Pandora Spills Secrets of Super Rich

The offshore assets of 35 current and former world leaders have been exposed in an unprecedented leak of financial records dubbed the Pandora Papers. 

The cache of 11.9 million confidential files was leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington, DC. Containing 2.94 terabytes of data, the Papers represent the largest trove of leaked offshore data in history.

According to the ICIJ, the papers offer “a sweeping look at an industry that helps the world’s ultra-wealthy, powerful government officials and other elites conceal trillions of dollars from tax authorities, prosecutors and others.”

More than 100 billionaires are featured in the files, which were derived from 14 offshore services firms from around the world, engaged by clients to set up offshore structures and trusts in tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, Panama, Dubai, Switzerland, and Monaco.

Exposed by the leak are the finances of more than 300 public officials such as government ministers, judges, mayors, and military generals in more than 90 countries. Also impacted are wealth celebrities, musicians, and business leaders.

The ICIJ said that the leaked records have also uncovered the financial secrets of "a global lineup of fugitives, con artists and murderers."

For two years, more than 600 journalists at 150 news outlets have been reviewing the leaked files, which were shared by the ICIJ with media partners including the Guardian, BBC Panorama, Le Monde, and the Washington Post.

The Guardian wrot ..

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