Paradise Papers: The rich and powerfuls' black money trail comes to light in largest-ever data leak

18 months after the Panama Papers, the biggest ever financial data leak came to light today, obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and probed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in collaboration with 96 news agencies including the Guardian, the BBC and the New York Times, among others.

The wealth of data, known as the Paradise Papers, has revealed hitherto-unheard of information about offshore companies and a host of tax havens — numbering 19 — that have been enabling rich people, including Indians — to park their wealth to other countries.

The latest trail has 13.4 million documents which majorly belong to a Bermuda-based firm -Appleby, which helped its clients evade taxes and obscure ownership of assets. The suppoting files include bank statements, emails and loan agreements from Appleby.


In addition to its Bermudan headquarters, Appleby has offices in tax havens around the world, including the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean; the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey off Britain; Mauritius and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean; and Hong Kong and Shanghai.

The documents come not only from Appleby, but also from the Singaporean company Asiaciti Trust and official business registries in places such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Lebanon and Malta.

The Paradise Paper leak has revealed that millions of pounds from the private estate of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II have been invested in offshore tax haven funds.
Around £10 million ($13 million, EUR11.3 million) of the Queen's private money was placed in funds held in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. The report suggests, the funds reinvested the money in an array of businesses, including controversial rent-to-buy retailer, BrightHouse, which has been accused of exploiting the poor, and a chain of alcohol stores which later went bankrupt.

The documents also show that US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross has a stake in a shipping company that does business with a gas producer partly owned by the son-in-law of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Paradise Paper leak follows last year's release of records from a Panama-based firm involved in setting up offshore accounts. Disclosure of Panama triggered investigations in various countries which also led to the ouster of Pakistan's Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif.