While it will come as a shock to literally no one, millionaires, billionaires, celebrities and public officials have been trying to keep their considerable wealth hidden from the public, and the tax authorities in their home nations for decades (if not longer). But what about world leaders?
The leaking of ‘Panama papers’ in 2016, then the ‘Paradise papers’ the following year exposed the secret offshore affairs, secret deals and hidden assets of the rich and powerful. Well, this time it’s even bigger with the ‘Pandora papers’ (they do like their P’s) being is the biggest leak yet.
The files were leaked to the ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists) in Washington, and consist of emails, memos, incorporation records, share certificates, compliance reports and complex diagrams explaining how these shady corporate structures work. Over 600 journalists have gone through them and found some surprising assets world leaders have been trying to hide.