Audits

Panama will be shutting down the bearer share concept for documenting ownership of a company. ICIJ plans to release a huge database on shell companies. Also some reasons I would have an offshore company or maybe five if I was a billionaire or high official in a corrupt country.

If I was super rich, I’d park some money offshore

4/19 – Daily Beast – Obama in Saudi Arabia: What Do These Oil Sheiks Have to Hide? – Short answer: their contingency escape plans.

Article wonders why the rulers in an absolute monarchy would want to park money in anonymous offshore accounts. Article suggests there isn’t any need to do so since absolute rulers not only own the country but decide by themselves what is legal and illegal.

The reason can be found by looking around after the Arab Spring. It seems like in just a flash the governments of Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt collapsed. Even the current prime minister of Pakistan was ousted (he has since regained power) and had to flee for his life.

The longer answer for hiding money in offshore accounts is it that when things can change overnight, you need to have someplace to run and some money to work with. An escape plan.

And then there are the super rich people who made their money legitimately.

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Update on Panama Papers: searchable data base, no more bearer stocks, reasons to park money offshoreRead More »

A variety of governments want to get a complete set of the original files from the Panama Papers leak. The reporters are saying “no.”

4/19 – The Guardian – Panama Papers: US launches criminal inquiry into tax avoidance claims – First, a tip to the scare-mongering headline writer, editor, and reporter:

• tax avoidance is not illegal.

Where there is tax evasion, I say throw ‘em in the clink.

On the other hand, as much as the reporter and editor may believe every penny of profit belongs to the government, it is not illegal to comply with the provisions of the tax law.

Other than announcing an investigation has begun, the article gives no more detail.

In particular, there is no indication of how DoJ plans to avoid tainting the investigation by viewing documents it knows are covered by attorney-client privilege. Based on my businessman’s limited knowledge of the law, I think the implications of knowingly viewing documents protected by attorney-client privilege would permanently taint any prosecution brought after reading those documents. That means any case that can be linked to tainted documents would get dismissed.

4/20 – Bloomberg – Panama Leak Spur New York Regulator to Seek Records From Banks – The Department of Financial Services jumps into the fray.

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Reporters will not be sharing Panama Paper files with criminal investigators. Reporters are thinking they are journalists, not law enforcement staff.Read More »

Hasn’t been a lot of breaking news on the Panama Papers lately. Fair amount of follow-up though.

Here are a few articles of interest to me.

• General update. How massive stories might be staffed in future.
• More comments on the legitimate of offshore banking.
• Senior government officials under the spotlight.

General update

4/9 – Fabius Maximus –Those Who Are (and Are Not) Sheltered From the Panama Papers – News we’ve heard thus far is likely just the tip of the iceberg of what will ultimately come out of the massive leak. Article pointed me to the following:

4/8 – Stratfor – Those Who Are (and Are Not) Sheltered From the Panama Papers – Most of the damaging information released to date hits the developing world the most. Yet the bigger impact in on the western countries where there is relatively little information.

Article starts with point that the news we’ve read so far is just the start. Also points out the big leaks are growing in frequency and volume over the last several years.

Very long article walks through on a country-by-country basis what has been revealed and how big an issue is present. A few things of interest to me:

Senior politicians are implicated in five of the former Soviet republics.

A number of current or former Politburo members in China have family members involved.

Article dives deep into the possible implications or lack thereof in each of many countries.

4/14 – New Yorker – The Panama Papers and the Monster Stories of the Future – The person leaking the story gave the material to a German newspaper, who did not have the staffing to handle the story.

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Update on Panama Papers – 4/19Read More »