So we're going to ask the government to whip up some legislation
ending these subversive practices? Is this sort of like inviting the
Fox into the Hen House for dinner?
Where are our addled brains? Who do we suppose put in all of the
fancy language and clever loop holes for the Really Rich to duck
through? And now we want That same government to change things? Tell
me, do we still believe in Tinker Bell and the Little People? Hey!
There's a White Rabbit wearing a top hat and looking at his pocket
watch, heading on his way to Wonderland.
Carl Jarvis
On 4/4/16, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The Panama Papers: ‘Biggest Leak in History’ Exposes Global Web of
Corruption
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_panama_papers_biggest_leak_in_histor
y_exposes_20160403/
Posted on Apr 3, 2016
By Deirdre Fulton / Common Dreams
Edward Snowden / Twitter
An anonymous source, an enormous cache of leaked documents, and a year-long
investigative effort by around 400 journalists from more than 100 media
organizations in over 80 countries have yielded the Panama Papers, an
unprecedented look at how the world’s rich and powerful, from political
leaders to celebrities to criminals, use tax havens to hide their wealth.
The investigation went live on Sunday afternoon.
German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote:
Over a year ago, an anonymous source contacted the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ)
and submitted encrypted internal documents from Mossack Fonseca, a
Panamanian law firm that sells anonymous offshore companies around the
world. These shell firms enable their owners to cover up their business
dealings, no matter how shady.
In the months that followed, the number of documents continued to grow far
beyond the original leak. Ultimately, SZ acquired about 2.6 terabytes of
data, making the leak the biggest that journalists had ever worked with.
The
source wanted neither financial compensation nor anything else in return,
apart from a few security measures.
The data provides rare insights into a world that can only exist in the
shadows. It proves how a global industry led by major banks, legal firms,
and asset management companies secretly manages the estates of the world’s
rich and famous: from politicians, Fifa officials, fraudsters and drug
smugglers, to celebrities and professional athletes.
“These findings show how deeply ingrained harmful practices and criminality
are in the offshore world,” said Gabriel Zucman, an economist at the
University of California, Berkeley and author of The Hidden Wealth of
Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens. Zucman, who was briefed on the media
partners’ investigation, said the release of the leaked documents should
prompt governments to seek “concrete sanctions” against jurisdictions and
institutions that peddle offshore secrecy.
Fusion dubbed it “the WikiLeaks of the mega-rich.”
In a statement on Sunday, international anti-corruption organization Global
Witness said the exposé had “once again shown the insidious role that tax
havens, corporate secrecy and shell companies play in aiding widespread
crime, corruption, and violence. These threaten the safety, security and
well-being of people around the world.”
The group pointed out that “despite stereotypes portraying the problem of
tax havens and shell companies as an ‘offshore’ problem, this is a big and
homegrown issue in the U.S. as well.” To that end, Global Witness will join
faith leaders, small business owners, voices from law enforcement, and
other
community activists from over 25 states in Washington, D.C. from April
11-13
to call on Congress to pass legislation that would end anonymous companies.
The hashtag #PanamaPapers was trending on Twitter:
http://www.truthdig.com/ http://www.truthdig.com/
The Panama Papers: ‘Biggest Leak in History’ Exposes Global Web of
Corruption
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_panama_papers_biggest_leak_in_histor
y_exposes_20160403/
Posted on Apr 3, 2016
By Deirdre Fulton / Common Dreams
Edward Snowden / Twitter
An anonymous source, an enormous cache of leaked documents, and a year-long
investigative effort by around 400 journalists from more than 100 media
organizations in over 80 countries have yielded the Panama Papers, an
unprecedented look at how the world’s rich and powerful, from political
leaders to celebrities to criminals, use tax havens to hide their wealth.
The investigation went live on Sunday afternoon.
German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote:
Over a year ago, an anonymous source contacted the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ)
and submitted encrypted internal documents from Mossack Fonseca, a
Panamanian law firm that sells anonymous offshore companies around the
world. These shell firms enable their owners to cover up their business
dealings, no matter how shady.
In the months that followed, the number of documents continued to grow far
beyond the original leak. Ultimately, SZ acquired about 2.6 terabytes of
data, making the leak the biggest that journalists had ever worked with.
The
source wanted neither financial compensation nor anything else in return,
apart from a few security measures.
The data provides rare insights into a world that can only exist in the
shadows. It proves how a global industry led by major banks, legal firms,
and asset management companies secretly manages the estates of the world’s
rich and famous: from politicians, Fifa officials, fraudsters and drug
smugglers, to celebrities and professional athletes.
“These findings show how deeply ingrained harmful practices and criminality
are in the offshore world,” said Gabriel Zucman, an economist at the
University of California, Berkeley and author of The Hidden Wealth of
Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens. Zucman, who was briefed on the media
partners’ investigation, said the release of the leaked documents should
prompt governments to seek “concrete sanctions” against jurisdictions and
institutions that peddle offshore secrecy.
Fusion dubbed it “the WikiLeaks of the mega-rich.”
In a statement on Sunday, international anti-corruption organization Global
Witness said the exposé had “once again shown the insidious role that tax
havens, corporate secrecy and shell companies play in aiding widespread
crime, corruption, and violence. These threaten the safety, security and
well-being of people around the world.”
The group pointed out that “despite stereotypes portraying the problem of
tax havens and shell companies as an ‘offshore’ problem, this is a big and
homegrown issue in the U.S. as well.” To that end, Global Witness will join
faith leaders, small business owners, voices from law enforcement, and
other
community activists from over 25 states in Washington, D.C. from April
11-13
to call on Congress to pass legislation that would end anonymous companies.
The hashtag #PanamaPapers was trending on Twitter:
