Panama Papers Corruption scandal

[LeVeL]

Can't the world just round up all the people mentioned in these papers and shoot them dead?

 

[Pedrocas]

Err.. no?

Having a bank account in another country is not a crime. Things have to be investigated, checked out and judged on their own merits.

Yeah, and we all know that really works with powerful rich people. NOT.

 

[mpicco]

Yeah, and we all know that really works with powerful rich people. NOT.

Then you're not cutting the tree, you're just trimming the leaves. Next year, new leaves will grow. Not how you kill the tree, and this tree's roots go deep.

 

[LeVeL]

What are you two on about?

Having an overseas bank account is perfectly legal.
Using said bank account for money laundering and/or tax evasion is perfectly illegal.
I have no doubt that some of the leaked names used these accounts for perfectly legitimate reasons.
I also have no doubt that many (if not most) used these accounts for perfectly illegitimate reasons.
Don't judge someone right away just because their name shows up.

 

[mpicco]

Having an overseas bank account is perfectly legal. (...)
Don't judge someone right away just because their name shows up.

How don't you know what I'm on about if I said exactly the same thing with different words?

Having a bank account in another country is not a crime. Things have to be investigated, checked out and judged on their own merits.

 

[GRtak]

Can't the world just round up all the people mentioned in these papers and shoot them dead?

This makes as much sense as keying cars.

 

[CD82]

Yeah I'd be really happy if some random grunt came round my house and shot me dead simply because I have a bank account in a country I'm currently not living in. By the way, I don't evade tax or anything stupid like that. Coming from Germany the Swiss tax feels laughably low anyway, so I don't remotely see any need in evading any of that. Having a bank account that deals in Euro instead of CHF is just handy, nothing more. I even checked with both the German and Swiss tax offices to make sure everything is going by the books.

 

[tigger]

These guys are making a big effort not to name anyone who's a private citizen, doing nothing shady. This ain't wikileaks. They've said they'll never open this data up completely to the public.

 

[argatoga]

So is Boris Johnson PM now?

 

[Heathrow]

I watched this report:

BBC TV - Panorama:
Tax Havens of the Rich and Powerful Exposed

Panorama

The rich and powerful have hidden billions of dollars in tax havens. They thought their financial secrets were safe, but now a huge leak of documents has revealed a world of secrecy, lies and crimes. Reporter Richard Bilton exposes tax avoiders, criminals and world leaders who have been hiding their money and their secrets offshore.

30 minutes

It summarised what has been going on with some of the "headline" clients of Mossack Fonseca. And that there could be many other not-so-famous names in the data, also involved.

On the Panorama program, a Guardian journalist said the the first leaked documents appeared a year ago and that they had been sifting through the huge volumes of data ever since.

 

[GRtak]

Panama raids offices of Mossack Fonseca law firm

Panama's attorney general late on Tuesday raided the offices of the Mossack Fonseca law firm to search for any evidence of illegal activities, authorities said in a statement.

The Panama-based law firm is at the center of the "Panama Papers" leaks scandal that has embarrassed several world leaders and shone a spotlight on the shadowy world of offshore companies.

The national police, in an earlier statement, said they were searching for documentation that "would establish the possible use of the firm for illicit activities." The firm has been accused of tax evasion and fraud.

Police offers and patrol cars began gathering around the company's building in the afternoon under the command of prosecutor Javier Caravallo, who specializes in organized crime and money laundering.

Mossack Fonseca, which specializes in setting up offshore companies, did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Earlier, founding partner Ramon Fonseca said the company had broken no laws, destroyed no documents, and all its operations were legal.

Governments across the world have begun investigating possible financial wrongdoing by the rich and powerful after the leak of more than 11.5 million documents, dubbed the Panama Papers, from the law firm that span four decades.

The papers have revealed financial arrangements of prominent figures, including friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin, relatives of the prime ministers of Britain and Pakistan and of China's President Xi Jinping, and the president of Ukraine.