INDIAN DIAMOND TRADING COMPANY REJIGGED ITS OFFSHORE NETWORK AFTER PANAMA EXPOSE
On 6 October, The Indian Express reported that the company has figured in every offshore leak since the HSBC records in 2015, and now Rosy Blue, among the largest diamond-trading firms in the world, is also in the Pandora Papers that reveal details of its current offshore investments until 2020. Previous revelations were that 5 members of the Rosy Blue family were shown to have deposits of $53.63 million in the HSBC Geneva Bank, and that members of the Rosy Blue family were named as beneficiaries of 24 offshore companies set up in tax havens such as BVI, Seychelles, and Mauritius. The latest leak shows a continuing offshore company formation spree in tax havens such as Cook Islands and in Guernsey, the Channel Islands, and also evident is the rejig of Rosy Blue’s assets in tax havens, mostly in the year 2017, shortly after the Panama Papers expose.
https://indianexpress.com/article/express-exclusive/pandora-papers-dilip-mehta-rosy-blue-7554457/
CANADA: MONEY LAUNDERER SET UP OFFSHORE COMPANY WHILE UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
On 6 October, CBC reported that Firoz Patel co-founded the internet payment service AlertPay and later ran Payza. He pleaded guilty in the US to conspiracy to launder money and operating an internet-based unlicenced money service business in July 2020. A company he set up in the UAE is among the Pandora Papers files. Patel, and his younger brother Ferhan, ran Payza and several other unlicensed online money transfer services that processed more than US$250 million in illicit transactions that facilitated criminal activity, including child pornography distribution, Ponzi schemes, gambling and drugs from 2004 until their indictment in 2018.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/pandora-papers-offshore-account-firoz-patel-1.6195548
THE YEMENI OIL BUSINESS UNITES HOUTHIS AND SUPPORTERS OF HADI’S GOVERNMENT
On 6 October, Middle East Monitor reported that what appears to be corruption at the highest levels in Yemen has been exposed by the Pandora Papers. It says that there are claims that figures within the internationally-recognised government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi is involved in companies operating and making profits in areas controlled by the Houthi “rebels”. In short, it is claimed that the oil business in Yemen unites the Houthis and supporters of Hadi’s government.
PANDORA PAPERS, TRIDENT TRUST AND MIAMI
On 6 October, a feature in the Miami Herald considered the involvement of Trident Trust, with offices in Miami, saying that the Panama Papers attack on, and collapse of, Mossack Fonseca had seen much business transferring to Trident Trust.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article254588272.html#storylink=mainstage
UK: FORMER MP AND MINISTER “WAS PAID £166,000 FOR BOOK ON KAZAKH AUTOCRAT”
On 6 October, the Guardian reported claims that cast doubt on ex-Tory minister’s claim he received no payment from Kazakh government for flattering biography.
QUEEN’S LAWYERS ACTED FOR POLITICIAN NOW ACCUSED BY US PROSECUTORS
On 6 October, the Guardian reported that, throughout her reign, the Queen has been advised by Farrer & Co, an elite London firm with a long history of representing members of the royal family and aristocracy. However, the Pandora papers leaks show that one of its clients has been Abubakar Bagudu, a Nigerian politician who the US DoJ has accused of playing an “instrumental role” in a notorious corruption scheme through which billions of dollars were looted from Nigeria.
SINGAPORE WATCHDOG EXAMINES PANDORA PAPERS INVESTIGATION FINDINGS ABOUT ASIACITI TRUST
On 6 October, the Guardian reported that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) says it is examining media reports that reveal allegations that an offshore provider it regulates, Asiaciti Trust, failed to properly vet some of its clients.
ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGNER IMPLICATED IN TELIA UZBEK SCANDAL
On 4 October, Developing Telecoms reported that The Guardian in cooperation with the BBC – have revealed the identity of a key advisor to Telia and the role he played in the Uzbek telecoms scandal. Mohamed Amersi. They say that he was paid around $65 million by Telia between 2007 and 2013 in his capacity as a consultant in the Eurasia region. He denies any wrongdoing.
LEBANON WENT BROKE WHILE LEADERS STOWED WEALTH
On 6 October, Stuff in New Zealand carried an article saying that, for years, Lebanon’s politicians and bankers have stowed wealth in offshore tax havens and used it to buy expensive properties — a galling revelation for masses of newly impoverished Lebanese, caught in one of the world’s worst economic meltdowns in decades. Some of the newly outed holders of offshore accounts belong to the same ruling elite blamed for the collapse and for derailing the lives of ordinary Lebanese who have lost access to savings and now struggle to get fuel, electricity and medicine.
A LATVIAN BANK’S LAST SWEETHEART DEAL FOR KREMLIN-LINKED CLIENTS
On 6 October, OCCRP reported that an investigation can now show that, after winning approval to self-liquidate, ABLV, a Riga-based bank accused of “institutionalised money laundering” in 2018 had a spin-off which went on to cut deals with dozens of politically sensitive clients to help them recover their frozen funds and represent their interests during the liquidation, leaked documents show. A leak also reveals new details about the identities of these clients, many of which were obscured behind layers of offshore structures, often with the bank’s direct knowledge – deals which show a pattern of links to Russia’s political elite. Of 42 clients confirmed to have signed the agreements, nearly half had clear ties to the Kremlin.
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