Thursday, April 28, 2016
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
IPL 2016:Live score Card
At the half way mark of tournament, Many unexpected results happened. Let us try to analyse every teams performace
Gujrat Lions Raina ,Who was always under the leadership Dhoni, Has showed that he has learned a lot From Msd. He has got great support from his entourage in his debut season as captain . They look certain to get in top four. Their aim from now on should be to end in top 2 positions. They have put on collective performance which is positive point. Aaron Finch didn’t play his last game against Delhi. Gujrat will be anticipating his recovery.
Delhi
Probably the team which surprised the most in this year edition of IPL. Rahul Dravid with Zaheer Khan have to be attributed for Delhi’s Success. Zaheer Khan as a skipper has been unconventional throughout the tournament. They started of poorly in their first game against Kolkata, But came back strong in the match against RCB. Chris Morris has been the pick for them at this year’s Auction. He has been the best bowler for them so far. Yesterday he is unfortunate to end up on losing cup after him scoring 8 sixes in 32 balls .He almost pulled off a lost match, but couldn’t finished the task. He was given the man of the match though contruted o the losing cause. Quinton De kock is the only player in the at the batting line up on whom one can rely on .They have the slowest run rate in first six overs among all the teams.
Mumbai Indian
They are the defending champions. They are renowned to be slow starters and they have lived up to it. They have won 3 out of 6 matches they have played and their chances to end up in top 4 is not so difficult considering the Momentum .They have Injuries issues as well, they. Malinga and Lendi SImmons are ruled out of the tournament already. While Mumbai are in search of replacement for Malinga, Guptil has replaced Simmons already
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Saturday, April 23, 2016
IPL 09: Gujrat Vs RCB Live Score card
Gujrat Vs RCB
match predictions
Match Winner-Gujrat
Top Batmen Gujrat-Raina
To Batsmen RCB-Virat Kohli
Delhi Vs MI match story
Delhi pulled off a match which is almost lost. MI needed 63 runs in 47 balls while 8 wickets are in hand. Both the batsmen at the crease are settled. The situation is should be said to be in batsmen’s favor irrespective of pitch. But MI received a shock from Delhi. Zaheer khan’s pack has restricted MI to 154.
Earlier MI won the toss and elected to bowl at feroz Shah Kotla. They were successful in dismissing Delhi’s key play Quinton De Kock. After not a lot of time, Shreyas Iyer was also dismissed in similar fashion. Karun Nayar could not continued his from last game got dismissed cheaply for 5.Duminy and Samson with timely efforts managed to surpass Delhi’s score beyond 150. Sanju Samson scored 60 in 48 balls which included4 fours and two sixes. Duminy assisted him with 49 runs in 31 which consisted of 3 fours and two sixes. Duminy only played 4 dot balls in his entire innings which is a trade mark
Chasing modest total with huge hitters in the lineup , Mumbai are expected to chase down with minimal efforts. Parthiv Patel fell short off crease attempting second run in the second over. MI kept run rate intact with the help of partnership between Rohit and Rayudu. Krunal Pandya was sent in as a pinch hitter and did his part before getting out unfortunately. Kieron Pollard could not take off the innings when required. Rohit Sharma was run out in the last over due to a collision with Hardhik Pandya.
Now Delhi are comfortably placed at the top with 6 points following KKR. Mumabi are currently struggling at 6th position with 4 points in 6 position. We all know Mumbai are known to peak in second half of the tournament. Hope they will peak soon.
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Thursday, April 21, 2016
GL VS SRH PreviewScorecard
Gujrat Lions is yet to taste a defeat this season. On the flip side SRH registered their first win of the tournament in the last. Both teams might enter the foray with unperturbed sides. We have to be aware that SRH aren’t playing with their full potential. Ashish Nehra is yet play a full game and yuvraj is still to wear SRH jersey. The trend of team chasing is still on which makes toss very crucial.Team winning the toss won’t hesitate to bat.
Predictions
Match Winner- Gujrat
Top scorer Gujrat-Raina
Top Scorer SRH-warner
MI Vs RCB match Story
Two back to back loses at home..Two consecutive losses at home..Players not performing to their potential…This was the position of Mumbai Indians against t Royal challengers Bangalore. But they have chased down a big total of 170 quite easily..They registered their first win at home this season.
Mumbai Indian comprehensively chased down a total of 170. They registered their second win in this edition of IPL. Captain Rohit Sharma scored 62 in 44 balls which included 4 fours and 3 sixes .Pollard also scored a quick 40 which came off in just 40 balls which also included 4 fours and 3 sixers. At Whankade,Losing the toss RCB came into bat first. They managed to post 170 with the help of late fireworks from Sarfraz Khan. Chris Gayle took a paternal leave and was replaced by Kane Richardson .Adam Milne was relaced by Travis head. Kedhar jadhav who looked out of shape in Previous match is replaces by Lokesh Rahul, In whom Kohli believes in .Mumbai excluded Martin Guptil as their regular pollard was fit to play.
RCB got a great start from openers, in which 50 came off in under 6 overs. It was the middle phase they struggle as they lost Kohli and ABD. Watson could not his good form in batting.
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Monday, April 18, 2016
KIXP Vs KKR Live Action
KIXP Vs KKR Preview
KIXP will seek solace at Mohall on Sunday. They registered their first win in the tournament against Pune giants at today’s venue. KKR on the other hand doesn’t want to lose momentum. Their skipper is the orange cap holder at this juncture.
Unfortunately for KKR, John Hastings is ruled out of IPL due to ankle injury. This should dent their chances as Sunil Narine is available and will replace Hastings on any day.
Preductions
Match Winner- KKR
Top batmen-M Vijay
Top Batsmen-Uthappa
This is best start among all the IPL editions. All the teams have opened their points Column in first quarter itself. Sunrises have registered their first win against Mumbai Indians on Monday. Mumbai once again failed to post a big score batting first for the third time. Sunrisers Skipper David Warner is the man of the match for his vehement 90. Trend of chasing still prevails.
Couple of days earlier, sun risers failed to defend 142,but today they have chased down successfully. Bhuvi and Mustafizur restricted them to modest total in the first half and David Warner finished the task with an unbeaten 90.
Though they have big hitters, They felt nervous in the field. Rayudu and Krunal are the only players who put on decent performance in batting. MI became the first team in this tournament to bag 3rd loss.
SRH won the toss and sent MI to bat. Martin Guptil, Who is a replacement player, opened the batting along with parthiv Patel. Guptil, who is in sublime form, failed to give a start in his debut. He was dismissed by Bhuvaneswar in the very first over. Since them wickets were trembling till Krunal Pandya came in. Rayudu made a half century which included 3 fours and 2 sixes. Krunal Pandya fell short of fifty as SRH finished their quota of 20 over’s.
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MI Vs SRH Live score card
MI have only two points whereas SRH is the only team left to open their points account in this year’s editionof IPL. SRH have won the toss and elected to bowl first.SRH made only one change which is Bipul in for Karn Sharma. Mumbai India has also made one change. Martin Guptil is in for pollard, who is suffering from food poisoning. Guptil is expected to open the innings with Rohit Sharma. Jos butler holds the key in finishing the innings. Hyderabad always behaved in favour of bowlers.
Match Prediction
Match winner-Hyderabad
Top Batsmen-David Warner
Top Batmen MI- Rohit Sharma (if he opens)
Mumbai Indians is facing huge blow as Malinga is completely ruled out this year’s IPL due to knee injury. He is suffering from knee injury for some time now but expected to feature in IPL lately. Now MI will look to find a replacement.
RCB VS DD Summary
Daunting task ahead….Moreover Inexperienced Lineup..Everybody thought Picking team would be a conundrum for them…but Delhi devils shocked RCB last night. Quinton de Kock has scored his maiden IPL century which is well assisted by Karun Nair’s Half century. Quinton is the second youngest to score a century in IPLHalf centuries from Kohli and De Villiers went in vain yesterday.
Trend is still continuing. Team batting second have won on both occasions yesterday. Delhi chased down huge total of 191 at Bangalore against RCB, Earlier in the day Punjab won against Raising Super Kings.
Pune Vs Punjab match story
Pune once again faltered batting first. They have failed to take-off after getting a decent start. Credit has to be given to Punjab bowlers to restrict them to 152.Sandeep Sharma picked up 2 wickets and Mohit Sharma picked three wickets. Du Plesis has scored one more half century this season.
Chasing a modest total of 153,punjab again got a blazing start from their openers.They scored 96 in 12 overs.
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Sunday, April 17, 2016
RPS VS KIXP Live score card
Rising Pune will face demoralized Punjab on Sunday’s first of Double header.Which will will be followed by Encounter between RCB and Delhi daredevils.Last night we Sun Risers have tasted another Victory and Gujrat are yet to face a defeat so far.
Match Preditons Today
Match Winner-RCB
Match Winner-RPS(if they bat second)
Top BatsmenRCB- Virat Kohli
Top Batsman RPS- Rehane
Back RPS to score 170 and more
Pune are definitely favorites for today’s match even after dismal performance against Gujrat lions couple of days back.Till now in the tournament team chasing has won in all the occasion except once.The one result is between Rcb and SRh which was played on a batting strip won by RCB,which batted first.Punjab is the only team yet to match any of the sides in IPL. Even Delhi,Which was last in table for couple of years,Have won against them quite convincingly .
JP duminy coming back to the side ,is a big Morale booster for Delhi.He Joined South African Duo of Morris and De cock.Delhi is highly reliant on De Kock at the top.They have Young blood which lacks international exposure. Dravid Mentoring them is definitely an add on for them. Tahir might get a go as Delhi pitch is being friendly to spinners,Which we saw in last game behave to Amit Mishra. .Under 19 lad Sarfaraz Khan has played his best knock in the last game.this eventually gives much more freedom to top order to go ballistic at the top.
MI VS GL match story
MI skipper Rohit Sharma admitted that they have their batting has let them down twice in three outings. Also said that 144 is tough to defend on any occasion regardless pitch but felt that his bowlers did great job to bring it to the last over.Mitchell McClenighan hasbowled tremondus penultimate over which only conceded 2 runs .Bumrah failed to restict GL to under 10 in the last over which accomplished Gujarat Victory.
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Thursday, April 14, 2016
IPL09:Pune VS Gujarat
who would have thought MS Dhoni and and Suresh Raina Will devise strategies against each other. Both of the them have already said that stepping into field without Yellow jersey is very emotional. Both of them have won their opening games. Now it’s one of their turn to taste a defeat. Fans are seeing this as an Dhoni vs Raina rather than Pune vs Gujrat.
There is very less to differentiate between the team as of now. And it’s too early to conclude their pros and cons. Pune will undoubtedly be the favourites under the leadership of Dhoni before the match. But you never Know when both in form teams play against each other.
Bowling is the weaker suit fir both the teams. Pune can be said of having an edge if it is to be calibrated. But Gujrat has multi dimensional batting unlike pune whose batting seems to be one dimensional. Gujarat has definitely got upper hand in all rounder department with the likes of Bravo and jadeja.
Cricinfo Predictions
Match Winner- Side chasing
Top Batsmen Pune- Faf Du plesis
Top Batsmen Gujarat – Suresh Raina.
Catch all the live action on Sony six
Catch all the highlights post match on Hotstar.
Recomended tips-Lay sixes over 14
Back Pune if they chase
Teams: Rising Pune Supergiants: MS Dhoni (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Jaskaran Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ankit Sharma, Albie Morkel, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Thisara Perera, Saurabh Tiwary, R P Singh, Rajat Bhatia, Ankush Bains, Baba Aparajith, Murugan Ashwin, Ashok Dinda, Deepak Chahar, Scott Boland, Peter Handscomb, Adam Zampa.
Gujarat Lions: Suresh Raina (C), Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Dale Steyn, Pravin Tambe, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Shadab Jakati, Dinesh Karthik, Shivil Kaushik, Dhawal Kulkarni, Praveen Kumar, Pradeep Sangwan, Jaydev Shah, Umang Sharma, Andrew Tye, Sarabjit Ladda, Akshdeep Nath, Amit Mishra, Paras Dogra, Eklavya Dwivedi.
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Tuesday, April 12, 2016
IPL09: MI vs KKR PReview,Live score card
KKR Vs MI
KKR started positively, but whereas MI are yet to open n their account. They lost curtain raise of the tournament Rising Pune. Though MI are behind KKR in points table, they are favorites for the match.
Eden Gardens will host the match, which is fortress for KKR. Sunil Narine is expected to be available for this outing. John Hasting might be the one has to sit out if Sunil Narine is available. Mumbai woes on availability of Lasith Malinga continues. Good news for Mumbai is Pollard fit to bowl.
Predictions
Top Batsmen MI
Rohit Sharma loves Eden garden. No wonder he is expected to be top scorer for Mumbai.
Top Batsmen KKR
it’s hard to predict, KKR is known to perform as an unit. Robin Uthappa is expected to score high.
Whichever team wins the toss will like to chase. Momentum is with KKR so back KKR.
If KKR bats first lay 180.
RCB Opened Regally
RCB started this season red hot. IPL 09 has witnessed a team defending won for first time. All the three matches prior to this are won by chasing. Though RCB has best batting line-up, they are to face Risers fierce attack. Everybody thought it would be good contest between RCB’s batting and SRH’s bowling. But RCB has annihilated SRH by a huge margin.
Virat Kohli, who lost the toss, was sent in bat. He himself opened with mighty Gayle. Bhuvaneswar Kumar who has better record against Gayle has once again got the better of him by dismantling the leg stump. ABD came to the crease and didn’t take too long to explode. Chinna swamy stadium which is known for its affinity to batting has behaved no different. Crowd has witnessed 23 sixes yesterday and got their ticket worth. ABD started destruction and concluded by Sarfraz khan.
ABD Villiers was awarded man of the match.
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Monday, April 11, 2016
IPL 09:SRH vs RCB Preview
RCB is the most loved franchise on IPL. They are analogous to South Africa in international circuit. They start as favourites all the time but can’t keep the expectations at the end. Match will be hosted by Chinna swamy stadium which is known for high scoring games.RCB are clear favourites for this match and tournament also.
RCB VS SRH Predictions
Catch Live score here
Match winner- RCB if they Chase
Top Batsmen- Virat Kohli
First innings score-170+
Top batsmen SRH-Dhawan
Sixes- over 12(if RCB bat first)
Gujrat Lions VS Punjab Match story
Gujrat Lions have started their Career in a promising way. Like their Co debutants, Gujarat have bagged two points in their first match itself. Raina Impressed every one with his leadership skills. Manan Vohra, M Vijay gave a wonderful start which couldn’t be capitalised by rest of the batsmen. Punjab Batsmen who scored 9o runs in 9 over’s couldn’t maintain the run rate and finished at 161.Gujrat Lions who bowled well to restrict Punjab to 160 also played well with bat.
On Monday, Gujrat Lions have registered their first ever win with 5 wickets in hand against Kings IX Punjab in IPL09. Suresh Raina who won the toss opted bowl. M Vijay and Vohra gave a blazing start and at one point of time they were going at 9 runs per over. They scored first 78 runs in 50 balls .It was Ravindra Jadeja to first provide break through for Gujarat by dismissing M vohra . Dinesh karthik held on to a catch which came off the pad after an inside edge. Murali Vijay couldn’t capitalise by playing a vague short in Ravindra Jadeja’s Over. From then Bravo took the reins. With his crafty slower balls he picked up 4 wickets for just 22 run which would be a match winning performance on any day.
MOM– DJ Bravo.
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Sunday, April 10, 2016
IPL09:Gujrat Lions VS KIngs Punjab ,Match Oreview Live Score card
Lions Vs Tigers
Gujrat Lions is going to make their Debut in IPL today against Kings Punjab. This will be first match for both the teams in Vivo Ipl09 .Gujrat lions is a new franchise which will be led Suresh raina, who is from CSK DNA. Their co Debutants Rising Pune have already registered their first win. Let us sneak peak in to the sides and predictions.
Gujrat
Like their co debutants ,Pune doesn’t lack any experience. They have got MCcullumn, Jadeja ,DJ bravo, Faulkner and Skipper Raina himself. Suresh raina represented CSK in all the csk matches. Batting Department is looking absolutely strong ,But Bowling seems to vulnerable. Steyn not being in great form, Faulkner ineffectiveness on Indian decks are major concerns. Jadeja is the only man to go in spin department.
Core Team
Raina, Jadeja, Bravo, Faulkner, Mccullumn.
Kings Punjab
Kings Punjab are one of the teams who never won the trophy. They mad to semis in 2014 and 2008. They had a bad outing yesteryear. They have destructive Batsmen like Maxwell and Miller. Shaun Marsh and Jhonson will strengthen their line up. On the whole ,they look Quite balanced.
Kolkata vs Delhi match story
Team is almost changed…They have got new captain…They appointed new coach..But Delhi hasnt changed in terms of performance. Their fate has not changed. Their opening match was a disaster against kolkata Knight Raiders. Kolkata managed an easy win Kolkata on Sunday.
Kolkata made a good start to campaign. They outplayed Delhi in all departments. In a lacklustre match on Sunday, Kolkata won against Delhi with nine wickets in Hand. Russell(3/24,),Hogg(3/19), chwala(2/21),Hastings(2/6) have restricted Visitors to 98. SA opener Quinton De Kock who opened the batting for Delhi is the top scorer with 17 runs.KKR chased down the target without any hassle. Gautham Gambhir top scored the innings with 38 from 41 balls. Robin Uthappa assisted him with 35 in just 33 bals. Russell is awarded man of the match foe his 3 wicket haul.
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Saturday, April 9, 2016
IPL 09:Mumbai Vs Pune Live score card
Pepsi IPL Is now VIVO IPL. Defending champions Mumbai Indian will play against newbie’s Rising pune giants at Whankade. Opening ceremony got tremendous response from all cordons. Pune are new only in terms of attire, all the hearts behind them are very well experienced. Indian skipper MSD will lead Pune’s Debut match. Curtain raiser of ninth edition will be played today,9th of April, at Whankade. Gujarat will debut this season along with
Whankade is an absolute ripper for batting. We have witnessed some infamous matches this T20 World cup. We remember England chased down mammoth score of 229 against proteas .Opening match is expected to be high scoring one and a visual feat for fans.
Mumbai will start as favourites like previous editions. They will enter this edition with strengthened squad. They have abundant match winners in form of Anderson, Rohit, Simmons, Pollard. Inclusion of Butler in squad will enhance their batting depth. Lack of clarity on Malinga’s Availability is big drawback. All eyes will be on Bumrah, Pandya and Simmons who have impressed in recent T20 world cup. Spin department looks like weak link in Mumbai squad. No noticeable spin bowlers apart Harbhajan singh.
Pune are looks like one of the favourites in their debut edition. Dhoni being its skipper is the main season. He will get assistance from the likes of Du plesis, Steve smith, Kevin Pieterson, Ajinkya Rehane. Spin looks decent in their line up with Ravi Ashwin, Adam Zampa and Murugan Ashwin. Pace attack also looks decent with Rp singh, Ishwar Pandey and Ishanth Sharma. Only drawback is that their batting is looking one Dimensional, which will increase onus on Dhoni to finish.
Predictions
Match winner-Mumbai
Top batsmen pune- Rehane
Top Batsmen Mumbai- Rohit Sharma
Back 1st innings runs over 170
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Friday, April 8, 2016
Here's Why You Should Give a Shit About the Panama Papers
The Panama Papers — 11.5 million leaked documents that detail the inner workings of Mossack Fonseca, a law firm accused of helping drug lords, sports stars, Ponzi schemers, kings, presidents, prime ministers, FIFA officials, mafia members, high-profile thieves, high-ranking politicians, and at least one convicted sex offender launder money, evade taxes, and escape criminal prosecution—are a big deal.
Mossack Fonseca has ties to the $37 million Brink's-MAT robbery of 1983, which British media called "the crime of the century." Thirty-three of its clients have been blacklisted by the US government for allegedly doing business with Mexican drug lords, terrorist organizations, and "rogue nations" like North Korea and Iran. Its files have unearthed a secret, shady $2 billion trail of money that leads to Vladimir Putin. One of its clients played a crucial role in the Watergate scandal. Another was convicted for the torture and murder of a US drug enforcement agent.
With a story this big—dubbed by Edward Snowden as "the biggest leak in the history of data journalism"—it can be difficult to understand exactly what's at stake. The Panama Papers are, unquestionably, insane. But what do they have to do with you?
If you live in one of the 200 countries and territories that Mossack Fonseca's clients call home—and, given the fact you're reading this article, you probably do—the story of the Panama Papers is your story. The money the law firm helps to hide should be used to pay for your schools, your highways, your hospitals. The criminals it works with run the most violent illegal organizations your country has ever seen. The politicians who have taken and made bribes, dodged taxes, and amassed fortunes of unimaginable scale are your politicians.
Not long after the story broke, people started posting tweets along the lines of: "Shock, horror: wealthy, powerful people are corrupt—why should I give a shit?" Well, because of course you should give a shit. To know this story—of hidden millions, of corruption, of murder and bribery and power and betrayal—is to know your own. Here's how the revelations came to be, and why you should care.
Over the next several months, SZ found themselves with about 2.6 terrabytes of data. The paper shared it with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), allowing hundreds of reporters from more than 100 media organizations in 80 countries to sift through the documents. After a year of research, those journalists finally began to figure out how Mossack Fonseca works—and to uncover how a business that's never faced criminal prosecution could have a bigger hand in corruption, bribery, and crime than anyone ever imagined.
Offshore companies aren't illegal—not inherently, anyway. But using them to hide assets from tax authorities, thwart investigations, and protect criminals is.
Here's how this whole mess of a situation works:
An individual, often through a middle-man he or she is close to, pays Mossack Fonseca to create a "shell company"—a business on paper, but in reality, a storehouse for a shit-ton of money, whether in cold hard cash or tied up in shares. Mossack Fonseca sets up the shell company offshore in a place like Panama (where the firm is based), the British Virgin Islands, or any other "tax haven"—a place where the true owners of a company can be anonymous and their home country (which, typically, doesn't know about the company in the first place) can't tax it.
Say a politician makes $100,000 per year as his or her salary, and for some reason—bribes, business deals, all manner of shady shit—also makes upward of $1 million in some other way. If he or she puts that money in an offshore shell company, he or she can access it without being taxed for it. Even if the shell company is discovered, it can't be tied directly to the politician because the company is technically owned by someone else—a stand-in owner who's appointed by Mossack Fonseca to run the company on paper, but, in reality, doesn't own anything. To move the money, the company pretends to make business deals: The Panama Papers reveal thousands of fake share trades, million-dollar payments for "consultancy," and huge payouts in "compensation" for canceled transactions.
"This is not business," money-laundering expert Andrew Mitchell QC told BBC Panorama. "This is creating the appearance of business in order to continually move and hide assets."
THE SCANDALS
Let's start with the big one: Vladimir Putin.
His boyhood friend, Sergei Roldugin—a major-league cellist and the godfather of Putin's firstborn daughter—is listed as the owner of a slew of offshore companies. They've been set up by Mossack Fonseca, and they've received innumerable payments worth tens of millions, the papers revealed. However, it appears that the money's not actually going to Roldugin. Instead, the ICIJ believes, it's going to Putin's closest associates—and maybe even Putin himself.
The way that works is tricky. It's best explained, I think, by a mind-blowing example that the ICIJ highlighted in its reporting:
On February 10, 2011, an anonymous company in the British Virgin Islands named Sandalwood Continental Ltd. loaned $200 million to an equally shady firm based in Cyprus called Horwich Trading Ltd.
The following day, Sandalwood assigned the rights to collect payments on the loan—including interest—to Ove Financial Corp., a mysterious company in the British Virgin Islands.
For those rights, Ove paid $1.
But the money trail didn't end there.
The same day, Ove reassigned its rights to collect on the loan to a Panama company called International Media Overseas.
It too paid $1.
In the space of 24 hours, the loan had, on paper, traversed three countries, two banks, and four companies, making the money all but untraceable in the process. St. Petersburg-based Bank Rossiya, an institution with a majority owner and chairman who has been called one of Putin's "cashiers," established Sandalwood Continental and directed the money flow.
International Media Overseas, where rights to the interest payments from the $200 million appear to have landed, was controlled, on paper, by one of Putin's oldest friends: Sergei Roldugin.
The point is this: Here, somebody with extremely close ties to Putin traded $200 million for $1. That's just one of several transactions ICIJ uncovered in Mossack Fonseca's files—totaling at least $2 billion—that involves companies or individuals "uncomfortably close" to Putin. As ICIJ points out, the money might be changing hands in secret because it's being used as "payoffs" for aid from the Russian government or big-ticket contracts. To boil what's at hand down to a word: corruption.
FIFA, it turns out, is more fucked up than we thought—and Mossack Fonseca is involved. Four of the soccer organization's 16 officials indicted in the US for corruption used Mossack Fonseca to create offshore companies. A member of FIFA's Independent Ethics Committee, Pedro Damiani, did work for seven MF offshore companies tied to former FIFA Vice President Eugenio Figueredo—the guy who was charged for wire fraud, money laundering, and racketeering in May of last year. Additionally, it looks like there's no way Damiani didn't know that Hugo and Mariano Jinkis—a father-son duo who allegedly bribed FIFA officials with tens of millions for broadcasting rights to Latin American matches—were doing something dirty. Damiani is now the subject of an internal investigation by the very ethics committee he helps to run.
Iceland's prime minister, who came to power after the collapse of several major banks in his country, effectively owned an offshore company (yep, you guessed it, set up by our friends at Mossack Fonseca) that had major holdings in those same banks. I say "effectively" because, though he once owned half of the company's shares, he's since sold the rest to his wife. For $1. While it's unclear if the PM, Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, did anything illegal, he and his government negotiated settlements with the same banks he held shares in. Since the Panama Papers story broke, he's been called to step down.
Every major scandal that the Panama Papers have brought to light is equally (if not more) tricky to understand as this whole Putin business. If you're interested in the evidence behind each shit-show, I'd highly recommend exploring the ICIJ's website.
I could keep listing these scandals for days—exposing the questionable financial affairs of the prime minister of Pakistan; the king of Saudi Arabia; the children of Azerbaijan's president; the son of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; eight members of the Politburo, China's main ruling body; even the shady dealings of Jackie Chan—but for now, I think it's enough for you to know the numbers.
The Panama Papers uncovered a total of 61 family members and associates of prime ministers, presidents, or kings who use Mossack Fonseca's services. The firm has helped hide billions of dollars from governments across the globe—dollars that, ordinarily, would be subject to taxation. It's done business with folks who looted millions from a death benefits pool that was supposed to go to widows and orphans. And it's been doing all this for 40 years now, undetected—until that anonymous source got in touch with Süeddeutsche Zeitung.
We all have content nausea. Every day, hundreds of advertisements scream at us from billboards and phone screens and televisions. We couldn't listen to all the music released in the past six months over the course of our entire lifetimes. We are buried in headlines, overwhelmed by the amount of news we have access to, and unsure, sometimes, of the best place to turn for it. In an era where information is so abundant, it's exhausting to try to consume it all.
The Panama Papers—more so, perhaps, than any piece of news you'll come across in the next decade—isn't an easy story to understand. It'll take a long while to figure it out—the dozens of media outlets covering it haven't even sorted through all the documents they've been given. But it's a story worth spending time on. Because, unlike so much of what this world is inundated with, it is a story that applies to you.
Via
Mossack Fonseca has ties to the $37 million Brink's-MAT robbery of 1983, which British media called "the crime of the century." Thirty-three of its clients have been blacklisted by the US government for allegedly doing business with Mexican drug lords, terrorist organizations, and "rogue nations" like North Korea and Iran. Its files have unearthed a secret, shady $2 billion trail of money that leads to Vladimir Putin. One of its clients played a crucial role in the Watergate scandal. Another was convicted for the torture and murder of a US drug enforcement agent.
With a story this big—dubbed by Edward Snowden as "the biggest leak in the history of data journalism"—it can be difficult to understand exactly what's at stake. The Panama Papers are, unquestionably, insane. But what do they have to do with you?
If you live in one of the 200 countries and territories that Mossack Fonseca's clients call home—and, given the fact you're reading this article, you probably do—the story of the Panama Papers is your story. The money the law firm helps to hide should be used to pay for your schools, your highways, your hospitals. The criminals it works with run the most violent illegal organizations your country has ever seen. The politicians who have taken and made bribes, dodged taxes, and amassed fortunes of unimaginable scale are your politicians.
Not long after the story broke, people started posting tweets along the lines of: "Shock, horror: wealthy, powerful people are corrupt—why should I give a shit?" Well, because of course you should give a shit. To know this story—of hidden millions, of corruption, of murder and bribery and power and betrayal—is to know your own. Here's how the revelations came to be, and why you should care.
THE LEAK
A little over a year ago, an anonymous source reached out to the German newspaper Süeddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and offered it heaps of internal documents from Mossack Fonseca, which specializes in selling offshore companies based in tax havens across the globe. The source didn't ask for compensation. Instead, he wrote in an email to the paper that he wanted one thing: "To make these crimes public."Over the next several months, SZ found themselves with about 2.6 terrabytes of data. The paper shared it with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), allowing hundreds of reporters from more than 100 media organizations in 80 countries to sift through the documents. After a year of research, those journalists finally began to figure out how Mossack Fonseca works—and to uncover how a business that's never faced criminal prosecution could have a bigger hand in corruption, bribery, and crime than anyone ever imagined.
THE SCHEME
Offshore companies aren't illegal—not inherently, anyway. But using them to hide assets from tax authorities, thwart investigations, and protect criminals is.
Here's how this whole mess of a situation works:
An individual, often through a middle-man he or she is close to, pays Mossack Fonseca to create a "shell company"—a business on paper, but in reality, a storehouse for a shit-ton of money, whether in cold hard cash or tied up in shares. Mossack Fonseca sets up the shell company offshore in a place like Panama (where the firm is based), the British Virgin Islands, or any other "tax haven"—a place where the true owners of a company can be anonymous and their home country (which, typically, doesn't know about the company in the first place) can't tax it.
Say a politician makes $100,000 per year as his or her salary, and for some reason—bribes, business deals, all manner of shady shit—also makes upward of $1 million in some other way. If he or she puts that money in an offshore shell company, he or she can access it without being taxed for it. Even if the shell company is discovered, it can't be tied directly to the politician because the company is technically owned by someone else—a stand-in owner who's appointed by Mossack Fonseca to run the company on paper, but, in reality, doesn't own anything. To move the money, the company pretends to make business deals: The Panama Papers reveal thousands of fake share trades, million-dollar payments for "consultancy," and huge payouts in "compensation" for canceled transactions.
"This is not business," money-laundering expert Andrew Mitchell QC told BBC Panorama. "This is creating the appearance of business in order to continually move and hide assets."
THE SCANDALS
Let's start with the big one: Vladimir Putin.
His boyhood friend, Sergei Roldugin—a major-league cellist and the godfather of Putin's firstborn daughter—is listed as the owner of a slew of offshore companies. They've been set up by Mossack Fonseca, and they've received innumerable payments worth tens of millions, the papers revealed. However, it appears that the money's not actually going to Roldugin. Instead, the ICIJ believes, it's going to Putin's closest associates—and maybe even Putin himself.
The way that works is tricky. It's best explained, I think, by a mind-blowing example that the ICIJ highlighted in its reporting:
On February 10, 2011, an anonymous company in the British Virgin Islands named Sandalwood Continental Ltd. loaned $200 million to an equally shady firm based in Cyprus called Horwich Trading Ltd.
The following day, Sandalwood assigned the rights to collect payments on the loan—including interest—to Ove Financial Corp., a mysterious company in the British Virgin Islands.For those rights, Ove paid $1.
But the money trail didn't end there.
The same day, Ove reassigned its rights to collect on the loan to a Panama company called International Media Overseas.
It too paid $1.
In the space of 24 hours, the loan had, on paper, traversed three countries, two banks, and four companies, making the money all but untraceable in the process. St. Petersburg-based Bank Rossiya, an institution with a majority owner and chairman who has been called one of Putin's "cashiers," established Sandalwood Continental and directed the money flow.
International Media Overseas, where rights to the interest payments from the $200 million appear to have landed, was controlled, on paper, by one of Putin's oldest friends: Sergei Roldugin.
The point is this: Here, somebody with extremely close ties to Putin traded $200 million for $1. That's just one of several transactions ICIJ uncovered in Mossack Fonseca's files—totaling at least $2 billion—that involves companies or individuals "uncomfortably close" to Putin. As ICIJ points out, the money might be changing hands in secret because it's being used as "payoffs" for aid from the Russian government or big-ticket contracts. To boil what's at hand down to a word: corruption.
FIFA, it turns out, is more fucked up than we thought—and Mossack Fonseca is involved. Four of the soccer organization's 16 officials indicted in the US for corruption used Mossack Fonseca to create offshore companies. A member of FIFA's Independent Ethics Committee, Pedro Damiani, did work for seven MF offshore companies tied to former FIFA Vice President Eugenio Figueredo—the guy who was charged for wire fraud, money laundering, and racketeering in May of last year. Additionally, it looks like there's no way Damiani didn't know that Hugo and Mariano Jinkis—a father-son duo who allegedly bribed FIFA officials with tens of millions for broadcasting rights to Latin American matches—were doing something dirty. Damiani is now the subject of an internal investigation by the very ethics committee he helps to run.
Iceland's prime minister, who came to power after the collapse of several major banks in his country, effectively owned an offshore company (yep, you guessed it, set up by our friends at Mossack Fonseca) that had major holdings in those same banks. I say "effectively" because, though he once owned half of the company's shares, he's since sold the rest to his wife. For $1. While it's unclear if the PM, Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, did anything illegal, he and his government negotiated settlements with the same banks he held shares in. Since the Panama Papers story broke, he's been called to step down.Every major scandal that the Panama Papers have brought to light is equally (if not more) tricky to understand as this whole Putin business. If you're interested in the evidence behind each shit-show, I'd highly recommend exploring the ICIJ's website.
THE POINT
I could keep listing these scandals for days—exposing the questionable financial affairs of the prime minister of Pakistan; the king of Saudi Arabia; the children of Azerbaijan's president; the son of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; eight members of the Politburo, China's main ruling body; even the shady dealings of Jackie Chan—but for now, I think it's enough for you to know the numbers.
The Panama Papers uncovered a total of 61 family members and associates of prime ministers, presidents, or kings who use Mossack Fonseca's services. The firm has helped hide billions of dollars from governments across the globe—dollars that, ordinarily, would be subject to taxation. It's done business with folks who looted millions from a death benefits pool that was supposed to go to widows and orphans. And it's been doing all this for 40 years now, undetected—until that anonymous source got in touch with Süeddeutsche Zeitung.
We all have content nausea. Every day, hundreds of advertisements scream at us from billboards and phone screens and televisions. We couldn't listen to all the music released in the past six months over the course of our entire lifetimes. We are buried in headlines, overwhelmed by the amount of news we have access to, and unsure, sometimes, of the best place to turn for it. In an era where information is so abundant, it's exhausting to try to consume it all.
The Panama Papers—more so, perhaps, than any piece of news you'll come across in the next decade—isn't an easy story to understand. It'll take a long while to figure it out—the dozens of media outlets covering it haven't even sorted through all the documents they've been given. But it's a story worth spending time on. Because, unlike so much of what this world is inundated with, it is a story that applies to you.
Via
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Vladimir Putin Says Allegations in Panama Papers Are an American Plot
MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin dismissed on Thursday reports based on leaked legal documents that some of his close associates had shoveled around $2 billion through offshore accounts in the Caribbean, calling the allegations an American plot to try to undermine Russian unity.
The Russian president, making his first public remarks on the subject, also defended the cellist Sergei P. Roldugin, an old and close friend who was named in reports about the leaked documents, known as the Panama Papers. The cellist was at the center of a scheme to hide money from Russian state banks offshore, the reports said.
Mr. Putin said that Mr. Roldugin, like many Russians, had tried his hand at business, in his case to support his love of music by getting the money to buy expensive instruments.
“Almost all the money he earned he spent on musical instruments that he bought abroad,” Mr. Putin said at a public forum for regional journalists in St. Petersburg, broadcast live by state-run television. The musician had then donated the instruments to government institutions.
On paper, Mr. Roldugin’s shares in various enterprises linked to friends of Mr. Putin, especially Bank Rossiya, give him a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars. Mr. Roldugin is the artistic director of the House of Music, which trains classical musicians in St. Petersburg.
“I am proud to have friends like him,” Mr. Putin said, calling Mr. Roldugin a “brilliant musician.”
There was an immediate, somewhat mocking reaction on social media, with many people questioning the president’s version. Sergei Parkhomenko, a journalist often critical of the government, wrote on Facebook that at $6 million apiece, the $2 billion reportedly stashed offshore was enough to buy more than 300 of the rare violins made in the 17th and 18th century made by Antonio Stradivari.
Mr. Putin noted that his name had not been in the leaked documents, but that it was plastered all over the reports about them.
The Russian president rolled out the standard Kremlin excuse for any bad news regarding Russia from abroad. Russia, he said, deprives the West of its monopoly on economic and military power, which irritates the leading nations.
So the West dreams up plots to undermine the “unity and cohesion” of Russia, which is “an exercise in futility,” he said.
Specifically, he named Washington, saying that WikiLeaks had reported that the Panama Papers were an American-funded plot.
“Behind all that, there are certain officials and official agencies of the very same United States,” Mr. Putin said. “WikiLeaks has just shown that.”
The WikiLeaks organization, which grew out of the release a decade ago of a huge trove of American government documents, posted several somewhat-contradictory messages on Twitter about the subject.
“US govt funded #PanamaPapers attack story on Putin via USAID,” said one on April 6, for example. “Some good journalists but no model for integrity.”
After the Russian state news media began citing WikiLeaks as proof that the Panama revelations had been all an American plot, the WikiLeaks Twitter account said, “Claims that #PanamaPapers themselves are a ‘plot’ against Russia are nonsense.”
Coverage of the global scandal in Russia, especially on the main television stations controlled by the Kremlin, has been limited and focused mostly on allegations against others, including President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine.
There have been scattered individual protests about the disclosures in Russia.
On Wednesday, someone hung a poster at a bus stop showing a picture of Mr. Putin wearing what Russians refer to as a Panama hat. (It is a kind of floppy version of the straw original.)
“What Panama?” was written on the poster, which was quickly removed.
Source : nytimes.com/
The Russian president, making his first public remarks on the subject, also defended the cellist Sergei P. Roldugin, an old and close friend who was named in reports about the leaked documents, known as the Panama Papers. The cellist was at the center of a scheme to hide money from Russian state banks offshore, the reports said.
Mr. Putin said that Mr. Roldugin, like many Russians, had tried his hand at business, in his case to support his love of music by getting the money to buy expensive instruments.
“Almost all the money he earned he spent on musical instruments that he bought abroad,” Mr. Putin said at a public forum for regional journalists in St. Petersburg, broadcast live by state-run television. The musician had then donated the instruments to government institutions.On paper, Mr. Roldugin’s shares in various enterprises linked to friends of Mr. Putin, especially Bank Rossiya, give him a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars. Mr. Roldugin is the artistic director of the House of Music, which trains classical musicians in St. Petersburg.
“I am proud to have friends like him,” Mr. Putin said, calling Mr. Roldugin a “brilliant musician.”
There was an immediate, somewhat mocking reaction on social media, with many people questioning the president’s version. Sergei Parkhomenko, a journalist often critical of the government, wrote on Facebook that at $6 million apiece, the $2 billion reportedly stashed offshore was enough to buy more than 300 of the rare violins made in the 17th and 18th century made by Antonio Stradivari.
Mr. Putin noted that his name had not been in the leaked documents, but that it was plastered all over the reports about them.
The Russian president rolled out the standard Kremlin excuse for any bad news regarding Russia from abroad. Russia, he said, deprives the West of its monopoly on economic and military power, which irritates the leading nations.
So the West dreams up plots to undermine the “unity and cohesion” of Russia, which is “an exercise in futility,” he said.
Specifically, he named Washington, saying that WikiLeaks had reported that the Panama Papers were an American-funded plot.
“Behind all that, there are certain officials and official agencies of the very same United States,” Mr. Putin said. “WikiLeaks has just shown that.”
The WikiLeaks organization, which grew out of the release a decade ago of a huge trove of American government documents, posted several somewhat-contradictory messages on Twitter about the subject.
“US govt funded #PanamaPapers attack story on Putin via USAID,” said one on April 6, for example. “Some good journalists but no model for integrity.”
After the Russian state news media began citing WikiLeaks as proof that the Panama revelations had been all an American plot, the WikiLeaks Twitter account said, “Claims that #PanamaPapers themselves are a ‘plot’ against Russia are nonsense.”
Coverage of the global scandal in Russia, especially on the main television stations controlled by the Kremlin, has been limited and focused mostly on allegations against others, including President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine.
There have been scattered individual protests about the disclosures in Russia.
On Wednesday, someone hung a poster at a bus stop showing a picture of Mr. Putin wearing what Russians refer to as a Panama hat. (It is a kind of floppy version of the straw original.)
“What Panama?” was written on the poster, which was quickly removed.
Source : nytimes.com/
Panama Papers Spark High-Level FIFA Resignation and Swiss Police Raid
Swiss police searched the office of Europe's top soccer association, and a member of FIFA's ethics panel resigned following Panama Papers revelations.
A FIFA official has resigned from the world soccer body’s ethics panel and Swiss police have raided the offices of Europe’s top soccer association – the latest impacts in response to revelations in the Panama Papers scandal.
FIFA confirmed today that Juan Pedro Damiani has stepped down from his position as a member of the organization’s Independent Ethics Panel. His resignation was sparked by an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and other media partners that uncovered business ties between Damiani and three men indicted in U.S. authorities’ wide-ranging probe into bribery and corruption inside the world’s most popular sport.
Switzerland’s attorney general also confirmed today that authorities had searched the offices of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, “for the purpose of securing evidence.” The attorney general’s office said the search was prompted in part by its own investigation and in part by the Panama Papers reporting team’s disclosures about links between the Europe body and one of the businessmen indicted in the U.S.
Damiani’s resignation comes after FIFA’s ethics panel launched an investigation in response to the media partnership’s findings that Damiani and his law firm had done work for offshore companies linked to Eugenio Figueredo, a former FIFA vice president who has been charged by U.S. authorities with wire fraud and money laundering, as well as to Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, a father-son team of businessmen accused of offering bribes to gain broadcast rights to FIFA events in Latin America.
Damiani told ICIJ and other media partners that he couldn’t comment directly on the reporters’ findings. But he asserted that he has a taken a lead role in reporting evidence of corruption within FIFA to the group’s ethics panel and to authorities in his home country of Uruguay.
The UEFA raid comes in the wake of disclosures by the Panama Papers reporting partnership that FIFA’s current president, Gianni Infantino, had signed a broadcast deal with a company linked to Hugo Jinkis when Infantino was legal director at the European soccer body.
As The Guardian reported, the Panama Papers indicate that Infantino co-signed a contract in 2006 that sold broadcast rights to club competitions in South America to a company linked to Hugo Jinkis.
UEFA maintains that its TV rights deals with the company were above board and it had no way to know that Jinkis would be involved in the scandal a decade later. “There is no suggestion whatsoever of any UEFA official or marketing partner taking any form of bribe or kickback, whether in relation to this tiny deal, or any other commercial transaction,” UEFA said.
The Panama Papers are a collection of more than 11 million documents from the files of Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm that specializes in creating offshore companies for customers who want to keep their financial affairs under wraps. The records have been the subject of a year-long joint investigation by ICIJ, German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other media partners.
Original Article : ICIJ
A FIFA official has resigned from the world soccer body’s ethics panel and Swiss police have raided the offices of Europe’s top soccer association – the latest impacts in response to revelations in the Panama Papers scandal.
FIFA confirmed today that Juan Pedro Damiani has stepped down from his position as a member of the organization’s Independent Ethics Panel. His resignation was sparked by an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and other media partners that uncovered business ties between Damiani and three men indicted in U.S. authorities’ wide-ranging probe into bribery and corruption inside the world’s most popular sport.
Switzerland’s attorney general also confirmed today that authorities had searched the offices of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, “for the purpose of securing evidence.” The attorney general’s office said the search was prompted in part by its own investigation and in part by the Panama Papers reporting team’s disclosures about links between the Europe body and one of the businessmen indicted in the U.S.
Damiani’s resignation comes after FIFA’s ethics panel launched an investigation in response to the media partnership’s findings that Damiani and his law firm had done work for offshore companies linked to Eugenio Figueredo, a former FIFA vice president who has been charged by U.S. authorities with wire fraud and money laundering, as well as to Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, a father-son team of businessmen accused of offering bribes to gain broadcast rights to FIFA events in Latin America.
Damiani told ICIJ and other media partners that he couldn’t comment directly on the reporters’ findings. But he asserted that he has a taken a lead role in reporting evidence of corruption within FIFA to the group’s ethics panel and to authorities in his home country of Uruguay.
The UEFA raid comes in the wake of disclosures by the Panama Papers reporting partnership that FIFA’s current president, Gianni Infantino, had signed a broadcast deal with a company linked to Hugo Jinkis when Infantino was legal director at the European soccer body.
As The Guardian reported, the Panama Papers indicate that Infantino co-signed a contract in 2006 that sold broadcast rights to club competitions in South America to a company linked to Hugo Jinkis.
UEFA maintains that its TV rights deals with the company were above board and it had no way to know that Jinkis would be involved in the scandal a decade later. “There is no suggestion whatsoever of any UEFA official or marketing partner taking any form of bribe or kickback, whether in relation to this tiny deal, or any other commercial transaction,” UEFA said.
The Panama Papers are a collection of more than 11 million documents from the files of Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm that specializes in creating offshore companies for customers who want to keep their financial affairs under wraps. The records have been the subject of a year-long joint investigation by ICIJ, German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other media partners.
Original Article : ICIJ
Mysterious Creature Video Taped in Thames River
A #Mysterious Colossal #Creature Was Found Swimming In The Thames River!
A video shot by a passenger on an Emirates Air Line cable car contained footage that shows an unidentified creature appearing to swim and come up to the surface, multiple outlets reported.
Divers Encounter Leviathan Like Beast In The Deep Blue, Read This #Strange Article At Strange Mysterious Fish in Ocean
A video shot by a passenger on an Emirates Air Line cable car contained footage that shows an unidentified creature appearing to swim and come up to the surface, multiple outlets reported.
Divers Encounter Leviathan Like Beast In The Deep Blue, Read This #Strange Article At Strange Mysterious Fish in Ocean
What Divers Encountered In The Middle Of The Ocean Is Almost Too Crazy To Be Real. But It Is.
Some animals are just so big, that we can’t help but look at them in awe. Think about seeing elephants, whales, and giraffes in their natural habitats. It’s magical. But seeing the ocean sunfish in all its glory is perhaps unlike anything else.
These rarely seen sea dwellers aren’t as well known as some of their animal cousins, but since they’re the biggest bony fish in the world, they absolutely should be. And based on photographer Miguel Pereira’s recent encounter with the leviathan-like beast, we should all be paying attention.
Despite its intimidating size (15 feet high and 2,000 pounds), the ocean sunfish primarily feeds on jellyfish.
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| Jelly Fish |
This incredible encounter took place off the coast of Portugal.
The sunfish is yet another reminder of the many wonders our oceans hold. Can you imagine coming across one on a fishing trip? They could swallow the boat whole…
Share this fascinating fish with your friends below!
Panama Papers : Moving money out of the usual offshore secrecy heavens and into the U.S. is a brisk new business.
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| Source - Bloomberg |
Last September, at a law firm overlooking San Francisco Bay, Andrew Penney, a managing director at Rothschild & Co., gave a talk on how the world’s wealthy elite can avoid paying taxes.
His message was clear: You can help your clients move their fortunes to the United States, free of taxes and hidden from their governments.
Some are calling it the new Switzerland.
After years of lambasting other countries for helping rich Americans hide their money offshore, the U.S. is emerging as a leading tax and secrecy haven for rich foreigners. By resisting new global disclosure standards, the U.S. is creating a hot new market, becoming the go-to place to stash foreign wealth. Everyone from London lawyers to Swiss trust companies is getting in on the act, helping the world’s rich move accounts from places like the Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands to Nevada, Wyoming, and South Dakota.
“How ironic—no, how perverse—that the USA, which has been so sanctimonious in its condemnation of Swiss banks, has become the banking secrecy jurisdiction du jour,” wrote Peter A. Cotorceanu, a lawyer at Anaford AG, a Zurich law firm, in a recent legal journal. “That ‘giant sucking sound’ you hear? It is the sound of money rushing to the USA.”
More details
Panama Papers : Case by Case Responses to Reports #PanamaPapers
“Mossak Fonseca, like many firms, provides worldwide registered agent services for our professional clients (e.g., lawyers, banks, and trusts) who are intermediaries. As a registered agent we merely help incorporate companies, and before we agree to work with a client in any way, we conduct a thorough due-diligence process, one that in every case meets and quite often exceeds all relevant local rules, regulations and standards to which we and others are bound.”
“However, filing legal paperwork to help incorporate a company is a very different thing from establishing a business link with or directing in any way the companies so formed. We only incorporate companies, which just about everyone acknowledges is important, and something that’s critical in ensuring the global economy functions efficiently. In providing those services, we follow both the letter and spirit of the law. Because we do, we have not once in nearly 40 years of operation been charged with criminal wrongdoing. We’re proud of the work we do, notwithstanding recent and willful attempts by some to mischaracterize it.”
“However, filing legal paperwork to help incorporate a company is a very different thing from establishing a business link with or directing in any way the companies so formed. We only incorporate companies, which just about everyone acknowledges is important, and something that’s critical in ensuring the global economy functions efficiently. In providing those services, we follow both the letter and spirit of the law. Because we do, we have not once in nearly 40 years of operation been charged with criminal wrongdoing. We’re proud of the work we do, notwithstanding recent and willful attempts by some to mischaracterize it.”
“Finally, it is well established that many countries (e.g. UK, USA) have trust laws that permit a person or enterprise to represent a third party in a fiduciary capacity, which is 100% legal and serves an important purpose in global commerce. “
"We would like to provide you with our case by case responses to reports that have surfaced in the media.
Please realize that Mossack Fonseca has never been sued or accused of wrongdoing by any court in the world—we have only responded to requests for information in specific cases."
- said Mossak Fonseca
1 : Lazaro Baez – ARGENTINA CASE
We do not know this individual, nor have we had any association with him. According to media reports a person named Lazaro Baez used companies to take funds out of Argentina. Reportedly the investigation began as a consequence of a report issued by a former Argentine prosecutor named Campagnoli.
The initial investigative report led the Argentine authorities to a fund named Helvetic Services Group in Switzerland. This report said that Lazaro Baez used this fund to illegally take Argentine funds abroad. The report also stated that two companies constituted in the State of Nevada, to wit 1) Eyden Group LLC, and 2) Huston Management LLC., both appointed the fund Helvetic Services Group as a member. These companies were constituted through MF Corporate Services Nevada Limited, a registered agent in Nevada. These constitutions were requested by a professional client in Uruguay, who also requested MF Nevada to provide nominee service as a manager, which was the reason why the company Aldyne Ltd., was appointed. Please keep in mind that a manager of a company does not take decisions and they do not manage funds.
In this case the professional client appointed the members (shareholders), to wit, Helvetic Services Group, and sold the companies to their clients. Here is where the confusion began.
The authorities and/or journalists in Argentina obtained information from the Public Registry of Nevada and wrongly concluded that all companies where Aldyne Ltd. is appointed as manager are involved or related to Lazaro Baez. As we explained before, Aldyne provides the service as nominee manager and it is only used for this purpose. Additionally, Aldyne provides this same service for various other companies that belong to various other unrelated and different clients around the world that have absolutely nothing to do with this situation in Argentina and/or Lazaro Baez. It should be noted that it seems that this amount of companies might be reduced due to the lack of evidence of their involvement in the above mentioned case.
The international smear campaign portrays us as a defendant, when in fact we are only witnesses in the process. It tries to link us with sinister characters, without providing any evidence other than stories from other publications, many of them financed or controlled by political opponents. The legal proceeding is not between NML (a so-called “vulture fund”) and Mossack Fonseca; it is between NML and the Republic of Argentina. NML is trying to find funds from the Argentinian state in several parts of the world. MF Corporate Services has been asked to provide information to assist in NML’s cause as a witness. None of Mossack Fonseca’s companies mentioned in various publications with regard to this matter have been investigated for any crimes related to money laundering or any other unlawful behavior. If you find one case where Mossack Fonseca has been the defendant in a court case with regard to any of the actors or activities described above, please send us that documentation.
2: MUAMMAR GADDAFI
Mossack Fonseca has never had any association with Muammar Gaddafi. Some of the media in Panama, controlled by the former government who are political rivals of Mossack Fonseca partner Mr. Ramon Fonseca, have published articles intended to smear Mr. Fonseca by falsely linking him and therefore his firm to former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Please be advised that neither the authorities nor the Libyan Assets Committee have contacted or petitioned us to provide information within the context of any investigation involving Mossack Fonseca.
3: ROBERT MUGABE
Mossack Fonseca sold a company to a professional client in the United Kingdom who in turn sold that same company to an associate of Robert Mugabe, unbeknownst to us. As soon as we discovered that the company had been resold to an associate of Robert Mugabe we resigned as registered agent.
4: RAMI MAKHLOUF
We did not know this individual until his name and association were reported in the media. While we were the registered agent for a company that, as we later discovered, was resold to him, we did not deal with him directly. Due to the banking secrecy laws in Switzerland we did not have access to information regarding the final beneficiary of the company in question. Our client was a bank in Geneva, Switzerland, which we cannot name due to a strict confidentiality agreement, and it is they who were responsible for dealing with the final beneficiary. Immediately upon learning that he was related to nefarious persons and activities we resigned as registered agent.
5: FIFA
Mossack Fonseca has had no involvement whatsoever with any of the parties connected with the FIFA scandal. Our firm was incorrectly named in a number of malicious media reports concerning alleged political and financial wrongdoing regarding FIFA. Mossack Fonseca would like to emphasise that it has no connection or involvement with these matters in any way, other than incorporating a company following a routine request by one of its professional clients. As soon as we learned of the controversy from media reports, we resigned as registered agent.
6: BRAZIL
Regarding the current situation in Brazil—where Mossack Fonseca has a franchisee—all parties who were held for questioning have been released. We regret the prosecutor’s declarations that resulted from his lack of knowledge regarding the industry, and we are certain that our name will be cleared very soon.
Please understand that Mossack Fonseca Brazil, as a franchisee, represents our brand and sells international companies that our group incorporates through the different licenses that we hold in several jurisdictions. That said, the Brazil franchisee operates with its own administration, resources, and staff that are independent of our group.
Information has been required of our Brazil franchisee as part of an investigation that the public prosecutor is carrying out in certain cases currently being processed in that country. Our Brazil franchisee has expressed through its legal representatives that it is ready and willing to cooperate with all authorities that request information through the pertinent channels.
The request for acquisition of the company in question was received by an independent intermediary professional, who in turn services final clients. At the time the request for said company incorporation was received (2005), the respective due diligence verification was carried out in compliance with the required standards. As a result of such review, no adverse outcomes or any link whatsoever with politically exposed persons were found.
We have not rendered in the past and do not currently render advisory or intermediation services of any kind for the purchase, loan or financing of any real property―nor do we render real property advice in any part of the world, except in regard to real property located within the Republic of Panama. Furthermore, it should be noted that Mossack Fonseca does not own land, buildings, or apartments in the development under investigation.
Mossack Fonseca is working hard in the battle against corruption taking place in Brazil and the rest of the world. Our company maintains due diligence documents and records, and we are always willing to cooperate with authorities who request said documents through proper legal channels.
Source
Mossack Fonseca is working hard in the battle against corruption taking place in Brazil and the rest of the world. Our company maintains due diligence documents and records, and we are always willing to cooperate with authorities who request said documents through proper legal channels.
Source
Will Sun ‘Rise’ This season
Out of all the teams Sun Risers Hyderabad has got the least fan base. Fans have less excitement for SRH match compared to Mumbai and Chennai. Two reasons are primarily responsible for this. No star players in the side and never been able to create Wonders. Inclusion Yuvraj Singh will solve the first reason. Second one is yet to be known.
Both the telugu states have only one team together to cheer for. So Fan base is expected to be more. But SRH never had Die hard fane. Since its debut in 2013,they have not managed to pull fans to stadium. No matter how many foreign stars you have in your squad ,You need to have Indian stars in your team. Shikhar Dhawan is the only player from Indian team playing for SRH. Absence of Impact players like De Villiers, Gayle, Shewag is a huge disadvantage. This year SRH would expects much more affinity from fans after acquiring Yuvraj Singh.
In the inaugural edition of IPL, Deccan chargers( now Sun risers) stood last in points table even having big stars. The same team won the following edition of IPL under the captaincy of Adam Gilchrist. In the last two editions, SRH finished 6th of Eight teams.
Team Selection
SRH has unusual style of selection. They shelled huge money for Trent Boult even after having Steyn in the squad. they filled the squad with excess fast bowler. In Indian conditions, Tea cannot afford to have more than two frontline pacers in the line-up.
This year they released Steyn and Irfan pathan prior to auction. They spent significant amount on left arm pacers this season. Having Boult in team already, they purchased Ashish nehra and Mustafizur Rehman this season. Batting department is also filled with left handers in the form of David Warner, Eoin Morgan, Dhawan
Cricinfo prediction
SRH-Group stages
Home ground- Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
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Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Forget Panama : it's easier to hide your money in the US than almost anywhere
The term tax haven may evoke images of exotic locales, but Panama actually ranks as the 13th most attractive spot for hiding assets, while the US lies third.
One of the surprises about the Panama Papers – the largest leak from an offshore tax adviser in history – is how few Americans have so far been exposed. The reason? It may be because creating a shell company in the US is easier than obtaining a library card.
About 200 people with US addresses have so far been revealed as clients of Mossack Fonseca, the firm at the center of the Panama Papers leak. Compared with countries such as China, Switzerland, Russia and the United Kingdom, the number is small.
The anomaly may be because it’s so easy to create a vehicle to hide your money and your identity in the US that there’s no need to mess with Panama, according to Shruti Shah, vice-president of programs and operations at Transparency International, an anti-corruption organization.
“You don’t really have to go to Panama or other tax havens. They are not the only ones making it possible for corrupt officials and other criminals to launder their money. You can do it in every state in the US,” explained Shah.
“In every state in the US, you can incorporate an LLC – [a limited liability company] – or another legal entity and you don’t have to disclose who the beneficiary on it is. In fact, Delaware is so synonymous with anonymous companies and ghost corporations that it was named in Transparency International’s Unmask the Corrupt campaign as one of the most symbolic cases of corruption.”
The term tax haven usually evokes an image of some faraway place like Belize or the Cayman Islands. Yet in 2015, in a ranking of tax havens most attractive for those looking to hide assets, the US came in third – surpassing Cayman and Singapore. The two places that were even better suited as tax havens for the rich were Switzerland and Hong Kong, according to the Tax Justice Network that published the ranking.
What was Panama’s ranking? It was 10 spots behind the US, at 13.
Original Article
About 200 people with US addresses have so far been revealed as clients of Mossack Fonseca, the firm at the center of the Panama Papers leak. Compared with countries such as China, Switzerland, Russia and the United Kingdom, the number is small.
The anomaly may be because it’s so easy to create a vehicle to hide your money and your identity in the US that there’s no need to mess with Panama, according to Shruti Shah, vice-president of programs and operations at Transparency International, an anti-corruption organization.
“You don’t really have to go to Panama or other tax havens. They are not the only ones making it possible for corrupt officials and other criminals to launder their money. You can do it in every state in the US,” explained Shah.
“In every state in the US, you can incorporate an LLC – [a limited liability company] – or another legal entity and you don’t have to disclose who the beneficiary on it is. In fact, Delaware is so synonymous with anonymous companies and ghost corporations that it was named in Transparency International’s Unmask the Corrupt campaign as one of the most symbolic cases of corruption.”
The term tax haven usually evokes an image of some faraway place like Belize or the Cayman Islands. Yet in 2015, in a ranking of tax havens most attractive for those looking to hide assets, the US came in third – surpassing Cayman and Singapore. The two places that were even better suited as tax havens for the rich were Switzerland and Hong Kong, according to the Tax Justice Network that published the ranking.
What was Panama’s ranking? It was 10 spots behind the US, at 13.
Original Article
Panama Papers an external hack, not a leak from the inside: Mossack Fonseca files complaint
Panama City: The Panamanian lawyer at the center of a data leak scandal that has embarrassed a clutch of world leaders said on Tuesday his firm was a victim of a hack from outside the company, and has filed a complaint with state prosecutors.
Founding partner Ramon Fonseca said the firm, Mossack Fonseca, which specialises in setting up offshore companies, had broken no laws and that all its operations were legal. Nor had it ever destroyed any documents or helped anyone evade taxes or launder money, he added in an interview with Reuters.
Company emails, extracts of which were published in an investigation by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and other media organisations, were "taken out of context" and misinterpreted, he added.
"We rule out an inside job. This is not a leak. This is a hack," Fonseca, 63, said at the company's headquarters in Panama City's business district. "We have a theory and we are following it," he added, without elaborating.
"We have already made the relevant complaints to the Attorney General's office, and there is a government institution studying the issue," he added, flanked by two press advisers.
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 Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the president of Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Iceland's prime minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, resigned, becoming the first casualty of the leak.
"The (emails) were taken out of context," Fonseca said, denouncing what he called a "witch-hunt".
He lamented what he called journalistic activism and sensationalism, extolling his own investigative research credentials as a published novelist in Panama. He said he feared that his rivals could muscle in on their business following the leak.
"The only crime that has been proven is the hack," Fonseca said. "No one is talking about that. That is the story."
He said his company had a staff of around 500, 300 of which work in Panama, but declined to comment on his law firm's structure or franchises in other parts of the world.
Setting up a company might cost between about $700 and $1,000, he said, with a significant part of that fee going to the government. Mossack Fonseca has set up around 250,000 businesses over the past 40 years.
He added that it is cheaper to do business in Nevada. He said business rules have tightened and that his company has adhered to them.
"Fifteen years ago, due diligence didn't exist and they are judging us by other standards," Fonseca said.
France announced on Tuesday it would put the Central American nation back on its blacklist of uncooperative tax jurisdictions.
Alvaro Aleman, chief of staff to Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, told a news conference the government could respond with similar measures against France, or any other country that followed France's lead.
"This is a tropical storm, like the ones we have here in Panama where once it passes the sun will come out," Fonseca said. "I guarantee you that we will not be found guilty of anything."
Original Article
Founding partner Ramon Fonseca said the firm, Mossack Fonseca, which specialises in setting up offshore companies, had broken no laws and that all its operations were legal. Nor had it ever destroyed any documents or helped anyone evade taxes or launder money, he added in an interview with Reuters.
Company emails, extracts of which were published in an investigation by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and other media organisations, were "taken out of context" and misinterpreted, he added.
"We rule out an inside job. This is not a leak. This is a hack," Fonseca, 63, said at the company's headquarters in Panama City's business district. "We have a theory and we are following it," he added, without elaborating.
 |
| Ramon Fonseca, founding partner of law firm Mossack Fonseca. Reuters |
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 Chinese President Xi Jinping, and the president of Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Iceland's prime minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, resigned, becoming the first casualty of the leak.
"The (emails) were taken out of context," Fonseca said, denouncing what he called a "witch-hunt".
He lamented what he called journalistic activism and sensationalism, extolling his own investigative research credentials as a published novelist in Panama. He said he feared that his rivals could muscle in on their business following the leak.
"The only crime that has been proven is the hack," Fonseca said. "No one is talking about that. That is the story."
He said his company had a staff of around 500, 300 of which work in Panama, but declined to comment on his law firm's structure or franchises in other parts of the world.
Setting up a company might cost between about $700 and $1,000, he said, with a significant part of that fee going to the government. Mossack Fonseca has set up around 250,000 businesses over the past 40 years.
He added that it is cheaper to do business in Nevada. He said business rules have tightened and that his company has adhered to them.
"Fifteen years ago, due diligence didn't exist and they are judging us by other standards," Fonseca said.
France announced on Tuesday it would put the Central American nation back on its blacklist of uncooperative tax jurisdictions.
Alvaro Aleman, chief of staff to Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, told a news conference the government could respond with similar measures against France, or any other country that followed France's lead.
"This is a tropical storm, like the ones we have here in Panama where once it passes the sun will come out," Fonseca said. "I guarantee you that we will not be found guilty of anything."
Original Article
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Giant Leak of Offshore Financial Records Exposes Global Array of Crime and Corruption
Millions of documents show heads of state, criminals and celebrities using secret hideaways in tax havens
In this story
- Files reveal the offshore holdings of 140 politicians and public officials from around the world
- Current and former world leaders in the data include prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan, the president of Ukraine, and the king of Saudi Arabia
- More than 214,000 offshore entities appear in the leak, connected to people in more than 200 countries and territories
- Major banks have driven the creation of hard-to-trace companies in offshore havens
A massive leak of documents exposes the offshore holdings of 12 current and former world leaders and reveals how associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin secretly shuffled as much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies.
The leak also provides details of the hidden financial dealings of 128 more politicians and public officials around the world.
The cache of 11.5 million records shows how a global industry of law firms and big banks sells financial secrecy to politicians, fraudsters and drug traffickers as well as billionaires, celebrities and sports stars.+
These are among the findings of a yearlong investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other news organizations.
The files expose offshore companies controlled by the prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan, the king of Saudi Arabia and the children of the president of Azerbaijan.
They also include at least 33 people and companies blacklisted by the U.S. government because of evidence that they’d been involved in wrongdoing, such as doing business with Mexican drug lords, terrorist organizations like Hezbollah or rogue nations like North Korea and Iran.
One of those companies supplied fuel for the aircraft that the Syrian government used to bomb and kill thousands of its own citizens, U.S. authorities have charged.
“These findings show how deeply ingrained harmful practices and criminality are in the offshore world,” said Gabriel Zucman, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley and author of “The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens.” Zucman, who was briefed on the media partners’ investigation, said the release of the leaked documents should prompt governments to seek “concrete sanctions” against jurisdictions and institutions that peddle offshore secrecy.
The world’s best soccer player, Lionel Messi, is also found in the documents. The records show Messi and his father were owners of a Panama company: Mega Star Enterprises Inc. This adds a new name to the list of shell companies known to be linked to Messi. His offshore dealings are currently the target of a tax evasion case in Spain.
Whether they’re famous or unknown, Mossack Fonseca works aggressively to protect its clients’ secrets. In Nevada, the records show, the law firm tried to shield itself and its clients from the fallout from a legal action in U.S. District Court by removing paper records from its Las Vegas branch and having its tech gurus wipe electronic records from phones and computers.
The leaked files show the firm regularly offered to backdate documents to help its clients gain advantage in their financial affairs. It was so common that in 2007 an email exchange shows firm employees talking about establishing a price structure — clients would pay $8.75 for each month farther back in time that a corporate document would be backdated.
The leak also provides details of the hidden financial dealings of 128 more politicians and public officials around the world.
The cache of 11.5 million records shows how a global industry of law firms and big banks sells financial secrecy to politicians, fraudsters and drug traffickers as well as billionaires, celebrities and sports stars.+
 |
| More than 500 banks, their subsidiaries and branches registered nearly 15,600 shell companies with Mossack Fonseca, according Source - PanamaPapers |
The files expose offshore companies controlled by the prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan, the king of Saudi Arabia and the children of the president of Azerbaijan.
They also include at least 33 people and companies blacklisted by the U.S. government because of evidence that they’d been involved in wrongdoing, such as doing business with Mexican drug lords, terrorist organizations like Hezbollah or rogue nations like North Korea and Iran.
One of those companies supplied fuel for the aircraft that the Syrian government used to bomb and kill thousands of its own citizens, U.S. authorities have charged.
“These findings show how deeply ingrained harmful practices and criminality are in the offshore world,” said Gabriel Zucman, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley and author of “The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens.” Zucman, who was briefed on the media partners’ investigation, said the release of the leaked documents should prompt governments to seek “concrete sanctions” against jurisdictions and institutions that peddle offshore secrecy.
Messi in Documents
 |
| Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi. Photo: Shutterstock / CP DC Press |
Whether they’re famous or unknown, Mossack Fonseca works aggressively to protect its clients’ secrets. In Nevada, the records show, the law firm tried to shield itself and its clients from the fallout from a legal action in U.S. District Court by removing paper records from its Las Vegas branch and having its tech gurus wipe electronic records from phones and computers.
The leaked files show the firm regularly offered to backdate documents to help its clients gain advantage in their financial affairs. It was so common that in 2007 an email exchange shows firm employees talking about establishing a price structure — clients would pay $8.75 for each month farther back in time that a corporate document would be backdated.
Crime of the century
Before dawn on Nov. 26, 1983, six robbers slipped into the Brink’s-Mat warehouse at London’s Heathrow Airport. The thugs tied up the security guards, doused them in gasoline, lit a match and threatened to set them afire unless they opened the warehouse’s vault. Inside, the thieves found nearly 7,000 gold bars, diamonds and cash.
“Thanks ever so much for your help. Have a nice Christmas,” one of the crooks said as they departed.
British media dubbed the heist the “Crime of the Century.” Much of the loot — including the cash reaped by melting the gold and selling it — was never recovered. Where the missing money went is a mystery that continues to fascinate students of England’s underworld.
Now documents within Mossack Fonseca’s files reveal that the law firm and its co-founder, Jürgen Mossack, may have helped the conspirators keep the spoils out of the hands of authorities by protecting a company tied to Gordon Parry, a London wheeler-dealer who laundered money for the Brink’s-Mat plotters.
Sixteen months after the robbery, the records show, Mossack Fonseca set up a Panama shell company called Feberion Inc. Jürgen Mossack was one the company’s three “nominee” directors, a term used in the business for stand-ins who control a company on paper but exercise no real authority over its activities.
An internal memo written by Mossack shows he was aware in 1986 that the company was “apparently involved in the management of money from the famous theft from Brink’s-Mat in London. The company itself has not been used illegally, but it could be that the company invested money through bank accounts and properties that was illegitimately sourced.”
Nick and his mother and his younger brother, who is deaf, survived thanks to monthly checks from a fund for widows and orphans of mineworkers.
One day the payments stopped.
His family was one of many that lost out because of a $60 million investment fraud pulled off by South African businessmen. Prosecutors alleged that a group of individuals connected to an asset management company, Fidentia, had schemed to loot millions from investment funds — including the mineworkers’ death benefits pool that was supporting some 46,000 widows and orphans.
Mossack Fonseca’s leaked documents show that at least two of the men involved in the fraud used the Panama-based law firm to create offshore companies — and that Mossack Fonseca was willing to help one of the fraudsters protect his money even after authorities publicly linked him to the scandal.
Ponzi schemers and other fraudsters who bilk large numbers of victims often use offshore structures to pull of their schemes or hide the proceeds. The Fidentia case isn’t the only big-ticket fraud that appears in the files of Mossack Fonseca’s clients.
In Indonesia, for example, small investors claim a company incorporated by Mossack Fonseca in the British Virgin Islands was used to scam 3,500 people out of at least $150 million.
“We really need that money for our son’s education fee this April,” one Indonesian investor emailed Mossack Fonseca in April 2007 after payouts had stopped.
“You can give us any suggestion something we can do,” the investor asked in broken English after seeing Mossack Fonseca’s name on the investment fund’s advertising leaflet.
In the Fidentia case, Mossack Fonseca’s records show that one of the men later jailed in South Africa for his role in the fraud, Graham Maddock, paid Mossack Fonseca $59,000 in 2005 and 2006 to create two sets of offshore companies, including one called Fidentia North America. The law firm’s records say it gave him “the VIP service.”
Mossack Fonseca also created offshore structures for Steven Goodwin, a man that prosecutors later claimed had played an “instrumental role” within the Fidentia swindle. As the scandal broke in 2007, Goodwin flew to Australia, then to the U.S., where a Mossack Fonseca lawyer met with him at a luxury hotel in Manhattan to discuss his offshore holdings, the firm’s internal records show.
The firm official later wrote that he and Goodwin “spoke deeply” about the Fidentia scandal and that he had “convinced Goodwin to better protect” his offshore company’s assets by passing them to a third party.
In his memo, the firm official told colleagues that Goodwin wasn’t involved in the scandal “in any way whatsoever” — he was just “a victim of the circumstances.”
In April 2008, the FBI arrested Goodwin in Los Angeles and sent him back to South Africa, where he pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
A month after Goodwin’s sentencing, an employee at Mossack Fonseca suggested a plan for frustrating South African prosecutors who were expected to start digging into assets linked to Goodwin’s offshore company, Hamlyn Property LLP, which had been set up to buy real estate in South Africa.
The employee proposed having an accountant “prepare” audits for 2006 and 2007 “to try to prevent the prosecutor from taking actions against the entities behind Hamlyn.” He set off “prepare” in quote marks in his email.
It’s unclear whether the proposal was adopted.
Mossack Fonseca did not answer questions from ICIJ about its relationship with Goodwin. A representative for Goodwin told ICIJ that Goodwin “had nothing whatsoever” to do Fidentia’s collapse “or anything directly or indirectly to do with the 46,000 widows and orphans.”
Here are Video Playlist Link which covers it all : Panama Papers Playlist
 |
| Mossack Fonseca Co-Founder Jürgen Mossack |
British media dubbed the heist the “Crime of the Century.” Much of the loot — including the cash reaped by melting the gold and selling it — was never recovered. Where the missing money went is a mystery that continues to fascinate students of England’s underworld.
Sixteen months after the robbery, the records show, Mossack Fonseca set up a Panama shell company called Feberion Inc. Jürgen Mossack was one the company’s three “nominee” directors, a term used in the business for stand-ins who control a company on paper but exercise no real authority over its activities.
An internal memo written by Mossack shows he was aware in 1986 that the company was “apparently involved in the management of money from the famous theft from Brink’s-Mat in London. The company itself has not been used illegally, but it could be that the company invested money through bank accounts and properties that was illegitimately sourced.”
Secrets and victims
Nick Kgopa’s father died when Nick was 14. His father’s workmates at a gold mine in northern South Africa said Nick’s dad had been killed by chemical exposure.Nick and his mother and his younger brother, who is deaf, survived thanks to monthly checks from a fund for widows and orphans of mineworkers.
One day the payments stopped.
 |
| Gold miners in SA. |
Mossack Fonseca’s leaked documents show that at least two of the men involved in the fraud used the Panama-based law firm to create offshore companies — and that Mossack Fonseca was willing to help one of the fraudsters protect his money even after authorities publicly linked him to the scandal.
Ponzi schemers and other fraudsters who bilk large numbers of victims often use offshore structures to pull of their schemes or hide the proceeds. The Fidentia case isn’t the only big-ticket fraud that appears in the files of Mossack Fonseca’s clients.
In Indonesia, for example, small investors claim a company incorporated by Mossack Fonseca in the British Virgin Islands was used to scam 3,500 people out of at least $150 million.
“We really need that money for our son’s education fee this April,” one Indonesian investor emailed Mossack Fonseca in April 2007 after payouts had stopped.
“You can give us any suggestion something we can do,” the investor asked in broken English after seeing Mossack Fonseca’s name on the investment fund’s advertising leaflet.
In the Fidentia case, Mossack Fonseca’s records show that one of the men later jailed in South Africa for his role in the fraud, Graham Maddock, paid Mossack Fonseca $59,000 in 2005 and 2006 to create two sets of offshore companies, including one called Fidentia North America. The law firm’s records say it gave him “the VIP service.”
Mossack Fonseca also created offshore structures for Steven Goodwin, a man that prosecutors later claimed had played an “instrumental role” within the Fidentia swindle. As the scandal broke in 2007, Goodwin flew to Australia, then to the U.S., where a Mossack Fonseca lawyer met with him at a luxury hotel in Manhattan to discuss his offshore holdings, the firm’s internal records show.
The firm official later wrote that he and Goodwin “spoke deeply” about the Fidentia scandal and that he had “convinced Goodwin to better protect” his offshore company’s assets by passing them to a third party.
In his memo, the firm official told colleagues that Goodwin wasn’t involved in the scandal “in any way whatsoever” — he was just “a victim of the circumstances.”
In April 2008, the FBI arrested Goodwin in Los Angeles and sent him back to South Africa, where he pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
A month after Goodwin’s sentencing, an employee at Mossack Fonseca suggested a plan for frustrating South African prosecutors who were expected to start digging into assets linked to Goodwin’s offshore company, Hamlyn Property LLP, which had been set up to buy real estate in South Africa.
The employee proposed having an accountant “prepare” audits for 2006 and 2007 “to try to prevent the prosecutor from taking actions against the entities behind Hamlyn.” He set off “prepare” in quote marks in his email.
It’s unclear whether the proposal was adopted.
Mossack Fonseca did not answer questions from ICIJ about its relationship with Goodwin. A representative for Goodwin told ICIJ that Goodwin “had nothing whatsoever” to do Fidentia’s collapse “or anything directly or indirectly to do with the 46,000 widows and orphans.”
Here are Video Playlist Link which covers it all : Panama Papers Playlist
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