Slashdot Mirror


There Will Be A Huge New 'Panama Papers' Data Dump (businessinsider.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists said in an email that on May 9 it would "publish what will likely be the largest-ever release of information about secret offshore companies and the people behind them," based on data from the Panama Papers investigation. "The searchable database will include information about more than 200,000 companies, trusts, foundations, and funds incorporated in 21 tax havens, from Hong Kong to Nevada in the United States." The ICIJ said in the email, "The impact of Panama Papers has been epic." The investigation has caused Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson to resign following revelations about his personal finances. It has caused Putin to point fingers at the West, accusing the U.S. of trying to weaken Russia. It has even created drama in the UK with calls for Prime Minister David Cameron to resign after his connections to offshore companies became evident. In addition, the ICIJ said, "[The Panama Papers investigation] sparked a new sense of urgency among lawmakers and regulators to close loopholes and make information about the owners of shell companies public."

11 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Possibly largest text coherent collection ever by Alomex · · Score: 4, Funny

    largest-ever release of information about secret offshore companies and the people behind them

    Actually there is so much data that this is possibly the largest release of a coherent text collection of any kind, secret or not.

    1. Re:Possibly largest text coherent collection ever by EmperorArthur · · Score: 4, Funny

      And 90% of it is boilerplate legalese. I'll bet it compresses rather nicely.

      --
      So lets pretend that we've just completed writing this code, as opposed to having just completed sabotaging it -Altera
  2. "The impact of Panama Papers has been epic." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Ha, I'll believe it when I see it. If they're wealthy enough to take full advantage of these tax havens then they're wealthy enough to escape repercussion.

  3. Sad truth: No Jail Time or RICO confiscation by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The sad truth is those "punished" for tax avoidance so far in the UK (the PM), Canada (a number of families using UK offshore tax havens), and Africa have mostly ...

    Not ... Gone to jail.

    Or suffered any real penalty other than paying, without excess interest owing, the taxes they avoided.

    What we need here, other than a few quick drone strikes until they all pay up, are RICO triple damage confiscations, including trust funds for kids and houses and yachts, and JAIL TIME.

    Which has not happened so far.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    1. Re:Sad truth: No Jail Time or RICO confiscation by wardrich86 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Assuming some of these people are the same people making profit off of privatized jails... would they actually make more money by throwing themselves in jail?

  4. Can the US join this time? by king+neckbeard · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One disappointing thing about the last leak is that it basically had no US connections. A leak that included US clients could probably bring down Clinton, Trump, and half of Congress.

    --
    This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
  5. Soros by labnet · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Not much gets into main stream media without puppeteers pulling strings: And when I hear the Soros foundation is partially bankrolling this, you gotta ask why.

    Quote from infowars.

    The Panama Papers expose offshore tax havens in Switzerland, the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, and Panama, but says nothing about a new arrangement legalized under FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

    The law “makes the parking of dirty US money abroad practically impossible. So where does that money go instead—it stays in the US,” writes Zero Hedge. “And, to top it off, there is one specific firm which is spearheading the conversion of the U.S. into Panama: Rothschild.”

    The international bankster institution opened a trust company in Reno, Nevada. “It is now moving the fortunes of wealthy foreign clients out of offshore havens such as Bermuda, subject to the new international disclosure requirements, and into Rothschild-run trusts in Nevada, which are exempt,” Bloomberg reports. The United States “is effectively the biggest tax haven in the world,” boasted Andrew Penny of Rothschild. One of the world’s largest providers of offshore accounts, Trident Trust, opened an office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

    http://www.infowars.com/soros-...

    --
    46137
    1. Re:Soros by quintessencesluglord · · Score: 3, Funny

      Dude, you know the drill!

      First you have to do a 5 paragraph screed about the evils of money in politics with subtle hints that the Koch Bros are in league with Satan (or big oil. Same difference really).

      Then you do at least 7 posts of how Republicans are out to eat babies, rape your grandmother, and cheat at softball.

      And then you mention Soros as a half-assed et tu and mention the CCX in passing before the popcorn starts.

  6. Future tax havens won't be online by davidwr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I predict that future tax havens won't store client information online.

    The "true, beneficial ownership" information will all be stored on a non-connected computer network or maybe even in paper ledgers.

    Good luck getting at that without walking in and physically stealing it (or bribing/coercing a bank employee to make you a copy).

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  7. Yes, because I'm going to trust what Infowars says by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You might want to try and find someone a little more credible than Alex Jones (9/11 truther, gold bug, serial martial law predictor, etc) if you want me to take a theory at all seriously.

  8. Nobody Trusts the Media Anymore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The reason the Panama Papers are failing to make the impact they should is because nobody trusts the media anymore.

    We are expected to believe that the same class which protects the interests of the wealthy and which prosletyes their neoliberal ideology has somehow enough concern for us lower castes, or for abstract concepts like "justice" or "fairness", that they will report on this impartially. Excuse me, but even if this massive group of PR-powdered international journalism extraordinaies is in fact legitimate and not just the twitter stunt they appear to be, even if they are legit, why should I believe the media this time around?

    Journalists have cried wolf, stayed silent, and betrayed the public trust too many times to be taken seriously now. The media has morphed from a fourth estate, into the new first estate. So when I see a campaign like this, I see only the new international priesthood, condemning some sin. I await their indulgences to be paid.