The leak of the files first came to Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Munich-based daily newspaper. The paper explains (in English) the background of how it acquired the leak from a still-anonymous source. They also have a very illuminating video (partly in German but with English subtitles), explaining the genesis of the leak.
The paper also has a microsite containing all its stories on the subject, as well as some nicely retro accompanying illustrations (see below). There is a smaller selection of the stories in English.
New Zealand’s prime minister, John Key, has defended his government’s tax record after the Panama Papers showed links to the country, connected to alleged offshore trusts set up by Maltese politicians and officials via New Zealand. Key told reporters:
New Zealand has had the same tax laws when it comes to trusts since 1988, they were reviewed by the OECD in 2013 and they gave New Zealand a clean bill of health. We also have extensive disclosure regimes and we are signatories to a network of treaties.
Some important bits of context before we go any further: a piece explaining why we are looking into the issue of the offshore tax system; and the full response to the leak by Mossack Fonseca.
The heat is also being felt by individuals named in the papers. AP reports that more than 800 wealthy Australians under investigation by the Australian Taxation Office for possible tax evasion linked to their alleged dealings with Mossack Fonseca.
The tax office said in a statement it had identified more than 800 individual Australian taxpayers in the data, and linked more than 120 of them to an associate offshore service provider in Hong Kong, which it did not name.
Let’s begin by running through the highlights of our own first-day coverage of the story. Continuing with Russia, here’s the long and fascinating tale of Sergei Roldugin, the cellist and close friend of Putin who seems to be at the centre of the vast wealth swirling around the Russian president.
Another politician facing tough questions following the leak is Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, Iceland’s prime minister. He is expected to see calls for a snap election after the documents showed offshore investments held by him and his wife, Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir.
There are also more questions for Fifa to answer, connected to questionable business links of a key member of its ethics committee.
On Sunday evening the Guardian and a series of other media organisations around the world published the first revelations from the Panama Papers – the biggest leak of secret information in history.
The 11m documents come from the files of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm, and help show how the politically powerful and the rich are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes.
Using offshore companies to save tax has been condemned by many governments and can often be illegal. However, in other cases it can be permitted. Mossack Fonseca says it complies with anti-money-laundering laws and carries out thorough due diligence on all its clients. It has acted “without reproach” for 40 years, it says.
The papers were obtained from an anonymous source by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with other media organisations, including the Guardian and the BBC.
Today we’ll go through some of the global coverage, and the first reaction, including the immediate pressure place on those who have been found to use Mossack Fonseca’s services.
Our lead story today, and a good starting point to comprehend the way some powerful people use huge and complex offshore tax structures, is Vladimir Putin.
The Panama Papers show $2bn-worth of secret offshore deals and vast loans connected to the Russian president. He is not named in any of the records, but they show how many members of his inner circle have become hugely wealthy.
The video at the top of the page gives a handy run-through of the basics, or else read Luke Harding’s full story.
