{"id":142497,"date":"2016-04-06T11:50:03","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T17:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=142497"},"modified":"2016-04-06T11:50:47","modified_gmt":"2016-04-06T17:50:47","slug":"impact-of-panama-papers-rockets-around-the-world-u-s-officials-react-cautiously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2016\/04\/impact-of-panama-papers-rockets-around-the-world-u-s-officials-react-cautiously\/","title":{"rendered":"Impact of Panama Papers rockets around the world; U.S. officials react cautiously"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-142502\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/4000-tight-withsub-771x367.jpg\" alt=\"4000-tight-withsub\" width=\"771\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/4000-tight-withsub-771x367.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/4000-tight-withsub-336x160.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/4000-tight-withsub-768x365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/4000-tight-withsub-1170x556.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/4000-tight-withsub.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/>Reports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2016\/04\/03\/19503\/massive-leak-reveals-offshore-accounts-world-leaders\" target=\"_blank\">published<\/a> this week on the secretive industry that banks and lawyers use to hide the financial holdings\u00a0of some of the world\u2019s top leaders and billionaires brought a powerful global response, including the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2016\/apr\/05\/iceland-prime-minister-resigns-over-panama-papers-revelations\" target=\"_blank\">resignation of one prime minister<\/a>, while the White House and U.S. agencies reacted more cautiously.<\/p>\n<p>President Barack Obama addressed the massive leak of documents, which led to the reporting,\u00a0on Tuesday during a press conference about business tax reform.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This story comes from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2016\/04\/05\/19526\/impact-panama-papers-rockets-around-world-us-officials-react-cautiously\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative media organization in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThere is no doubt that the problem of global tax avoidance generally, is a huge problem,\u201d the president said. The president also noted in his remarks that the problem is not unique to other nations. &#8220;There are folks here in America who are taking advantage of the same stuff.\u00a0A lot of it is legal, but that&#8217;s exactly\u00a0the problem,&#8221; the president added. &#8220;It&#8217;s not that they&#8217;re breaking the laws, it&#8217;s that the laws are so poorly designed that they allow people, if they&#8217;ve got enough\u00a0lawyers and enough accountants, to wiggle out of responsibilities that ordinary citizens are having to abide by.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department, which is investigating alleged corruption in the world\u2019s top soccer body, the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), said it may focus more on the financial dealings raised in the reporting based on the documents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are aware of the reports and are reviewing them,&#8221; said Peter Carr, a Justice Department spokesman. &#8220;While we cannot comment on the specifics of these alleged documents, the U.S. Department of Justice takes very seriously all credible allegations of high level, foreign corruption that might have a link to the United States or the U.S. financial system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The investigation was published Sunday by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.icij.org\/#_ga=1.3728627.256509237.1459801641\" target=\"_blank\">International Consortium of Investigative Journalists<\/a>, which with the German-based newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung oversaw the\u00a0probe, which is being referred to as the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/panamapapers.icij.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Panama Papers<\/a>. ICIJ is the international arm of the Center for Public Integrity.<\/p>\n<p>At the White House\u2019s daily news <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/the-press-office\/2016\/04\/04\/press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-4416\" target=\"_blank\">briefing<\/a> on Monday, Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked four separate times about the reports. He said he wouldn\u2019t comment on the allegations and stressed that \u201cthe United States continues to be a leading advocate for increased transparency in the international financial system and in working against illicit financial transactions and in fighting corruption.\u201d<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Earnest avoided a question asking if the administration would scrutinize the financial dealings of some world leaders with offshore holdings, including Argentina\u2019s President Mauricio Macri, whom President Obama met with last month, and King Salman of Saudi Arabia, whom Obama plans to visit this month.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m not going to be able to consider the individual claims that are made based on some information included in the documents,\u201d Earnest said. \u201cBut, look, this large volume of documents does not change the U.S. position.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The papers,\u00a0which totaled more than 11 million documents, were leaked from inside Panama-based\u00a0Mossack Fonseca, one of the world\u2019s top creators of shell companies, which are corporate structures that can be used to hide ownership of assets. The documents expose\u00a0the offshore holdings of 12 current and former world leaders, associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a former FIFA vice president, who has been charged by U.S. authorities with wire fraud and money laundering.<\/p>\n<p>Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/berniesanders.com\/press-release\/sanders-statement-panama-papers\/\" target=\"_blank\">press release<\/a> Tuesday on the Panama Papers to draw a contrast with Hillary Clinton. He said he voted against the Panama Free Trade Agreement, passed by Congress in 2011, arguing it would encourage the growth of offshore accounts to shield the wealthy from paying taxes. Clinton, Sanders said, \u201chelped push the Panama Free Trade Agreement through Congress as Secretary of State.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If elected president, Sanders said he would terminate the agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Clinton has not\u00a0issued a statement about the Panama Papers.<\/p>\n<p>Still, most U.S. reaction was measured. U.S. Treasury Department spokeswoman Whitney Smith said in an email that \u201cwe will not comment specifically on the findings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith added that \u201cit is important to note that the U.S. government intently focuses on investigating possible illicit activity, including violations of U.S. tax laws or sanctions, using all sources of information, both public and non-public.\u00a0\u2026\u00a0If there has been any violation of U.S. tax law or sanctions evasion, we will take appropriate action consistent with the national security and foreign policy of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Major U.S. media outlets weighed in as well.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Lost tax revenue is one consequence of this hidden system,&#8221; said the <em>New York Times<\/em> in an editorial. &#8220;Even more dangerous is its deep damage to democratic rule and regional stability when corrupt politiciains have a place to stash stolen national assets out of public view.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>USA TODAY said that\u00a0Mossack Fonseca has assisted in establishing almost 1,100 business entities in the United States since 2001, mostly in Nevada and Wyoming, according to state incorporation records; both those states have relatively permissive laws regarding corporate secrecy. The newspaper said most of the firms linked to Mossack Fonseca &#8220;were formed by M.F. Corporate Services (Nevada) Limited, a one-employee company based out of a low-slung tile-roofed office building 20 miles from the Las Vegas strip.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Panama Papers investigation has had a massive impact globally. It led to\u00a0the resignation of Iceland\u2019s prime minister, official investigations were opened worldwide and an immediate censorship drive was instituted in China.<\/p>\n<p>Thousands of Icelanders took to the streets of Reykjavik on Monday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson following the disclosure by ICIJ, Reykjavik Media, and Suddeutsche Zeitung that he and two members of his cabinet had owned or controlled\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/localhost:4000\/20160403-iceland-prime-minister.html\" target=\"_blank\">secret offshore shell companies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Iceland\u2019s president refused a request from Prime Minister Gunnlaugsson to\u00a0dissolve parliament and call snap elections, according to the Guardian.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2016\/apr\/05\/iceland-prime-minister-resigns-over-panama-papers-revelations\" target=\"_blank\">Gunnlaugsson\u2019s resignation<\/a> came hours later.<\/p>\n<p>Gunnlaugsson violated parliamentary ethics rules when he failed to disclose his 50 percent ownership of Wintris Inc. in 2009. The company\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/localhost:4000\/20160403-iceland-prime-minister.html\" target=\"_blank\">held millions of dollars worth of bonds<\/a>\u00a0in the three major Icelandic banks, which collapsed in 2008. The prime minister said the company was actually his wife\u2019s all along and that his 50 percent ownership was caused by an error by the couple\u2019s bank.<\/p>\n<p>The crowd gathered in the square across from Parliament House, tossing eggs, bananas, and Icelandic yogurt at the building.<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, prosecutors and officials across the world have announced investigations into the Panama Papers revelations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>German\u00a0Justice Minister Heiko Maas\u00a0announced plans for a new national register\u00a0that will put an end to anonymous ownership of companies in a bid to fight tax evasion and financial wrongdoing.<\/li>\n<li>In the\u00a0United Kingdom, HM Revenue and Customs promised to act \u201cswiftly and appropriately\u201d to the allegations, and said it was seeking further data from media organizations.<\/li>\n<li>Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for\u00a0Russian\u00a0President Vladimir Putin,\u00a0dismissed the revelations\u00a0as \u201cPutinphobia\u201d and accused the media of attempting to \u201cdestabilize\u201d Russia ahead of elections. Peskov also denied revelations his wife held a secret offshore company.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Chinese\u00a0government responded to the Panama Papers with a\u00a0renewed censorship drive, and banned all media sites from mentioning the investigation in China.<\/li>\n<li>In\u00a0France, the Finance Ministry\u00a0announced an official investigation\u00a0and President Francois Hollande said: \u201cI can assure you that as information emerges, investigations will be carried out, cases will be opened and trials will be held.\u201d France also put Panama back on their\u00a0tax haven blacklist, according to Reuters.<\/li>\n<li>Panama\u00a0will\u00a0open an investigation\u00a0into the law firm at the center of the Panama Papers, Mossack Fonseca. It will be the second time this year the law firm has faced an official probe. Panama President Juan Carlos Varela agreed to cooperate with investigations, and the nation\u2019s attorney general said Panama would comply with requests for assistance\u00a0from foreign countries launching their own investigations.<\/li>\n<li>Two\u00a0Spanish\u00a0authorities, the Attorney General\u2019s office and the Finance Ministry,\u00a0announced investigations, and contacted ICIJ and its media partners seeking access to the data.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Australian\u00a0Tax Office confirmed it was\u00a0targeting 800 high net wealth Australian clients\u00a0of Mossack Fonseca.<\/li>\n<li>In\u00a0Austria, regulators\u00a0announced an investigation\u00a0into whether two banks named in Panama Papers stories breached rules on money laundering.<\/li>\n<li>Belgium\u2019s\u00a0Finance Minister congratulated the journalists who worked on the Panama Papers, and said Belgium would open an investigation into its findings.<\/li>\n<li>Indian\u00a0Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked for a\u00a0special multi-agency task force\u00a0to be established to probe the Panama Papers revelations for evidence of tax evasion or wrongdoing by Indian citizens.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Swedish\u00a0Financial Supervisory Authority\u00a0reached out to authorities in Luxembourg\u00a0for information as it commenced an investigation into Nordic banking giant Nordea, after revelations the bank helped clients set up secret offshore accounts.<\/li>\n<li>Norway\u2019s\u00a0bank regulatory body, the Financial Supervisory Authority, also said it would\u00a0seek an explanation from Norwegian banks named in the investigation.<\/li>\n<li>In\u00a0Mexico, the tax authority said it would review the Panama Papers findings and\u00a0open investigations against tax evaders. It said it would invoke exchange of information agreements with other countries as it sought more information.<\/li>\n<li>The head of advocacy group Transparency International\u2019s branch in\u00a0Chile\u00a0resigned on Monday\u00a0following revelations he held a number of offshore companies.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0Costa Rican\u00a0government used the Panama Papers revelations to call for\u00a0law and policy reform\u00a0to crack down on tax evasion and money laundering.<\/li>\n<li>Mossack Fonseca\u00a0has denied wrongdoing, and published its\u00a0full response to the revelations\u00a0on its website. Founding partner Ramon Fonseca denounced the Panama Papers investigation as an\u00a0attack on privacy.ICIJ and its media partners will continue publishing more findings over the coming days and weeks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Jared Bennett contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reports published this week on the secretive industry that banks and lawyers use to hide the financial holdings of some of the world\u2019s top leaders and billionaires brought a powerful global response, including the resignation of one prime minister, while the White House and U.S. agencies reacted more cautiously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[193,142,3268,271,116],"class_list":["post-142497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-corporate-america","tag-crime","tag-journalism","tag-taxes","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}