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All You Need To Know About The Pandora Papers, Hidden Tax Havens Of World Leaders, Others
A massive investigation under the umbrella of Pandora Papers is currently ongoing, leaking how world leaders, business moguls used offshore tax havens to hide assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Pandora Papers investigation is based on the leak of some 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies around the world by 600 journalists from media including The Washington Post, the BBC, and The Guardian.
The Pandora Papers released, on Sunday, October 3, 2021, were analyzed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a nonprofit newsroom and network of journalists centered in Washington, D.C. Some current and former leaders are featured in the documents and will be facing allegations ranging from corruption to money laundering and global tax avoidance.
Based on the most expansive leak of tax haven files in history, the investigation reveals the secret deals and hidden assets of over 330 politicians and high-level public officials in more than 90 countries and territories, including 35 country leaders.
Ambassadors, mayors and ministers, presidential advisers, generals, and a central bank governor appear in the files.
Where Are The 336 Politicians In The Pandora Papers From?
Pandora Papers Leak, Photo Credit: Aljazeera
Some of the names are listed below:
Heads of state
- Jordan Abdullah II, King of Jordan
- Dominican Republic Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic
- Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
- Montenegro Milo Đukanović, President of Montenegro
- Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya
- Ecuador Guillermo Lasso, President of Ecuador
- Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo
- Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon
- Chile Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile
- Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar
- Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine
Former heads of state
- Paraguay Horacio Cartes, former president of Paraguay
- Colombia César Gaviria, former president of Colombia
- Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, former president of Peru
- Honduras Porfirio Lobo Sosa, former president of Honduras
- Panama Ricardo Martinelli, former president of Panama
- Colombia Andrés Pastrana, former president of Colombia
- Panama Ernesto Pérez Balladares, former president of Panama
- Panama Juan Carlos Varela, former president of Panama
Heads of government
- Ivory Coast Patrick Achi, Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire
- Czech Republic Andrej Babiš, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic
- United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Emir of Dubai
- Lebanon Najib Mikati, Prime Minister of Lebanon
Former heads of government
- United Kingdom Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- Italy Silvio Berlusconi, former Prime Minister of Italy
- Hong Kong Tung Chee-hwa, former Chief Executive of Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Leung Chun-ying, former Chief Executive of Hong Kong
Politicians
- Honduras Nasry Asfura, current mayor of Tegucigalpa
- Israel Nir Barkat, former mayor of Jerusalem and current member of the Knesset
- Brazil Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil
- Mexico Jorge Arganis Díaz Leal, Secretary of Communications and Transport
- Ecuador Jaime Durán Barba, consultant of former President of Argentina Mauricio Macri
- Brazil Paulo Guedes, Minister of the Economy
- Netherlands Wopke Hoekstra, Minister of Finance and Leader of the Christian Democratic Appeal
- Serbia Siniša Mali, Minister of Finance and former Mayor of Belgrade
- Argentina Zulema María Eva Menem, former First Lady of Argentina and daughter of former president of Argentina Carlos Menem
- Argentina Daniel Muñoz, Secretary of former president of Argentina Néstor Kirchner
- Israel Haim Ramon – former Vice Prime Minister of Israel and former member of the Knesset
- Mexico Julio Scherer Ibarra [es], former advisor of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador
- Pakistan Shaukat Tarin, Finance Minister of Pakistan
- Malaysia Daim Zainuddin, former Minister of Finance and Chief of the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP)
- Philippines Arthur Tugade, Secretary of Transportation
- Philippines Andres D. Bautista, former Chairman of the Commission on Elections and Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government
- Philippines Dennis Uy, businessman, Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan to the Philippines and business associate to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte
- Sri Lanka Nirupama Rajapaksa, former Deputy Minister of Water Supply & Drainage
Who has been named?
Among significant individuals named are is Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who, along with six of his family members, was revealed to own 11 offshore companies containing $30million worth of assets.
Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi was also revealed to have hidden assets in offshore companies.
Obi first set up Gabriella Investment in 2010 in the British Virgin Islands, which he didn’t declare in his asset form.
The company has mutated and is now known, from 10 February 2017, as PMGG Investments Limited. The name combined the first letters of the first names of Mr. Obi’s nuclear family. P for Peter (ex-governor), M for Margaret (the ex-governor’s wife), G for Gabriella (the ex-governor’s daughter), and G for Gregory (the ex-governor’s son).
“Mr Obi has also now created a trust known as The Gabriella Settlement, an entity also registered in the BVI.
“According to Fidelity Investments, a trust is a fiduciary arrangement that allows a third party, or trustee, to hold assets on behalf of a beneficiary or beneficiaries. Experts believe that trusts are traditionally used for minimizing taxes even though they can offer other estate plan benefits as well.
“By the current structuring of Mr Obi’s wealth and offshore businesses, The Gabriella Settlement, which appears to hold all or a majority of his assets, is the sole shareholder of PMGG Investments.
“In turn, a New Zealander entity, Granite Trust Company Limited is the sole trustee of The Gabriella Settlement. Sam Access International, the Monaco-based secrecy enabler Mr Obi first hired in 2010 to set up his offshore structure, was until August 23, 2019, the sole shareholder of Granite Trust”.
Others include Jordan’s King Abdullah II who was alleged to have used offshore accounts to spend more than $100m on luxury homes in the UK and US.
Days ahead of the Czech Republic’s October 8-9 parliamentary election, the documents allegedly tied the country’s prime minister, Andrej Babis, to a secret $22m estate in a hilltop village near Cannes, France.
The Papers also listed Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and his mother as beneficiaries of a secretive foundation in Panama.
The leaked document also showed that three of Kenyatta’s siblings own five offshore companies with assets worth more than $30m.
As well as politicians, the public figures exposed included Colombian singer Shakira, German supermodel Claudia Schiffer and former Indian cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar.
Prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan’s cabinet ministers and their families were shown to own millions of dollars worth of offshore companies.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was shown to have moved his stake in a secret offshore company just before his victory in the 2019 election.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his family and close associates snapped up more than $500million (£400million) worth of property in the UK – consisting of 17 properties, including an office block in London for $44.6million (£33million) for the president’s son Heydar Aliyev, aged 11.
They also appeared to have made a $41.9million (£31million) profit after selling a London property to the Queen’s Crown Estate, which is managed by the Treasury.
Former British prime minister Mr Blair and his wife Cherie saved some $434,000 (£321,000) in stamp duty when they bought an office in London by purchasing the offshore company that owned it. amongst others.
Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, says Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has no case to answer regarding the contract awarded to a company linked to him by suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu.Sani, in a chat with The Whistler, said Tunji-Ojo did not violate any public service law since he resigned from the company years ago.
” It could have been a conflict of interest if he hadn’t resigned.The senator further said it is “not his ministry (that awarded contracts), and companies have the right to pursue businesses anywhere.“Edu’s case is very clear and can’t be equated with that of a company associated with Hon Ojo.“Legally, he can’t be held to account on this matter.“Let’s not be distracted,” Sani said.“The extant provision of the law under the 1999 Constitution is that anybody who is a public servant cannot engage in any business other than farming,” said Nelson Kebordih, a senior lawyer whose interest is in public policy.He said the implication of the law is “that a person must be in active control and directorship of the company in the management of any enterprise.“You are permitted to own shares because owning a share does not put you in the day-to-day management of the company or any enterprise.“If he (Tunji-Ojo) has resigned from being a director, the law does not stop him from owning shares in the company,” he stated.The former lawmaker’s position aligns with the 2008 Federal Service Rules on Chapter 4 which states that “Public officers are not prohibited from holding shares in both public and private companies operating in Nigeria or abroad except that they must not be Directors in private companies, and may only be Directors in public companies if nominated by Government.”
Following the suspension and quizzing of Edu, concerning alleged financial sleaze, the Minister of Interior has come under pressure to resign or equally be suspended by the president after it emerged that his company, New Planet Project Ltd, also received a contract from Edu.Edu had awarded some companies contracts, some of which were unregistered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) raising concern of fraud and illegality.Tunji-Ojo is also being pressured to step down with many commentators saying he has flouted the Public Service Rules which barred public servants from being awarded contracts or contracting any business except farming.But the Minister while speaking on television explained that he had resigned since 2009 from the company.“Almost five years ago, I resigned as director of the company, so I’m not a director. I resigned on 1st of February, 2009, you can take that to the bank,” the minister had said.
Nation
”Your mentorship, humility, and resilience was exemplary” Oando Boss, Wale Tinubu Mourns Barkindo
Oando Clean Energy Limited has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (referred to as LAMATA), the Lagos State Government agency tasked with planning, implementing, regulating and franchising sustainable integrated public transport in Lagos.
The MoU establishes a partnership between OCEL and Lagos State in her journey to becoming a sustainable city via the rollout of electric mass transit buses, supporting charging infrastructure and service centres (EV Infrastructure Ecosystem).
The statement obtained from the NGX noted that with over 25 million residents, Lagos is the most populous city in Africa and among the top ten of the world’s fastest-growing megacities.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Commissioner for Transportation, Lagos State, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde said the MoU represented the State Government’s commitment to cutting greenhouse gases by replacing them with cleaner sources of energy.
Oladeinde said, “With an understanding that transportation is a key emitter of greenhouse gases in Nigeria, we developed a strategy to cut greenhouse gases by 50%. A key component of this strategy was identifying and developing a more robust mass transit system for Lagos that would include rail and waterways amongst others. Using electricity to power mass transit is a step in the right direction, and from there we would gradually transit to private cars.
“This is just the beginning, there is still a lot more to come on stream. I commend LAMATA and Oando on this MoU signing, and both parties can be rest assured that they have my full backing to ensure success,” he added.
Commenting on the MoU signing, the Managing Director, LAMATA, Engr. Abimbola Akinajo said: “We began this journey late last year, and for us, this has been a rapid development. It speaks to the energy and zeal of both organizations, and that is commendable. Oando Clean Energy came to us with a comprehensive solution that went beyond electric mass transit buses to include supporting infrastructure, and this was key for us, as the full remit of an EV support ecosystem is the only way to achieve success.
“This initiative will not only accelerate the Government’s transportation agenda, but also positively impact the health of Lagosians and the environment. The magnitude of its impact is far-reaching, and when you start to look at it as more than a transport initiative, you will see how laudable a project it is. The Oando brand comes with know-how and experience, and we are relying on this to successfully move from MoU signing to actual implementation that will in the medium to long term benefit over 22 million Lagos commuters. We look forward to a very robust and fruitful partnership.”
In his response, the Chairman, Oando Clean Energy, Adewale Tinubu, who was represented at the MoU signing by Dr. Ainojie ‘Alex’ Irune said: “Oando Clean Energy was born out of a need to curate the best energy mix to propel Nigeria and indeed Africa, to its full potential.
As a company, Oando has always championed Public-Private Partnerships as fundamental to Nigeria’s industrialization. Through the signing of this MoU, we are revolutionizing the landscape of mobility by pioneering e-mobility in Lagos. Furthermore, we remain dedicated to achieving our national commitment to net-zero by 2060, ending energy deficiencies and further propelling the country to an industrialized phase through decentralized and sustainable energy systems.
We are excited to be embarking on this journey with Lagos State and must commend their foresight and willingness to forge a template for others to follow. It’s easy to be perturbed by the perceived challenges that come with the mega-city status tag, but by taking this bold step, Lagos is showing the continent what is indeed possible and giving other cities the impetus to redefine today how to build a public transport system for the future.”
Over the last decade, the number of vehicles on Lagos roads has quadrupled, yet studies suggest that Lagos could become the world’s most populated city by 2100 with as many as 100 million residents; and as the city grows, so will the number of vehicles.
This upward trajectory in vehicle numbers poses a significant challenge as transportation has been identified as the key contributing sector at circa 23% to 30% in annual CO2 emissions.
Against this backdrop, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between LAMATA and OCEL will enable the successful fulfilment of the objectives of the Lagos State Government through the deployment of an EV Infrastructure Ecosystem towards the attainment of a sustainable road transport system in the State.
Furthermore, this initiative will bridge the existing gap in available mass transit buses for the increasing number of Lagos commuters.
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