More than 16,000 Taiwanese investors’ offshore account details were published yesterday in a massive document leak by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the ICIJ Web site showed.
The documents, dubbed the “Panama Papers,” showed how Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca allegedly helps its clients avoid taxes and skirt financial oversight.
The ICIJ Web site said the firm has about 16,785 Taiwanese clients, including individuals and enterprises. Based on more than 11.5 million leaked files, the investigation has exposed people who use offshore companies to facilitate bribery, arms deals, tax evasion, financial fraud and drug trafficking, the ICIJ said on its Web site.
Mossack Fonseca worked with more than 14,000 banks, law firms, corporations and other go-betweens to set up companies, foundations and trusts for clients, the ICIJ said.
Offshore bank accounts and other financial dealings in another country can be used to evade regulatory oversight or tax obligations. Companies or individuals often use shell companies, initially incorporated without significant assets or operations, to disguise ownership or other information about funds.
Panama, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda are among more than a dozen small, low-tax locations that specialize in handling business services and investments of non-resident companies.
Financial and legal professionals receive training on how to spot potential violations, since in some cases lawyers and bankers are unaware they are handling illicit transactions. Banking secrecy laws can obscure offshore financial dealings.
Local publication CommonWealth Magazine and the University of Hong Kong Journalism and Media Studies Center are two of the ICIJ’s reporting partners, the Web site showed.
The consortium is a nonprofit organization based in Washington.
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