Version 1: Fri, Apr 11, 2025
Introduction
Note, ICIJ was involved in all three releases, while Süddeutsche
Zeitung only in the first two.
Süddeutsche Zeitung https://www.sueddeutsche.de/ (German)
The Süddeutsche Zeitung published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the
largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ
is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal,
progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. It is considered one of
Germany’s newspapers of record. - Wikipedia
The International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists https://www.icij.org/ 1730 Rhode Island Ave NW, Suite
317, Washington, D.C. 20036 USA. Donors include:
- U.S. State Department (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor)
- National Endowment for Democracy
- Open Society Foundations
Not clear whether at the time of the releases they were the same
funders. Archive https://archive.ph/iEV2f
Panama Papers (2016)
Panama Papers Source Offers Documents To Governments, Hints
At More To Come https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/20160506-john-doe-statement/
By ICIJ - May 6, 2016
In a statement issued to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and
the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the so-called
“John Doe” behind the biggest information leak in history cites the need
for better whistleblower protection and has hinted at even more
revelations to come.
Titled The Revolution Will Be Digitized the
1800-word statement gives justification for the leak, saying that
“income inequality is one of the defining issues of our time” and says
that government authorities need to do more to address it.
Süddeutsche Zeitung has authenticated that the statement came from
the Panama Papers source.
Panama Papers https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Papers -
Wikipedia
The Panama Papers are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes
of data) published beginning April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial
and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities.
These documents, some dating back to the 1970s, were created by, and
taken from, the former Panamanian offshore law firm and corporate
service provider Mossack Fonseca, and compiled with similar leaks into a
searchable database.
Panama Papers trial concludes with all defendants acquitted
of money laundering https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/panama-papers-trial-concludes-with-all-defendants-absolved-of-money-laundering-charge/
By Carmen Molina Acosta - June 28, 2024
Panama’s courts closed out the high-profile Panama Papers trial
Friday, with judge Baloisa Marquínez acquitting all 28 people who faced
trial over their alleged role in setting up shell companies used in
bribery and corruption scandals in Brazil and Germany.
Paradise Papers (2017)
Offshore Trove Exposes Trump-Russia links and Piggy Banks of
the Wealthiest 1 Percent https://www.icij.org/investigations/paradise-papers/paradise-papers-exposes-donald-trump-russia-links-and-piggy-banks-of-the-wealthiest-1-percent/
By ICIJ - November 5, 2017
The leaked documents, dubbed the Paradise Papers, show how deeply the
offshore financial system is entangled with the overlapping worlds of
political players, private wealth and corporate giants, including Apple,
Nike, Uber and other global companies that avoid taxes through
increasingly imaginative bookkeeping maneuvers.
Paradise Papers https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Papers -
Wikipedia
The Paradise Papers are a set of over 13.4 million confidential
electronic documents relating to offshore investments that were leaked
to the German reporters Frederik Obermaier and Bastian Obermayer, from
the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. The newspaper shared them with the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and a network of
more than 380 journalists. Some of the details were made public on 5
November 2017 and stories are still being released.
Countries with politicians, public officials, or close associates
named in the leakThe documents originate from the legal firm Appleby,
the corporate services providers Estera and Asiaciti Trust, and business
registries in 19 tax jurisdictions. They contain the names of more than
120,000 people and companies. Among those whose financial affairs are
mentioned are, separately, AIG, then-Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth
II, President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, and U.S. Secretary of
Commerce Wilbur Ross.
Greeks in the Paradise
Papers
From the Wikipedia article above:
Mareva Grabowski is listed in the Paradise Papers. She is married to
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who later became Prime Minister of Greece. She owns
50% of an offshore company, Eternia Capital Management in the Cayman
Islands. This match was verified in Appleby and listed in Cayman records
on 30 March 2010.
In total, 2.829 Greek names are listed in the papers, including
several prominent business people.
Odessa Mafia
Paradise Papers: Ukraine crime gang hid proceeds in luxury
London flats https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43823962 - Paradise Papers
reporting team - BBC Panorama - 23 April 2018
The Odesa Mafia’s Secret Flats in London https://www.occrp.org/en/project/paradise-papers/the-odesa-mafias-secret-flats-in-london
by Anna Babinets and Elena Loginova - Paradise Papers Investigation -
April 23, 2018
In the 1990s, “Angert’s Gang” in Odesa, Ukraine, was a powerhouse of
crime. It diverted fuel sales from the reliably corrupt Odesa Refinery,
extorted local businessmen, and even arranged the murders of local
enemies and politicians.
Points of interest:
- Info about the Odessa mafia also comes from the Panama Papers
- As of 2018 the daughter of the crime boss Aleksander Angert lived in
London
- Aleksander Angert lives according to an account the turkish resort
town Bodrum
- Original group leader Leonid Minin was also involved in arms
trafficking
- Gennadiy Trukhanov the current mayor of Odessa was at one time a
member of the group
Interesting to speculate how the new 100-year agreement between UK
and Ukraine that involves the Odessa port will impact the illegal
activities.
Pandora Papers (2021)
Pandora Papers: An offshore data tsunami https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/about-pandora-papers-leak-dataset/
By Emilia Díaz-Struck et al. - October 3, 2021
A terabyte data trove exposes the offshore secrets of wealthy elites
from more than 200 countries and territories. These are people who use
tax and secrecy havens to buy property and hide assets; many avoid taxes
and worse. They include more than 330 politicians and 130 Forbes
billionaires, as well as celebrities, fraudsters, drug dealers, royal
family members and leaders of religious groups around the world.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists spent more
than a year structuring, researching and analyzing the more than 11.9
million records in the Pandora Papers leak.
The Pandora Papers investigation is the world’s largest-ever
journalistic collaboration, involving more than 600 journalists from 150
media outlets in 117 countries.
Offshore havens and hidden riches of world leaders and
billionaires exposed in unprecedented leak https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/global-investigation-tax-havens-offshore/
by ICIJ - October 3, 2021
Frequently asked questions about the Pandora Papers and ICIJ
https://www.icij.org/investigations/pandora-papers/frequently-asked-questions-about-the-pandora-papers-and-icij/
By Dean Starkman, Fergus Shiel, Emilia Díaz-Struck and Hamish
Boland-Rudder - October 19, 2021
Why is it called “Pandora” Papers?
We called the project Pandora Papers because the investigation builds
upon previous ICIJ-led collaborations , the Panama and Paradise Papers;
the ancient myth of Pandora’s Box evokes an outpouring of trouble and
woe.
What’s the difference between Pandora Papers and Panama
Papers?
Size, scale, scope. While the Panama Papers was based on the files of
a single offshore services provider, the Pandora Papers records come
from 14. The new investigation includes data on more than 27,000
companies and 29,000 so-called ultimate beneficial owners — the real
owners of shell companies — or more than twice the number of beneficial
owners identified in the Panama Papers. The Pandora Papers also
connected offshore activity to more than twice as many politicians and
public officials as did the Panama Papers.
Pandora Papers https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora_Papers -
Wikipedia
The Pandora Papers are 11.9 million leaked documents with 2.9
terabytes of data that the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists (ICIJ) published beginning on 3 October 2021. The leak
exposed the secret offshore accounts of 35 world leaders, including
current and former presidents, prime ministers, and heads of state as
well as more than 100 business leaders, billionaires, and
celebrities.
Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and associates
Pandora Papers Reveal Offshore Holdings of Ukrainian
President and his Inner Circle https://www.occrp.org/en/project/the-pandora-papers/pandora-papers-reveal-offshore-holdings-of-ukrainian-president-and-his-inner-circle
by Elena Loginova - October 3, 2021
Revealed: ‘anti-oligarch’ Ukrainian president’s offshore
connections https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/oct/03/revealed-anti-oligarch-ukrainian-president-offshore-connections-volodymyr-zelenskiy
by Luke Harding, Elena Loginova and Aubrey Belford - Sun 3 Oct 2021 -
Archive https://archive.ph/uJwGd
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has railed against politicians hiding wealth
offshore but failed to disclose links to BVI firm
Was Volodymyr Zelensky in the Panama Papers? Offshore
Companies Revealed https://www.newsweek.com/zelensky-panama-pandora-papers-offshore-companies-finances-1776124
by Jack Dutton - Jan 24, 2023
The Pandora Papers showed that two offshore companies belonging to
Zelensky’s partners were used to buy three upmarket properties in
central London.
The papers showed that weeks before he won the presidential vote,
Zelensky gave his stake in the British Virgin Islands-registered Maltex
Multicapital Corp. to his business partner, Serhiy Shefir, who would
later become a top presidential aide.
However, the document shows that an arrangement would soon be made to
allow the company to continue paying dividends to a company that belongs
to Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska.
Started: Fri, Apr 11, 2025
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