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1-Page Summary of Panama Papers
In April 2016, a leak of 11 million documents from Mossack Fonseca exposed the shady practice of anonymous offshore companies to avoid paying taxes. The paper trail revealed secret accounts tied to several high-profile politicians, including the prime minister of Iceland who has since resigned; an ally of Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad; and an associate of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Hiding money to avoid paying taxes hurts society as less tax revenue is available for public services such as education and health care. Perpetrators hide assets in a company that is sheltered within another company, stacked inside another company, and so on. Law-enforcement agencies struggle to find out who lies at the center of such corporate secrecy.
The Panama Papers caused a stir in the United States, but not as much of one as it did elsewhere. This may be because Americans weren’t exposed in the leaks, or perhaps rich Americans just don’t use Mossack Fonseca to hide their money. Instead, they might prefer to squirrel away their assets in places such as the Cayman Islands or even within US borders – Delaware, Wyoming and Nevada for example. It’s easier to register a company than it is to get a library card in some US states. Global Witness launched an undercover investigation into how secret offshore accounts work by posing as an African minister who wanted to buy high-ticket items with shady funds from his country’s government treasury. He visited 13 Manhattan lawyers and all but one gave him advice on how he could surreptitiously move his money around without anyone knowing about it. The point of this investigation wasn’t for them to catch disreputable lawyers who were taking advantage of people looking for help with moving their money around illegally; instead, they wanted people everywhere realize that corruption was so endemic within the system that every lawyer would give you bad advice if you asked them how best you could avoid taxes while still making sure your family had enough money when you died.
While it may seem like taking on the wealthy and powerful is futile, there’s actually a push for greater transparency in company ownership. In 2013, UK prime minister David Cameron put this issue on the G8 Summit agenda. The European Union is also creating national registers for company ownership. Sadly, US efforts trail those of other nations. Although bipartisan legislation is moving through the House and Senate, progress is slow due to lack of advocacy by ordinary citizens as well as politicians and business leaders.
