Panama Papers: 259 Pakistanis named in online database
Trove on shell companies released online, accessible at offshoreleaks.icij.org
Documents in the searchable database are accessible to the public at offshoreleaks.icij.org. PHOTO: AFP
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published online Monday detailed data from the Panama Papers trove on more than 200,000 secret offshore companies.
The searchable database built on just a portion of the documents leaked from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca reveals more than 360,000 names of individuals and companies behind the anonymous shell firms, the ICIJ said.
The documents in a searchable database are accessible at offshoreleaks.icij.org.
"The data, part of the Panama Papers investigation, is the largest ever release of information about offshore companies and the people behind them. This includes, when available, the names of the real owners of those opaque structures."
As the scandal gets deeper around the world, in Pakistan, associates of politicians and families of celebrities are expected to invite more attention than businessmen.
Following are a few names of the 259 Pakistanis listed, according to media reports and the online database:
World braces for online release of Panama Papers
The documents are from 2.6 terabytes of data given to a German newspaper, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, over a year ago by an anonymous source using the name “John Doe.”
The data came from nearly four decades of digital archives of one Panamanian law firm specialized in creating and running offshore entities, Mossack Fonseca, which says its computer records were hacked from abroad.
The German newspaper gave access to the trove to the ICIJ, and through it to hundreds of journalists in different countries. Reports thus far have focused on scores of high-profile individuals: political leaders, celebrities and a few criminals.
Govt turns to allies amid opposition’s onslaught over Panama leaks inquiry
Here are a few key points from the earlier trove of Panama Papers revelations:
– Three of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's children were named leading opposition to rally for his resignation.
– Iceland’s prime minister was forced to resign when his name was linked to an offshore company.
– British Prime Minister David Cameron ended up admitting he profited from an offshore firm started by his father.
– Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest circle was named in the revelations, prompting Putin to claim the Panama Papers was a US plot against him.
– Argentine President Mauricio Macri was also linked to offshore companies.
– China censored media and online social networks from mentioning links between the families of Chinese leaders with offshore entities.
– Other notable people made uncomfortable by the documents include Argentine football star Lionel Messi, Hong Kong film star Jackie Chan and Spanish movie director Pedro Almodovar.
Mossack Fonseca had issued a “cease and desist” lawyer to the US-based ICIJ, saying putting up the information publicly would violate attorney-client privilege.
Govt to form committee to engage opposition on Panama leaks issue
Since reporting on the Panama Papers started at the beginning of April, the Panama’s government has been struggling to persuade the world that it is not a haven for tax-dodgers and money launderers.
France has already put the Central American nation on its blacklist of tax havens, and other Western countries are considering following suit.
The searchable database built on just a portion of the documents leaked from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca reveals more than 360,000 names of individuals and companies behind the anonymous shell firms, the ICIJ said.
The documents in a searchable database are accessible at offshoreleaks.icij.org.
"The data, part of the Panama Papers investigation, is the largest ever release of information about offshore companies and the people behind them. This includes, when available, the names of the real owners of those opaque structures."
As the scandal gets deeper around the world, in Pakistan, associates of politicians and families of celebrities are expected to invite more attention than businessmen.
Following are a few names of the 259 Pakistanis listed, according to media reports and the online database:
World braces for online release of Panama Papers
- Zulfi Bokhari, a close friend of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan
- Irfan Puri, an oil czar equally close to Pakistan Peoples Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement leadership and presently in Dubai jail
- Tariq Islam, cousin of ex-prime minister and former PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto
- Naseer Khan, son of former health minister
- Family of Seth Abid
- Son of Admiral (retd) Muzaffar Hassan
- Port Qasim Authority’s former managing director and NRO beneficiary, Abdul Sattar Dero
- Shaukat Ahmed, former president of Karachi Chamber of Commerce
- Saba Obaid, mother of Oscar award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
- A billionaire owner of Sachal Studio Izzat Majeed
- Wife of Ghous Akbar
- Fashion designer Zehra Valliani along with her brother, an asset manager, Fawaz Valliani
- Moonis Elahi, the son of former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi
The documents are from 2.6 terabytes of data given to a German newspaper, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, over a year ago by an anonymous source using the name “John Doe.”
The data came from nearly four decades of digital archives of one Panamanian law firm specialized in creating and running offshore entities, Mossack Fonseca, which says its computer records were hacked from abroad.
The German newspaper gave access to the trove to the ICIJ, and through it to hundreds of journalists in different countries. Reports thus far have focused on scores of high-profile individuals: political leaders, celebrities and a few criminals.
Govt turns to allies amid opposition’s onslaught over Panama leaks inquiry
Here are a few key points from the earlier trove of Panama Papers revelations:
– Three of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's children were named leading opposition to rally for his resignation.
– Iceland’s prime minister was forced to resign when his name was linked to an offshore company.
– British Prime Minister David Cameron ended up admitting he profited from an offshore firm started by his father.
– Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest circle was named in the revelations, prompting Putin to claim the Panama Papers was a US plot against him.
– Argentine President Mauricio Macri was also linked to offshore companies.
– China censored media and online social networks from mentioning links between the families of Chinese leaders with offshore entities.
– Other notable people made uncomfortable by the documents include Argentine football star Lionel Messi, Hong Kong film star Jackie Chan and Spanish movie director Pedro Almodovar.
Mossack Fonseca had issued a “cease and desist” lawyer to the US-based ICIJ, saying putting up the information publicly would violate attorney-client privilege.
Govt to form committee to engage opposition on Panama leaks issue
Since reporting on the Panama Papers started at the beginning of April, the Panama’s government has been struggling to persuade the world that it is not a haven for tax-dodgers and money launderers.
France has already put the Central American nation on its blacklist of tax havens, and other Western countries are considering following suit.