Comments on: Tax-haven-gate

Tax-haven-gate

jeffburdges — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:59:30 -0800

ICIJ has 2.5 million files from over 120,000 offshore legal entities covering 30 years of emails and financial records from from 10 offshore tax havens..

There is seemingly little information about individuals who commit tax evasion yet, perhaps because ICIJ has far fewer journalists working on the leak than wikileaks had working on their far smaller dataset of U.S. State Department cables, but the overview is great.

By: Chuffy

Chuffy — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:01:15 -0800

I sure would like to see it broken down with some actual data and details. This article is just a teaser...

By: Len

Len — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:03:45 -0800

There's also good coverage in the Guardian, who partnered with the ICIJ for this (at least, according to the Guardian, they did ...)

By: chrchr

chrchr — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:15:07 -0800

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

By: spitbull

spitbull — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:17:50 -0800

I'll just be getting my pitchfork and torches, hold on.

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:25:27 -0800

^+F ROMNEY

By: DU

DU — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:26:24 -0800

Can't wait for the jail times! I'm sure there will be! For sure!

By: rough ashlar

rough ashlar — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:29:53 -0800

Can't wait for the jail times! I'm sure there will be! For sure! Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling may be the latest beneficiary of the culture of pervasive permitted, even according to some - encouraged, crime. After being sentenced to prison for 24 years in the aftermath of Enron's spectacular 2001 bankruptcy, the former CEO may be released after serving well less than half of his term. As a result his prison term, which scheduled to end in 2028, may be cut by more than half as a result of a new agreement with the Department of Justice. It appears that AG Eric Holder is so busy not prosecuting Wall Street for being Too Big To Prosecute, he has decided it is far wiser to spend his time productively by commuting the sentences of convicted financial felons, because apparently there is nothing more important to do.

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:31:18 -0800

It's hitting the news here in Canada pretty hard because lawyer Tony Merchant (a senator's husband) was revealed as one of the more than 400 Canadians named in the leak and he has 1.7 million squirreled away. CBC was careful to stress that the exsistance of the account isn't proof of wrong doing as there are legal ways to set up these off shore trusts but that they'll be looking into his accounts and those of the other Canadians named.

By: figurant

figurant — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:31:58 -0800

That CBC walkthough is great! Settling a fake lawsuit from a front company to transfer funds offshore is pretty clever.

By: Chuffy

Chuffy — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:32:09 -0800

It's all legal.

By: 2N2222

2N2222 — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:37:09 -0800

Wow, where did this information even come from? It's like someone hacked SPECTRE. There is seemingly little information about individuals who commit tax evasion yet, perhaps because ICIJ has far fewer journalists working on the leak than wikileaks had working on their far smaller dataset of U.S. State Department cables, I'm guessing it'll take more than a slew of journalists to sort out all this stuff. What's needed is a shitload of lawyers and forensic accountants.

By: antonymous

antonymous — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:37:32 -0800

Am I just missing something or did American media companies refuse to participate or weren't invited to view the documents for some reason? I hate to speculate, but the words "chilling effects" come to mind...I wonder if these documents will end up online at some point...

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:40:36 -0800

Just last week I was looking into the source of the wealth of the Pritzker family in Chicago and came across a lovely little bit about how the IRS sued them for off-shoring wealth but couldn't get details on how much money they had hidden so they settled a $40 Million suit for $10 Million. The Pritzker clan has also had to pay the gov't $460 Million in fines for shady practices with a bank operation. Penny Prizker is apparently on the short list for Secretary of Commerce. So as always you have the problem that the people who should police this end up being the police.

By: antonymous

antonymous — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:43:05 -0800

I spoke too soon - the Washington Post was apparently one American company, I just don't see anything up on their website about any stories the WaPo has published (yet). It looks like the ICIJ is publishing lots of stuff on their own site, so maybe the journalists were planning on publishing there instead.

By: bonehead

bonehead — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:43:27 -0800

Merchant was/is a major part of the Liberal electoral machine in the prairies, as well as being one of the lead firms that won settlements for Native clients during the residential schools trials. This could easily turn into a major scandal for Liberal hopes in western Canada.

By: Mr.Know-it-some

Mr.Know-it-some — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:44:04 -0800

Wow, where did this information even come from? It "began after a computer hard drive packed with corporate data and personal information and e-mails arrived in the mail." did American media companies refuse to participate or weren't invited "To analyze the documents, ICIJ collaborated with reporters from The Guardian and the BBC in the U.K., Le Monde in France, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Norddeutscher Rundfunk in Germany, The Washington Post, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and 31 other media partners around the world." I didn't seen anything on the Post site yet, but they will likely have something later if they were a partner.

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:47:52 -0800

Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling may be the latest beneficiary of the culture of pervasive permitted, even according to some - encouraged, crime. After being sentenced to prison for 24 years in the aftermath of Enron's spectacular 2001 bankruptcy, the former CEO may be released after serving well less than half of his term. As a result his prison term, which scheduled to end in 2028, may be cut by more than half as a result of a new agreement with the Department of Justice. It appears that AG Eric Holder is so busy not prosecuting Wall Street for being Too Big To Prosecute, he has decided it is far wiser to spend his time productively by commuting the sentences of convicted financial felons, because apparently there is nothing more important to do. I love The Onion. What?

By: cosmic.osmo

cosmic.osmo — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:51:32 -0800

Can't wait for the jail times! I'm sure there will be! For sure!
Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling may be...released after serving well less than half of his [24 year] term. No one, not drug users, not financial criminals, should be getting 24 year prison terms unless they're violently dangerous. It should be sufficient to take the illicit profits and sanction them so that can't re-offend.

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:51:43 -0800

Also, someone will surely go to jail for this, just not the ones you'd wish.

By: Lemurrhea

Lemurrhea — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:53:55 -0800

Also in Canada: we've had a few public data losses by the government over the past year (student loans, EI, stuff like that) and the reaction on my facebook by fellow law people has been scathing - accusing the government of serious incompetence, being shocked that it could happen, etc etc. I've been blasé, these leaks happen, it should be outsourced, private industry would never have this happen, yadda yadda. The schadenfreude that I am about to feel is like crack. Delicious, delicious, crack.

By: Tsuga

Tsuga — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:09:54 -0800

I can't reach any of the articles at the ICIJ site. Is there a mirror out there?

By: Tsuga

Tsuga — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:15:06 -0800

(Never mind, it's working now.)

By: jeffburdges

jeffburdges — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:19:18 -0800

Agreed cosmic.osmo, but ironically we give insufficiently suspicious mechanics 24 years without parole.

By: oneswellfoop

oneswellfoop — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:26:39 -0800

Consumerist has a less snarky analysis of the Skilling case...

In 2009, a federal appeals panel ruled that the original 24-year sentence was too harsh, but there has yet to be a re-sentencing. According to CNBC, a deal would allow Skilling to get out of jail while saving the DOJ the time, money, and effort required to continue fighting.

That said, the whole justice system is more broken than my 22-year-old Subaru was when I 'retired' it last month, so we really need other ways to deal with it... like maybe not doing business with evil corporations (whenever possible, there are many areas of business where there are no non-evil alternatives).

By: dios

dios — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:42:52 -0800

Do they intend to make a publicly searchable database of this information?

By: Twang

Twang — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:45:58 -0800

"Snoop unto them as they snoop unto us."

By: cosmic.osmo

cosmic.osmo — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:47:25 -0800

we really need other ways to deal with it [the broken justice system?]...like maybe not doing business with evil corporations (whenever possible, there are many areas of business where there are no non-evil alternatives). I don't see the connection. If there's one positive thing about big business, it's that it doesn't really push for tough-on-crime BS (except for the private prisons).

By: Lemurrhea

Lemurrhea — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:57:53 -0800

If there's one positive thing about big business, it's that it doesn't really push for tough-on-crime BS (except for the private prisons). There is a critique of capitalism - which I admit I don't know all that well and apologies if I'm vague about it - that capital (specifically big business) relies on an underclass that it can then coerce to work for cheaper than would be fair if they weren't at the end of their rope. So tough on crime bs, especially the difficulty that convicted criminals face in re-establishing their lives (finding housing, jobs, social assistance, voting) is good for big business, because they will work at seriously reduced wages. I could believe businesses taking the lengthy prison sentences as a necessary side-effect of pushing the other restrictions that help them. I don't know for sure that it's the case, mind you. There are also issues with corps defunding government through tax evasion/bribery/etc which has the effect of harming the justice system, but that's a lesser-order effect.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:10:58 -0800

Fuck, yeah! This is the good stuff - names and numbers! I've never heard of the ICIJ before, but they seem to be seriously awesome. Those "other investigations" into things like Coltan and tobacco smuggling look very interesting too.

By: Dark Messiah

Dark Messiah — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:20:43 -0800

No one, not drug users, not financial criminals, should be getting 24 year prison terms unless they're violently dangerous. While I agree with you, why start with an evil bastard like Skilling to make that point?

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:27:36 -0800

"This could easily turn into a major scandal for Liberal hopes in western Canada." I think it's better for the Liberals in the long run, and for the rest of us, to get this stuff out in the open. We don't need guys like him.

By: rough ashlar

rough ashlar — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:28:49 -0800

why start with an evil bastard like Skilling to make that point? Odds are that'll be where such would end.

By: suedehead

suedehead — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:33:20 -0800

Awesome. It seems to me that Wikileaks was pivotal in setting the stage for this kind of journalism. "Leaked documents" are now treated as good investigative journalism, and a kind of necessary / just whistleblowing. I specifically mean this kind of leaked-data journalism, where rather than relying on insider sources, a huge cache of valuable/insider data is smuggled out to the public view at large for journalistic purposes. However, if you remember back to a few years ago, when Wikileaks was on the front page of every newspaper, the debate was different. 'Leaking' itself was viewed with a kind of suspicion; the 'necessity of secrets' within diplomacy and politics was debated. Certain news outlets wouldn't touch leaked documents. It was until Nov 2010 that the Guardian, the NYTimes, Der Spiegel, etc. started publishing the diplomatic cables that, in my opinion, the tide of journalistic opinion started to turn towards acknowledging leaks as a necessary and 'activist' reporting strategy. Granted, this kind of information about tax evasions is pretty clear cut - the "baddies" are the baddies, and there's not a lot of tactical debate about how 'publishing leaks harms our strategic operatives in the field, thus undercutting the larger strategy', etc. But it's interesting to read this, and realize that the "leak" itself is taken as granted, a side mention in the sentence, whereas it seems that a few years ago it would have been a much larger debate.

By: jeffburdges

jeffburdges — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:37:50 -0800

I'm wondering if the journalists drawing out the names slowly over time causes the maximal damage for each tax evader, thrilled some like Tony Merchant get names now. Or if they'll simply rehide their assest elsewhere, seek tax amnesty, flee the country, etc.

By: rough ashlar

rough ashlar — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:39:19 -0800

like maybe not doing business with evil corporations I await the day when someone does some performance art in NYC at a farmers market where they use the human facial ID software and datamining and decide to not sell their veggies to wall street bankers.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:44:34 -0800

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:45:58 -0800

I think a lot of this information is four to six years old, so it probably won't reveal much about where various international shady characters are hiding their money right now. But it's a detailed snapshot of a world that's normally hidden from us, and is useful for structural information like how the system is built and who is involved in it.

By: VTX

VTX — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:47:45 -0800

A fair point but if there is enough evidence for a warrant in this release, they may be able to search current data for where the money is now.

By: sexyrobot

sexyrobot — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:53:09 -0800

can we haz Romney?

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:02:37 -0800

It's going to take all day to read through this post! The CBC analysis is amazing, and the Who Uses the Offshore World story on the ICIJ site reads like the Cliff Notes version of a spy novel. Check out this dude:

Kazakhstan Mukhtar Ablyazov Businessman Details: Ablyazov stands accused of embezzling up to $5 billion from a state-owned Kazakhstan bank in what British media describe as the biggest fraud in history. Offshore business: An individual later named in U.K. court documents as a front man for Mukhtar Ablyazov set up 31 companies in 2006 and 2007 in the British Virgin Islands. Comment: Ablyazov's attorneys in London did not respond to a request for comment. Ablyazov has denied the fraud allegations in the past.

By: sour cream

sour cream — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:11:41 -0800

Watch out for part of the media arguing that this massive tax evasion is merely evidence that TAXES ARE TOO GODDAMN HIGH! The tax evaders are simply taking a stand against the oppression through taxation. So in a way, they are really freedom fighters, you see? And besides, isn't tax evasion a victimless crime? That part of the media is owned and paid by the tax evaders.

By: Theta States

Theta States — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:15:48 -0800

By: RobotVoodooPower

RobotVoodooPower — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:22:39 -0800

If there's one positive thing about big business, it's that it doesn't really push for tough-on-crime BS Seen the penalties for criminal copyright infringement recently?

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:24:46 -0800

Colombia Tomás Uribe Moreno and Jerónimo Alberto Uribe Moreno Businessmen Details: Sons of former Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe. During their father's eight years in office, they were accused of influence-peddling in two high-profile scandals, including in a case in which they acquired land in an area whose value skyrocketed after authorities granted it tax-free status. They were acquitted in both cases but prosecutors have started investigating new leads related to the land acquisitions. Offshore business: Shareholders of Asia America Investment Corporation (2008) in the British Virgin Islands. Comment: A lawyer for Tomás and Jerónimo Uribe Moreno, Jaime Lombana, said the company was created with the purpose of selling Colombian handcrafts abroad but the business never took off. The company was incorporated in the BVI because one of the partners in the venture lived there, said Lombana. The firm, he said, "didn't produce any income."

Hah!

By: cosmic.osmo

cosmic.osmo — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:34:09 -0800

If there's one positive thing about big business, it's that it doesn't really push for tough-on-crime BS (except for the private prisons).
There is a critique of capitalism - which I admit I don't know all that well and apologies if I'm vague about it - that capital (specifically big business) relies on an underclass that it can then coerce to work for cheaper than would be fair if they weren't at the end of their rope....tough on crime bs...is good for big business, because they [criminals] will work at seriously reduced wages. That critique is a bit too much of a conspiracy theory for me. I can see Bob's Widgets deciding to exploit the preexisting precarious position of an underclass created via prison, but I can't see Bob's Widgets spending it's resources to lobby Congress to mandate tougher/more prison sentences in order to create such an underclass, especially when it would be so much easier just to try to get another tax loophole. Seen the penalties for criminal copyright infringement recently? No, but I do acknowledge your point. There are unusual cases where businesses will support tough on crime stuff, like the private prisons that I mentioned.

By: rough ashlar

rough ashlar — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:15:29 -0800

I can see Bob's Widgets deciding to exploit the preexisting precarious position of an underclass created via prison, but I can't see Bob's Widgets spending it's resources to lobby Congress to mandate tougher/more prison sentences in order to create such an underclass, especially when it would be so much easier just to try to get another tax loophole. There is always Ron Johnson who ran for Congress and his use of prison labor was well known.

By: kiltedtaco

kiltedtaco — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:16:42 -0800

Yeah so, why don't I get the files? I appreciate journalists writing some summaries, but I want to read the real thing myself. Otherwise, meh.

By: 2N2222

2N2222 — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:55:44 -0800

I'ts still unclear how exactly this information came about. Was the hard drive sent anonymously to Ryle? Who actually did all the heavy lifting of finding these links individually? Do all the transactions have a unifying thread? Was it compiled from a widespread investigation? If so, by whom? Industry insider? Some law enforcement entity? From a Central Repository of Unseemly Dealings? This, to me, is far more interesting than catching the rich and powerful doing stuff the rich and powerful always do.

By: me & my monkey

me & my monkey — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:23:11 -0800

I can't see Bob's Widgets spending it's resources to lobby Congress ... This is why Bob's Widgets is a member of the chamber of commerce, or other various trade associations that are essentially lobbying arms. That said, I don't think there's a significant connection between businesses and "tough on crime" legislators - frankly, the legislators don't need the help.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:38:52 -0800

Most of them are probably plain old tax cheats, but here's one of the most intriguing (and frustratingly incomplete) profiles in the article:

Italy Fabio Ghioni Hacker Details: Former head of information security at Telecom Italia, arrested in 2007 for leading a unit that illegally obtained data of 4,000 people, including politicians and journalists. In 2012 the Supreme Court of Cassation confirmed his 2010 plea bargain and his sentence of 3 years and 4 months in prison. Offshore business: Owner of Constant Surge Investments Ltd (2006) in the British Virgin Islands. Comment: Fabio Ghioni denied being the owner of Constant Surge Invesments Ltd. "The BVI? I don't know where they are located!" he said on the phone. ICIJ verified Ghioni's connection to the BVI firm through the address he used upon incorporation of the company which is that of his personal residence in Milan. The corporate files also include annotations describing Ghioni's occupation at the time.

By: the cydonian

the cydonian — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:29:35 -0800

I'm quite certain they're holding off on this because they don't want to be sued on some silly sidenote in British courts. It's happened before. They've been doing this since November at the very least.

By: Room 641-A

Room 641-A — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:57:18 -0800

ICIJ:

Similarly, a large source of investment flowing into Russia is from Cyprus, a country that also features heavily in the data – and whose financial stability was recently undermined by a crisis precipitated by Cypriot-based banks being bloated by Russian money [emphasis added].

That's quite an understatement, considering the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank just bailed out them with 12.9 billion dollars. homunculus: "Related: Tax Haven Use Costing Americans $150 Billion Per Year: Study" Personally, I'd rather pay my share of taxes so I could enjoy my hypothetical wealth in a thriving and vibrant society instead of keeping it all and living in some walled fortress after the world goes all Mad Max.

By: jeffburdges

jeffburdges — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 02:49:12 -0800

Isn't the revised Cyprus deal that accounts over 100k euros take the hit, Room 641-A? If so, it'll mostly hit tax evaders.

By: fredludd

fredludd — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:11:50 -0800

Isn't the revised Cyprus deal that accounts over 100k euros take the hit, Room 641-A? If so, it'll mostly hit tax evaders. Money finds a way: advance warning of the hit protected a few big accounts.

By: Room 641-A

Room 641-A — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:05:21 -0800

jeffburdges: "Isn't the revised Cyprus deal that accounts over 100k euros take the hit, Room 641-A? If so, it'll mostly hit tax evaders." I'm going to assume that if you know enough to ask this question your information is much better than mine :D I was really just struck by how casually it was presented so I took the quote at face value. (I forgot to link it, but I think it came from the Boston Globe.) I withdraw my comment, but I'm keeping my outrage.

By: IAmBroom

IAmBroom — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:35:29 -0800

cosmic.osmo: Can't wait for the jail times! I'm sure there will be! For sure!
Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling may be...released after serving well less than half of his [24 year] term. No one, not drug users, not financial criminals, should be getting 24 year prison terms unless they're violently dangerous. It should be sufficient to take the illicit profits and sanction them so that can't re-offend.

Skilling literally ruined the lives of hundreds of senior citizens. He's dangerous; he actually hurt real people; I hope he dies the day before his release.

By: jeffburdges

jeffburdges — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:51:03 -0800

There is plenty of outrage that Cyprus, Greece, etc. received any bailout from the E.U., Room 641-A. I'd rank that outrage completely warranted in Cyprus' case, given the Russian Mafia's investments. So yeah the Russian investors with over 100k euro must pony up, but they're ultimately receiving far more from that $12B bailout. Imagine if Cyprus' banks simply folded accounts over 100k euros.

By: taxhavensguide

taxhavensguide — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 17:52:34 -0800

The problem with such a huge database may be to find useful information. As ICIJ's website explains, they have used technical means, such as search engine-like software and optical tools which can gather data from documents which are not readable by normal tools. The main difficulty was that the name of the real owners of the offshore companies and accounts were often hidden through nominees or bearer shares. So, the relevant information was on auxiliary documents such of powers of attorney's, emails and so on...

By: homunculus

homunculus — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:02:08 -0800

Do we need WikiLeaks any more? The controversial website has put up archival material while the mainstream media has published a story based on a huge leak

By: jeffburdges

jeffburdges — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 01:48:57 -0800

Is this leak the hard drive that passed through Assange's hands though? ICIJ said this leak was "dirtier" than all wikileaks data, maybe he simply lacked the resources to treat it.