Obviously there is a colossal amount of information that make up the 2.6 terabytes of data that has been leaked in what could be called the Panama Papers scandal. Whilst it is not possible as yet to be fully aware, here are some of the major highlights that have recently come to light.
- The inner circle of Vladimir Putin appears to have complete control of at least $2 billion worth of assets offshore.
- The Icelandic Prime Minister secretly owned the failed Icelandic Banks debt and was also involved in the political negotiations which sealed their fates.
- The family of the Pakistani Prime Minister own millions of dollars in real estate via offshore accounts.
- Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine vowed he would sell his Ukrainian business interests during his campaign, however, it has come to light rather than selling he appears to have transferred them into an offshore company that unsurprisingly he actually has control over.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists have a full profile of all of the political figures and their relatives that have been named in the Panama papers.
According to an economics professor it is estimated that off shore wealth has risen by upwards of 25% in the past 5 years. Whilst much of this is a reflection of new money from China and other developing nations, the citizens have understandable fears over political stability and the laws that rule their lands.
The leak of the Panama Papers is significant due to the severity of the information that they contain but perhaps more so because they confirm what everyone is fully aware of and as a result of this there could be enough public pressure put on the powers to be to actually get something done about it.
