Research: Sources and Data Leaks (Part 2)

Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Pandora Papers...

When doing research, there are a few rules to go by.

1. Follow the money.

2. Know where your data is coming from.

Now this doesn’t encompass all the rules of research. But they are two critical skills to have.

With that in mind, I am dropping information on some of those data leaks, where did they come from, and where to find them. Basically, these are things that are good to have in your tool belt should ever you need to look at offshore money, tax shelters, and money laundering.

Will they tell you that a company, entity, or individual is money laundering? No. But it will give you clues on where to go looking for possible connections and what to look for next.

Fortunately, a lot of this work is done for us. It is our job to weed through it and take it that one stop further.

The Panama Papers

What are the Panama Papers?

• They are leaked confidential documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm.

• The leak occurred in 2016.

• They exposed a global network of offshore companies and accounts used by the wealthy and powerful to hide wealth and avoid taxes. Specifically, they detail how shell corporations were used for illegal purposes, including fraud, tax evasion, and evading international sanctions.

• The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities.

• They were released by an anonymous source to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.

• The data is currently hosted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

• The name Panama refers to the country of origin for the leak.

How much data are we talking?

• 11.5 million documents

• 2.6 terabytes of data

• 40 years of data... from 1977 to 2016

What is Mossack Fonesca?

• This is a law firm that was founded in 1977 by German lawyer Jurgen Mossack.

• Ramon Fonesca, Panamanian novelist and lawyer, joined the firm in 1986.

• Christoph Zollinger, a Swiss lawyer, joined sometime later. (The date is unknown.)

• It's headquarters is in Panama City, Panama.

• It is the world’s 4th biggest provider of offshore services.

• The firm is a global network with 600 people working in 42 countries.

• It operates in tax havens including Switzerland, Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands, and in the British crown dependencies Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

Are the Panama Papers available to the public? YES!

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism has made this information available to the public.

You can search the information here.

You can view the information here.

You can download the data here.
NOTE:  The download includes the zip files for the Offshore Leaks, Panama Papers, Bahamas Leaks, Paradise Papers, and Pandora Papers.

Are there news articles about the Panama Papers? YES!

Here are just a few. But you can look it up. It led to huge investigations and arrests. Investigations are ongoing. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism has also written several articles about the fallout of this leak. Trials are still ongoing about this leak.

The Guardian: What Are The Panama Papers? A Guide To History's Biggest Data Leak

Investopedia: The Panama Papers Scandal: Who Was Exposed & Consequences

The Paradise Papers

What are the Paradise Papers?

• They are leaked confidential documents from Appleby, , the corporate services providers Estera and Asiaciti Trust, and business registries in 19 tax jurisdictions.

• The leak occurred in November 5, 2017.

• The documents revealed the offshore interests and activities of more than 120 politicians and world leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

• They exposed the offshore dealings of multinational corporations like Apple, Nike, and Uber, showing how these entities legally reduce their tax burdens through complex financial arrangements.

• The leak also disclosed the financial affairs of celebrities, including musicians and actors, highlighting their use of offshore tax havens.

• The papers detail financial information for more than 290,082 offshore entities.

• They were released by an anonymous source to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.

• The data is currently hosted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

• The name "Paradise Papers" reflects "the idyllic profiles of many of the offshore jurisdictions whose workings are unveiled." These so-called tax havens are tax paradises.

How much data are we talking?

• 13.4 million documents

• 1.4 terabytes of data

What is Appleby's?

• This is a law firm that was founded in 1898 by Reginald Appleby.

• It's headquarters is in Hamilton, Bermuda.

• It was listed as the world’s 1st biggest provider of offshore services in 2015.

• It serves the countries of Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Mauritius, Seychelles, Shanghai.

What is Estera?

• This is a global provider of corporate, trust, fund and accounting services.

• It was formed in 2015.

• The company was created following a management buyout of the fiduciary group of Appleby.

What is Asiaciti Trust?

• This is an international financial company established in Hong Kong in July 7, 1978.

• It's headquarters is Singapore.

• It was founded in Graeme W. Briggs.

• It has operations in Asia, the Americas, and the Pacific.

Are the Paradise Papers available to the public? YES!

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism has made this information available to the public.

You can search the information here.

You can view the information here.

You can download the data here.
NOTE:  The download includes the zip files for the Offshore Leaks, Panama Papers, Bahamas Leaks, Paradise Papers, and Pandora Papers.

Are there news articles about the Paradise Papers? YES!

Here are just a few. But you can look it up. It led to huge investigations and arrests. Investigations are ongoing. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism has also written several articles about this leak. Trials are still ongoing.

The Guardian: Paradise Papers: A Special Investigation

The New Yorker: The Poligarchs, Oligarchs, and Stooges of the Paradise Papers

Wikipedia: List of people and organisations named in the Paradise Papers

NPR: The Paradise Papers: Revelations Spring From Leaked Records Of World's Wealthy

The Pandora Papers

What are the  Pandora Papers?

• They are leaked financial documents, unveiled in October 2021, that exposed the secret offshore accounts and assets of numerous high-profile individuals worldwide.

• The leak occurred in October 2021.

• It was one of the largest leaks in history in terms of scale and impact.

• They revealed how the individuals mentioned used offshore accounts, trusts, and other mechanisms to conceal wealth, avoid taxes, and, in some cases, launder money or evade sanctions. This shed light on the opaque world of offshore finance and the role of tax havens.

• The papers detail financial information for more than 29,220 offshore entities.

• The leak involved over 300 politicians, 35 current and former national leaders, and more than 100 billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders, and drug dealers from over 91 countries and territories.

• It was named the Pandora Papers because it was like opening Pandora's Box. It linked back to the information exposed in both the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers.

How much data are we talking?

• 11.9 million documents

• 2.9 terabytes of data

But... where did the information come from?

The leaked files come from 14 offshore service providers from different countries and different time periods. Here is the list of organizations and country of origin that the data came from:

• All About Offshore Limited - Seychelles
  270,328 records from 2002–2019

• Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee - Panama
  2,185,783 records from 1970–2019

• Alpha Consulting Limited - Seychelles    
  823,305 records from 1996–2020

• Asiaciti Trust Asia Limited - Hong Kong   
  1,800,650 records from 1996–2019

• CCS Trust Limited - Belize
  149,378 records from 2001–2017

• CIL Trust International - Belize
  459,476 records from 1996–2019

• Commence Overseas Limited - British Virgin Islands        
  8,661 records from 2004–2017

• Demetrios A. Demetriades LLC - Cyprus
  469,184 records from 1993–2021

• Fidelity Corporate Services Limited - British Virgin Islands             
  213,733 records from 1998–2019

• Glenn D. Godfrey and Company LLP - Belize       
  189,907 records from 1980–2019

• Il Shin - Hong Kong
  1,575,840 records from 1996–2020

• Overseas Management Company Inc - Panama
  190,477 records from 1997–2020

• SFM Corporate Services - Switzerland and United Arab Emirates              
  191,623 records from 2000–2019

• Trident Trust Company Limited - British Virgin Islands
  3,375,331 records from 1970–2019

Are the Pandora Papers available to the public? YES!

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism has made this information available to the public.

You can search the information here.

You can view the information here.

You can download the data here.
NOTE:  The download includes the zip files for the Offshore Leaks, Panama Papers, Bahamas Leaks, Paradise Papers, and Pandora Papers.

Are there news articles about the  Pandora Papers? YES!

Here are just a few. But you can look it up. It led to huge investigations and arrests. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism has also written several articles about this. Investigations are still ongoing about this leak.

BBC: Pandora Papers: A simple guide to the Pandora Papers leak

Washington Post: About the Pandora Papers investigation

How to Use The Offshore Leaks?

Here are some short videos which provide a step-by-step guide on how to use the Offshore Leaks database. This is how you search for all the leaks I have previously mentioned.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

What other investigations have they done?

They can be found here.

• Cyprus Confidential (2023)

  A new investigation by ICIJ and 68 media partners exposes the sprawling financial industry that has powered the Putin regime as it dominates its neighbors — and undermines the West.

• Deforestation Inc. (2023)

  An ICIJ-led cross-border investigation exposes how a lightly regulated sustainability industry overlooks forest destruction and human rights violations when granting environmental certifications.

• Shadow Diplomats (2022)

  The untold story of how hundreds of rogue honorary consuls, including alleged terror financiers and criminals, have undermined a little-known system of global diplomacy.

• Trafficking Inc. (2022)

  An ICIJ investigation examines networks of companies, people and business practices that draw profit from cross-border labor trafficking and sex trafficking.

• Hidden Treasures (2022)

  A collection of stories from ICIJ's Pandora Papers, FinCEN Files, Panama Papers and more show how art and antiquities have become prized assets in the offshore world, and how the secretive trade in these cultural treasures has, in some cases, provided cover for looters and thieves.

• The Uber Files (2022)

  The secret story of how the tech giant won access to world leaders, cozied up to oligarchs and dodged taxes amid chaotic global expansion.

• Russia Archive (2022)

  Using ICIJ's vast trove of leaked financial files, the Russia Archive brings together previous Russia-related exposés, now the focus of renewed interest, as well as ongoing investigations into the hidden wealth of the Putin regime’s ruling elites.

• The Ericsson List (aka The Ericsson Report)  (2022)

  The inside story of how a telecom giant dealt with terrorists and financed shady deals in pursuit of profits around the globe.

• Pandora Papers (2021)

  The largest investigation in journalism history exposes a shadow financial system that benefits the world’s most rich and powerful.

• FinCEN Files (2020)

  An ICIJ investigation reveals the role of global banks in industrial-scale money laundering – and the bloodshed and suffering that flow in its wake

• Luanda Leaks (2020)

  How two decades of corrupt deals made Isabel dos Santos Africa’s wealthiest woman and left oil- and diamond-rich Angola one of the world's poorest countries.

• China Cables (2019)

  China Cables is an investigation into the surveillance and mass internment without charge or trial of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.

• Mauritius Leaks (2019)

  Multinational companies use the tiny tax haven Mauritius to avoid paying taxes to countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the United States.

• Bribery Division (2019)

  A new investigation uses leaked files from inside a special unit of Brazilian firm Odebrecht to expose new details of prominent figures and massive public works projects embroiled in Latin America's biggest cash-for-contracts scandal.

• Solitary Voices (2019)

  U.S. immigration authorities have been misusing and overusing solitary confinement in detention centers housing tens of thousands of immigrants from around the world, a new five-month investigation reveals.

• Implant Files (2018)

  Health authorities across the globe have failed to protect millions of patients from poorly tested implants, the first-ever global examination of the medical device industry reveals.

• West Africa Leaks (2018)

  In the region's largest-ever journalism collaboration, reporters from 11 countries expose the financial secrets of some of West Africa's most powerful politicians, moguls and corporations.

• Paradise Papers: Secrets of the Global Elite (2017)

  A major global collaboration reveals secrets from one of the world’s most prestigious offshore law firms, a specialized trust company and 19 company registries in secrecy jurisdictions.

• The Panama Papers: Exposing the Rogue Offshore Finance Industry (2016)

  A giant leak of more than 11.5 million financial and legal records exposes a system that enables crime, corruption and wrongdoing, hidden by secretive offshore companies.

• Evicted and Abandoned: The World Bank’s Broken Promise to the Poor (2015)

  The World Bank regularly failed to follow its own rules for protecting millions of people displaced by development.

• Fatal Extraction: Australian Mining’s Damaging Push Into Africa (2015)

  Australia is a giant in African mining, but its vast, sometimes deadly footprint has never been examined – until now.

• Swiss Leaks: Murky Cash Sheltered by Bank Secrecy (2015)

  How one of the world's largest banks helped shelter millions in accounts linked to arms dealers, dictators and tax evaders.

• Luxembourg Leaks: Global Companies’ Secrets Exposed (2014)

  New files obtained by ICIJ disclose secret tax structures sought by “Big 4” accounting giants for global brand name companies.

• China Leaks (2014)

  Leaked records reveal offshore holdings of China’s elite.

• Secrecy for Sale: Inside the Global Offshore Money Maze (2013)

  Millions of leaked files from two financial service providers, a private bank in Jersey and the Bahamas corporate registry reveal how tax havens around the world are used to hide riches.

• U.S. Aid in Latin America (2012)

  Anti-drug money is funneled through corrupt military, paramilitary and intelligence organizations and violates human rights.

• Skin and Bone (2012)

  Recycling dead humans into medical implants is a lucrative trade, rousing concerns about how tissues are obtained.

• Plunder in the Pacific (2012)

  As other fisheries are pushed to their limits, giant trawlers move southward toward Antarctica to catch what is left.

• The Illicit Trade of Coltan (2012)

  Your smart phone contains a ‘conflict mineral’, likely from parts of Africa or South America controlled by criminal organizations.

• Dangers in the Dust (2012)

  Lobby groups have spent nearly $100 million to promote asbestos, a carcinogen which may cause up to 10 million deaths by 2030 - largely in the developing world.

• Island of the Widows (2012)

  Thousands of men working in Central American sugarcane fields are dying of chronic kidney disease, yet governments and the sugar industry have done little in response.

• The Black Market in Bluefin (2011)

  Bluefin's demise directly linked to widespread fraud and negligence from fishing fleets and ministry offices to the world’s largest buyers in Japan.

• Spain’s $8 Billion Fish (2011)

  Spain's fishing industry racked up an extensive history of flouting rules and breaking laws.

• Interpol’s Red Flag (2011)

  Nations aligned with Interpol have used the group as a tool against political opponents and refugees.

• Inside the Kidnapping and Murder of Daniel Pearl (2011)

  An investigation of the roles of 27 men linked to the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

• Smoke Screen (2010)

  Down-and-out in developed nations, Big Tobacco is refocusing its lobbying on emerging markets.

• The Global Climate Change Lobby (2009)

  Inside the battle to influence the most important environmental treaty of our time.

• Tobacco Underground (2008)

  The world's most widely smuggled legal substance fuels organized crime and corruption, and robs governments of needed tax money.

• Windfalls of War (2007)

  Which American companies won the biggest contracts in postwar Iraq and Afghanistan?

• Collateral Damage (2007)

  Post-9/11 U.S. military aid and assistance had a huge impact in nations around the world — and at home.

• Divine Intervention: U.S. AIDS Policy Abroad (2006)

  Conservative policy hinders U.S. initiatives to fight AIDS abroad by insisting on abstinence-only programs over promoting condom use.

• The Water Barons (2003)

  The explosive growth of private water utility companies raises fears that mankind may be losing control of its most vital resource.

• Making a Killing (2002)

  A handful of companies with connections to governments, and, sometimes organizations, have profited from war commerce.

• Big Tobacco Smuggling (2000)
  Down-and-out in developed nations, Big Tobacco is refocusing its lobbying on emerging markets.