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Hack exposes cops around the US who joined anti-government Oath Keepers | Boing Boing -
The headline made me physically shudder.
(Source: Boing Boing)
Pandora Papers: report details finances of tax-evading, wealth-hoarding world leaders | Boing Boing
An investigation into the finances of current and former world leaders and their associates reveals the unsurprising yet shocking scale of wealth they hoard. Though many of the records detail shell companies, foundations and trusts used as vehicles to conceal ownership of investments, houses, yachts, jets and other luxuries—or simply to evade paying taxes—other documents are tied to financial crimes such as money laundering.
The more than 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts include Jordan’s King Abdullah II, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso, and associates of both Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
… Blair, U.K prime minister from 1997 to 2007, became the owner of an $8.8 million Victorian building in 2017 by buying a British Virgin Islands company that held the property, and the building now hosts the law firm of his wife, Cherie Blair, according to the the investigation. The two bought the company from the family of Bahrain’s industry and tourism minister, Zayed bin Rashid al-Zayani. Buying the company shares instead of the London building saved the Blairs more than $400,000 in property taxes, the investigation found.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists report is based largely on leaks from 14 offshore financial services companies and the consortium has shared the raw material with media worldwide.
(Source: Boing Boing)
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Pandora Papers: tax avoidance revelations prompt outraged denials | Pandora papers | The Guardian
The Pandora Papers’ revelations prompted an avalanche of international reaction on Monday, ranging from solemn government pledges to clamp down on tax avoidance to outraged denials and a few cries of “old news”.
The leak published on Sunday by the Guardian and other global media partners revealed the leading role played by the US in the offshore industry, including in the state of South Dakota. It also showcased the use of offshore secrecy jurisdictions by world leaders past and present, as well as other politicians and top public officials.
The Biden administration said it would “crack down on the unfair schemes that give big corporations a leg up” in the wake of the Pandora disclosures. “It’s time to deal in hardworking Americans and ensure the super-wealthy pay their fair share,” the White House said in a tweet.
In Moscow, the Kremlin insisted there was nothing to see, despite the fact that several of Vladimir Putin’s friends and associates – including an alleged former lover – appeared in the data. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, said the leak was made up of “unsubstantiated claims”.
Peskov said no hidden wealth was found among Putin’s inner circle, despite the leak suggesting the opposite. “What catches the eye is which country is the world’s largest lagoon. This, of course, is the US,” Peskov said at a daily press briefing in Moscow. …
(Source: theguardian.com)
Revealed: top female Tory donor’s vast offshore empire with husband | Conservatives | The Guardian
Leak raises questions over the ultimate source of some of Lubov Chernukhin’s donations
The star prize at last year’s Conservative party fundraising ball was a game of tennis with Boris Johnson. The party’s co-chair Ben Elliot was enlisted to play too. But when bidding started there was little drama. Well-heeled guests already knew who was going to outbid everyone: a tall, outgoing blond woman from Moscow who – as one person put it – “dominates the room”. “She always gets top prize. She wins every auction,” the guest said, wryly.
The victorious bidder was Lubov Chernukhin, one of the biggest female donors in recent British political history. Since 2012, she has given the Tories £2.1m. This extraordinary sum has paid for two tennis matches with the prime minister, including in 2014 when Johnson was mayor of London, as well as dinner with his predecessor Theresa May.
Chernukhin, a former banker married to the former Russian oligarch Vladimir Chernukhin, reportedly donates enough to the Tories to qualify for membership of a small group of ultra-rich donors who meet monthly with Johnson and his chancellor, Rishi Sunak. What this exclusive club discusses is not made public. “She’s deep in the party,” the Tory ball guest said. …
(Source: theguardian.com)