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The Panama Papers - Massive leak of secret documents about offshore companies

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Walpurgis

Banned
What a fool he was for doing that! He should have made himself and his government watertight after Iceland jailed quite a few bankers.

Guess he made a few enemies.




Revenge does appear to be a dish best served cold.
I saw the list of media outlets involved in the investigation and some of them are based in countries on the shitlist of the U.S. (e.g. Venezuela and Russia). Of course, that doesn't mean that there still isn't some massive coverup. It's just less likely.

To others, there is absolutely no way that all major western politicians (hint: Iceland's invisible PM isn't that) are innocent. Western countries have had countless corruption scandals, many ongoing even. In some countries like the U.S., some corruption is actually legal in the form of massive corporate campaign donations, many of which are freely viewable online.

If, at any point at all, the thought that, western politicians are actually innocent, has entered your mind, clean that gunk out now. There are clearly somethings at play here that we aren't privy to. I think the politicians have hidden their money elsewhere. That elsewhere may even be provided by some government agency. Regardless, the details don't matter. My point is to not be satisfied with what we have with these Panama Papers. It is almost certainly the tip of a massive iceberg.

I know that these sound like crazy conspiracy theories but I don't care. This is the world that we live in today and this is what it has made me: a suspicious, anti-establishment and disillusioned citizen living in the blissful illusion of an uncorrupt society. I don't know how else to feel in a world where batshit crazy shit like the NSA has gone down under our noses for more than a decade, a "democratic" government feeds its own people straight up lies to obscure it, and my own spineless government sat back and allowed this foreign nation to invade my privacy (among other things).

Clinton campaign chief linked to Russian bank listed in Panama Papers. Apperently this is the tip of the iceberg. Just wait til US info is released.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/c...anama-papers/article/2587741?custom_click=rss
Even though another poster elaborated on this link and demonstrated that it's a bit of a stretch, I have a strong feeling that the Clintons are evading taxes. Hillary herself these past few years has come across as very money minded (e.g. charging high prices for speeches in foreign nowhere cities like Winnipeg) and is obviously establishment as hell. She's been in the game for longer than many of us have been alive and is married to a former president who I think is also doing this. It seems so easy since this has been going on for ages and we're only just finding out. I've read that this Panama tax evasion is not only possible within the U.S. but actually easier. Even worse, U.S. elections are generally about who has the most money and the Clintons have been in at least 4 federal elections.

Obviously, I don't think it's just the Clintons. The entire Republican party is sure to be guilty but it's not like anyone would expect otherwise.

It's possible that Bernie Sanders is also in on this, as horribly hypocritical as that would be. It would be far from the first time that a man of the people turned out to just be a man of himself but it would be hurtful all the same. At this point, there is no politician on this Earth that I trust.

Just when Mitt is attempting to come back too. Filthy rich guy can't catch a break.
Fixed.
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Hmm... I hadn't thought about China. I know that citizens moving money out of the country has been a problem that they've been struggling with for a while now and they've just been handed a list of names. China is not kind to citizens that move money out of the country, even when it is a relatively small amount. I hope that no one is killed.
 
Hmm... I hadn't thought about China. I know that citizens moving money out of the country has been a problem that they've been struggling with for a while now and they've just been handed a list of names. China is not kind to citizens that move money out of the country, even when it is a relatively small amount. I hope that no one is killed.

Since it will be mostly high ups from the Chinese ruling party and their friends, there is not much risk of dramatic action. Instead I imagine some functionary who they want gone for some reason (who is on the list) might find their slide out of favor got more slippery.

China can't make a big stink over this as they are already struggling to keep a lid on the idea by the peasants that they are feathering their own nests while paying lip service to anti corruption drives. It would be dangerous to discuss inside China how the dear leaders are moving their money offshore via Hong Kong.

That's basically the same problem as in many countries: the elite make the rules, and they are covered in this mud.
 

goomba

Banned
wikileaks calling this leak out that it is bias due to the amount of censorship and that you cant search the material yourself.
 
Just put everyone in prison, confiscate all the money and distribute over the ones who need it.

This is just the tip of the iceberg that shows the fucking ugly and horrendous world we live in. The complete lack of respect for the community is disgusting and unacceptable that all word-States comply with this shit.
 

shira

Member
Just put everyone in prison, confiscate all the money and distribute over the ones who need it.

This is just the tip of the iceberg that shows the fucking ugly and horrendous world we live in. The complete lack of respect for the community is disgusting and unacceptable that all Sates accept this shit.

If you send them to prison we all know they get a slap on the wrist for white collar crime and a slap on the bum from a judge. A year or two in minimum security jail with weekend visits and then parole after 6 months for good behavior. When they get out they already have another offshore account filled with oodles of money.
 
wikileaks calling this leak out that it is bias due to the amount of censorship and that you cant search the material yourself.

Considering they slow rolled the stuff from Manning I can forgive the Panama leaks being selective for the time being.
 

jelly

Member
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/apr/07/david-cameron-offshore-trusts-eu-tax-crackdown-2013

David Cameron intervened personally to prevent offshore trusts from being dragged into an EU-wide crackdown on tax avoidance, it has emerged.

In a 2013 letter to the then president of the European council, Herman Van Rompuy, the prime minister said that trusts should not automatically be subject to the same transparency requirements as companies.

The EU planned to shine a light on the dealings of offshore bodies by publishing a central register of their ultimate owners but, in a letter unearthed by the Financial Times that remains publicly available on the government’s website, Cameron said: “It is clearly important we recognise the important differences between companies and trusts … This means that the solution for addressing the potential misuse of companies – such as central public registries – may well not be appropriate generally.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/06/george-osborne-wont-answer-if-hes-benefited-from-offshore-funds/

During his visit to visit to the Ocado Customer Fulfilment Centre in Hatfield, when Mr Osborne was asked: "Do you now or will you in the future benefit from any offshore funds?", he responded by saying the current Government has done more than "any other previous British Government" to ensure "people pay the taxes that are owed".

He was then asked a second time "are you going to benefit at all?" and again avoided answering the question directly.

The chancellor said: "As I say, all of our interests, as ministers and MPs, are declared in the register in member's interests and we have made our position very clear."
 
If you send them to prison we all know they get a slap on the wrist for white collar crime and a slap on the bum from a judge. A year or two in minimum security jail with weekend visits and then parole after 6 months for good behavior. When they get out they already have another offshore account filled with oodles of money.

If they fear that the same behavior might put them in jail (even if it's a one year thing). I believe that factor can be a deterrent.
 

Condom

Member
If this doesn't show people that class warfare is real and happening everytime they cut a social program or raise the taxes on regular citizens then I don't know what will
 

ruttyboy

Member
If this doesn't show people that class warfare is real and happening everytime they cut a social program or raise the taxes on regular citizens then I don't know what will

What? You didn't realise when they said 'We're all in this together", they meant the Carribean?

Hilarious that Simon Cowell comes out of this looking a better person than the PM and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
 

chadskin

Member
David Cameron admits he profited from father's offshore fund
David Cameron has admitted he profited from his late father’s offshore investment fund, which was revealed in the Panama Papers as having avoided paying tax in the UK.

The prime minister sold his stake in the Blairmore fund for more than £30,000 just four months before entering Downing Street.

Speaking after almost a week of refusing to comment on the leak but issuing four statements, Cameron said he and his wife, Samantha, held 5,000 units in the Blairmore Investment Trust from 1997 to January 2010.

The stake was purchased for £12,497 and sold for £31,500, giving the Camerons a £19,003 profit, £300 below the capital gains tax allowance. The prime minister insisted they declared the annual dividends they received from the investment, and paid full income tax on any returns.
 

LilZippa

Member
He continues to deliver evidence that he was on issues years ago, but there is still the weird no-experience narrative going on.

I keep hearing this too. He has been on the right side of so many issues when looking back at them. He must just be lucky and couldn't possibly be using his brain to determine his position on these issues.
 

Minamu

Member
That's so minor and insignificant that I can't even care. I mean, a net gain of 300 euros? Really?
You read it wrong. He got a 19000 pound profit. 300 was what's left until you gotta pay taxes (I assume). So he clearly sold it just below that price, to get all the money himself. I guess anyone would do that, but still a bit scummy.
 
Has he done anything legally wrong though? That is the question IMO.

Nope, totally legal. Just greedy, morally abhorrent and hypocritical to levels I can't fully appreciate.

Also he's the person in the best position in the UK to work towards closing abuses of the system like this, but would rather just profit from them.
 

Steel

Banned
You read it wrong. He got a 19000 pound profit. 300 was what's left until you gotta pay taxes (I assume). So he clearly sold it just below that price, to get all the money himself. I guess anyone would do that, but still a bit scummy.

The profit was from the fund, the tax dodge was 300 pounds. You know, funds make money. It's what they do.

edit:

Actually, reading it again, you're right about it being 300 below the threshold, but at the same time, the 19k he got from the fund over 13 years isn't really all that much, even in a middle class context.
 

Jezbollah

Member
Nope, totally legal. Just greedy, morally abhorrent and hypocritical to levels I can't fully appreciate.

Also he's the person in the best position in the UK to work towards closing abuses of the system like this, but would rather just profit from them.

Yep. Can't disagree with that. Just saw on Sky that Cameron is planning on publishing his tax returns too.

You do wonder why he didn't come out and say this back in 2012 when the original Ian Cameron story came out.
 

Walpurgis

Banned
He is one of the candidates to be jakarta governor with businessman background. If this info is real, this is going to hurt his reputation a lot.

I'm glad to see some citizens benefiting from this leak. This thief could have become governor of one of the largest cities in the world. My thirst for blood hasn't been quenched yet and another thief may take his place. But good riddance to bad rubbish. I'm happy.

Out of curiosity, what do you think will happen to him? I know that, for example, Indonesia has some of the strictest drug laws in the world (it was in international media like a year ago). Does that tough on crime attitude only apply to drug dealers or can it also apply to the elite (lol)? How is corruption handled in Indonesia?
 
You do wonder why he didn't come out and say this back in 2012 when the original Ian Cameron story came out.
See: ”[it's] greedy, morally abhorrent and hypocritical to levels [we] can't fully appreciate.”

My gut feeling in all this, Nordea, Iceland, now Cameron, is that at least their respective factions would've been better off if you could pin individuals to a crime. Since a lot of this (so far) seems to be legal, the punishment for a morally reprehensible and damaging behavior will be administered by the public. They can't serve a sentence, or a fine, and be freed. Simply saying ”it's legal!” is making it look worse. Nordea especially are such fuckwits about that right now.
 

Red Devil

Member
According to wikileaks this was orchestrated by Soros and USAID to mainly tarnish the BRICS members. That explains the lack of North Americans on the lists.

https://mobile.twitter.com/wikileaks/status/717454569861611520?ref_src=twsrc^tfw
https://mobile.twitter.com/wikileaks/status/717753531483168768?ref_src=twsrc^tfw
https://mobile.twitter.com/wikileaks/status/717670056650530816

Sure but they ended up exposing Macri, among others, when he wants to get closer to USA and farther from BRICS.
 

Walpurgis

Banned
Yep. Can't disagree with that. Just saw on Sky that Cameron is planning on publishing his tax returns too.

You do wonder why he didn't come out and say this back in 2012 when the original Ian Cameron story came out.
Why come out three years before the next election when you can do four? :p
According to wikileaks this was orchestrated by Soros and USAID to mainly tarnish the BRICS members. That explains the lack of North Americans on the lists.

https://mobile.twitter.com/wikileaks/status/717454569861611520?ref_src=twsrc^tfw
https://mobile.twitter.com/wikileaks/status/717753531483168768?ref_src=twsrc^tfw
https://mobile.twitter.com/wikileaks/status/717670056650530816
There's probably a better source without Google translate but this is where I learned about this.
Tempo said:
The document Mossack Fonseca was first leaked to a newspaper reporter Suddeustsche Zeitung Germany, at the beginning of 2015. the document was delivered gradually through encrypted communications. As a result, journalists received data is data in the form of text, photos, or portable document file (pdf) scattered. Many documents are no titles, and only identified by numbers and symbols only. Fortunately, the team of programmers ICIJ building a search platform that facilitates 11.5 million combed documents based on certain keywords.
https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/news/2...erapa-banyak-orang-indonesia-di-panama-papers

We have a list of the media outlets involved here.

It sounds like the outlets were not given first hand access to the data and depended heavily on the ICIJ. In other words, the ICIJ could have decided which files to send and which files to omit and no one would be the wiser.
 
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