicious activities and has indicated that it will take legal action in its defense. Authorities have also been offered to investigate the alleged irregularities.
Who makes the complex system?
ICIJ says a review of the data received also reveals how banks and law firms create complex systems for offshore service providers.
According to the organization, the documents show that service providers do not have complete information about all their customers, despite the legal requirement to be careful when dealing with people involved in suspicious activities.
The investigation claims that trust companies have also taken advantage of the laws of some US states where confidentiality is paramount.
With the help of these laws, many people save their capital abroad to save taxes in their countries.
Differences between Pandora and Panama Papers
The ICIJ claims that the Pandora Papers are the result of the largest joint journalistic investigation in history.
According to the Associated Press, the Pandora Papers have revealed more details than the Panama Papers released by ICIJ in 2016.
After the release of the Panama Papers in 2016, police operations were carried out in different countries of the world. New laws were enacted in many countries, while the prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan had to go home because of the scandal.
ICIJ says about three terabytes of data have been reviewed for Pandora Papers. This data is equivalent to the volume of seven and a half million images taken from a smartphone.
The data is from 14 financial services companies around the world located in 38 different countries around the world. The record of which has been reviewed, including the record of the 1970s. However, documents from 1996 to 2020 have been the focus of investigation.
The total volume of data previously released by the Panama Papers was 2.6 terabytes. The data was leaked to Panama-based law firm Mosaic Fonseca. Because the company was based in Panama, the documents released were dubbed the "Panama Papers."
Where are the offshore companies?
The latest investigation includes the names of British Virgin Islands, Shell, Hong Kong and Bells, which are considered safe for offshore companies, as well as details of secret accounts and trusts set up in the United States.
There are 81 trusts in the US state of South Dakota and 37 trusts in Florida through which assets were purchased.
According to AFP, Maxim Vaudano, a French journalist who has been involved in the ICIJ's joint investigation in the past, says that the number of politicians covered in the Pandora Papers outnumbers the Panama Papers. Is double
"One aspect that sets these recent details apart from Panama is that they also include the names of tax havens or tax havens that we didn't know much about before," he said.
He says South Dakota has emerged as a major tax haven following reforms in Bermuda or the Bahamas.
Are all properties illegal?
ICIJ, the organization that issues Pandora's papers, says it is not illegal in most countries to do business with offshore or shell companies. People who do business internationally need offshore companies to run their finances.
But at the same time, ICIJ says that because of this concession, people usually transfer their assets, which they have earned from high-taxing countries, only to other places through paper companies. ۔
According to the ICIJ, the cover-up of offshore companies by political figures in particular is controversial because they can also cover up activities that are generally unacceptable or illegal.