Pandora Papers : Most Expansive Expose Of Financial Secrecy
NDTV : The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists said it would release its ‘most expansive expose of financial secrecy yet,’ based on the leak of 11.9 million documents ‘covering every corner of the globe.’
According to GEO TV, The Pandora Papers are larger than the Panama Papers in terms of data collection and collaboration, made possible by the largest research team in the history of journalism in the world.
Panama fears the publication Sunday of a new expose about financial secrecy in global tax havens could again taint its reputation, which was seriously damaged by the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal, according to a government letter released by local media.
‘The damage could be insurmountable,’ the Panamanian government said in the letter, sent through a law firm to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The letter warns that ‘any publication’ reinforcing ‘a false perception’ of the country as a possible tax haven ‘will have devastating consequences for Panama and its people.’
The ICIJ tweeted that it would release Sunday 1630 GMT its ‘most expansive expose of financial secrecy yet,’ based on the leak of 11.9 million documents ‘covering every corner of the globe.’
The ‘Pandora Papers’ investigation is the result of work by more than 600 reporters in 117 countries, the ICIJ said.
The letter from the Panamanian government also references some of the reforms that the Central American country has made in recent years, although it remains on the EU list of tax havens.
It also indicates that since 2016 the registration of more than 395,000 companies and foundations has been suspended, around half of those existing at that time.
The government fears that Panama will again be the epicenter of a new global tax havens scandal like the one that followed the ICIJ’s disclosure of the ‘Panama Papers’ in 2016.
That massive data leak exposed widespread tax avoidance and evasion using complex structures of offshore shell companies and caused an international outcry.
The leak, linked to the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, damaged Panama’s international image, despite the fact that most of the companies involved were overseas.
The investigation revealed the concealment of properties, companies, assets, profits and tax evasion by heads of state and government, political leaders and personalities from finance, sports and the arts.
Since then, Panama has carried out various legal reforms to strengthen banking controls and penalize tax evasion with jail time.
According to Toronto Star, A massive new leak of financial records has exposed thousands of secretive companies used by the global elite to move money into offshore tax havens.
About $3 billion in tax revenue is lost annually to offshore accounts held by wealthy Canadians. Pulling back the curtain on this shadowy world, the Pandora Papers show the dealings of hundreds of Canadians, former and current world leaders, prominent businesspeople, celebrities, fugitives and judges.
According to Samaa TV, the names of several Pakistanis are said to be on the Pandora Papers. ICIJ members had worked on 2016 Panama Papers that shook Pakistan across the globe and led to the downfall of governments, including that of Nawaz Sharif.
According to The Pakistan Daily, at least 444 Pakistani nationals have been named in the Panama Papers leak.
Journalist Umar Cheema, who is one of the 600 journalists, told Geo TV that several Pakistani names were in the Pandora Papers. ‘Pakistani people whose name are on [Pandora Papers] number more than [those whose names were on] the Panama Papers,’ he said.
The Pandora Papers also have international significance. German journalist Benedikt Strunz has said, ;something huge is coming up!’
In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first mortal woman who was formed out of clay by the Greek gods. The creation of Pandora was often depicted in ancient Greek vase paintings. She appears as either a statue-like figure surrounded by gods or as a woman rising out of the earth.
The myth continues that Pandora had a jar containing all manner of misery and evil. She made the mistake of opening it after which the evils flew out over the earth. In another version of the story, it is said that the jar contained blessings, which would have been preserved for the human race had it not been for curiosity. The jar turned into a box in the 16th Century when Renaissance humanist Erasmus mistranslated Greek. (Source : NDTV, GEO TV, Toronto Star, The Express Tribune, Samaa TV, The Pakistan Daily)