The New York Times was kept completely out of the loop by the investigative reporters. The video below in the article is interesting. The Panama Papers: Here’s What We Know http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/world/panama-papers-explainer.html
Slideshow of who's involved, so far: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/06/the-celebs-and-lawmakers-hit-by-panama-papers.html?slide=14
Panama Papers law firm helped create more than 1,000 U.S. companies "The law firm at the center of the Panama Papers scandal helped to create more than 1,000 companies in the United States, according to a review of state business registration documents. A Las Vegas-based subsidiary of law firm Mossack Fonseca is listed as the registered agent for 1,026 firms incorporated over the past decade and a half, many of which have since been dissolved or are no longer active. In recent days, reports based on a trove of leaked documents from Panama-based Mossack Fonseca have revealed the hidden offshore holdings of powerful individuals and companies from more than 200 countries and territories. CNNMoney hasn't been able to independently verify the reports. The reports, coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, reference 12 current or former world leaders, as well as 128 other politicians and public officials. Few Americans have been named so far, but journalists involved in the investigation say more revelations are coming..." http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/06/news/panama-papers-mossack-fonseca-nevada/index.html
Relatives of China’s Top Leaders Are Identified in Panama Papers "HONG KONG — At least three of the seven people on the Chinese Communist Party’s most powerful committee, including President Xi Jinping, have relatives who have controlled secretive offshore companies, the organization that has publicized a trove of leaked documents about hidden wealth reported on Wednesday. The disclosures by the organization, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, risked new embarrassment for the Chinese authorities, already unnerved and infuriated by the organization’s leaks of the documents, known as the Panama Papers. Chinese government censors have moved aggressively since the first release of leaked documents on Sunday to purge any media’s mention of them in China, going so far as to block Internet searches and online discussions that involve the words “Panama Papers.” The documents, which came from Mossack Fonseca, a boutique Panamanian law firm that specializes in creating tax shelters and secretive corporations for wealthy clients, have jolted political leaders and other powerful figures around the world. But they are considered especially sensitive in China, where the Communist Party, under Mr. Xi, has pledged to eradicate corruption within its ranks and seeks to portray itself as a champion of equality, despite some of the world’s most glaring income disparities..." http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/relatives-of-china’s-top-leaders-are-identified-in-panama-papers/ar-BBrrnQi?li=BBnbcA1
Most likely an anomaly from the only country to prosecute bankers for their role in the financial crisis.
The Panama Papers Actually Reflect Pretty Well on Capitalism "...Less interesting is the predictable result: a flurry of people rushing to blame “global capitalism.” “The documents, which show the extraordinary lengths the global elite have gone to in order to shield their wealth from taxation, are at once big news and old hat,” says my friend Freddie deBoer in Foreign Policy. “They provide the nasty details of the kind of business most savvy people assume goes on all the time. You and I pay our taxes; the wealthy find ways to avoid them. For some, reading about the Panama Papers will feel like being told by your parents that Santa isn’t real: merely the final confirmation of a suspicion that you have harbored for a very long time. The game is rigged, and unless you are part of the global one percent, it isn’t rigged to help you.” A libertarian of my acquaintance wrote to inquire whether this is going to sour people on global capitalism. It shouldn’t. What we’ve seen from the papers so far is not so much an indictment of global capitalism as an indictment of countries that have weak institutions and a lot of corruption. And for all the outrage in the United States, so far the message for us is pretty reassuring: We aren’t one of those countries...." http://www.bloombergview.com/articl...rs-actually-reflect-pretty-well-on-capitalism
The Panama Papers Are Exactly Why Hillary Clinton Can’t Be President "The revelations from the Panama Papers—leaked documents from a secretive Panamanian law firm that helps political elites hide their money—have been hitting home across the world, exposing the widespread corruption of world leaders and their hangers-on. It ought to hit here, too, because it reminds us of everything that should give us the heebie-jeebies about Hillary Clinton. The Panama Papers have simply confirmed everything we already pretty much knew. This is just the way things work in much of the world. Clawing your way into high political office means that you have a lot special of favors to give out, contracts to distribute, land and timber and shipping deal s to approve, and so on. So you dole them out to friends, relatives, and backers—and they naturally show their gratitude by kicking some of it back to you. And if you don't officially get rich—well, mi casa es su casa, what's a little sharing between friends? This has long been Vladimir Putin's method. "In 2010, US diplomatic cables suggested Putin held his wealth via proxies. The president formally owned nothing, they added, but was able to draw on the wealth of his friends, who now control practically all of Russia’s oil and gas production and industrial resources." The Panama Papers shed light on the fortune of Putin's old friend Sergei Roldugin, who has somehow amassed billions as an obscure classical musician. Putin knows how easy it is for corrupt officials to live like kings without officially owning anything, because that's the way things worked in the good old days of the Soviet Union. In most of the world, this is known and more or less accepted as the way things work. But not traditionally in the US and in the developed countries of the West, where our governments have been structured, either from the beginning or over many years of civil service reforms, to prevent corruption and conflicts of interest. So when they are exposed, it's a major scandal. That's why they're pretty much ignoring the Panama Papers in Moscow, but in Iceland, crowds swarmed Raykjavik and forced the resignation of the prime minister. And that confronts us with a question: do we want Panama here? Because a couple of other names pop up in the Panama Papers, including those of a few well-known associates of Hillary Clinton: longtime Democratic Party fixers John and Tony Podesta and Clinton sycophant Sydney Blumenthal. And why not? Hillary Clinton has been up to her neck in crony deals from the very beginning. All the way back in 1978, for example, she indulged a sudden mania for trading cattle futures, from which she made just shy of $100,000 in less than a year—a lot more money back then than it is now, and a whole lot for a young couple like the Clintons. She has shown no interest in commodities trading since, which is surprising considering how successful she was at it. But maybe not so surprising when you consider that her trades back then were made under the guidance of an attorney who worked for a large company that just happened to be regulated by her husband. Gee, that almost looks like a bribe..." http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-panama-papers-are-exactly-why-hillary-clinton-can’t-be-president/ar-BBrwLPl
David Cameron to face parliament over offshore tax havens Maltese government latest to face confidence vote after leak Panama Furor Rumbles Into Week Two as Global Pressure Mounts The fallout from the Panama leaks showed no sign of abating as U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to provide more transparency over his wealth and European officials pledged measures to require companies to report their offshore bank accounts. Cameron will face lawmakers on Monday as he seeks to draw a line under the crisis stemming from information about the use of offshore tax havens leaked from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. Iceland’s prime minister has resigned, Malta’s government faces a confidence vote and Argentine President Mauricio Macri promised to put his assets in a blind trust after he was linked to two companies listed in Panama. The revelations are undermining public trust in governments around the world, even on unrelated issues including Britain’s European Union membership and a Dutch referendum on a proposed trade pact with Ukraine that was defeated last week. The leaks come as politicians around the world find themselves on the defensive against populist groups angry at rising inequality. “The Panama papers are yet another symptom, rather than root cause, of a growing disconnect between elites and their voters,” said Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of Teneo Intelligence in London. “Even if the Panama story were not to drag on for too long, the fundamental crisis of diminishing trust in the political establishment is likely to continue.” As politicians feel the heat, banks, law firms and other companies that have facilitated access to offshore accounts are coming under greater scrutiny that could change how they do business. More than 20 nations have announced probes into information contained in the leaks, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development will host a meeting on April 13 to discuss cross-border tax issues. Global finance ministers are expected to discuss the issue when they gather this week in Washington for the International Monetary Fund’s spring meeting... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...es-into-second-week-as-global-pressure-mounts