Thanks to the Panama Papers: 1.2 billion flow back into state coffers

The one-billion limit is blown up: In the three years since known of the Offshore data leaks Panama Papers have brought to the tax authorities around the world large sums of the hidden or evaded money back. Two dozen countries have received until today, more than 1.2 billion dollars in tax refunds and buses.

in Switzerland, are under investigation. The Swiss Federal tax administration (FTA) confirmed that it is in their procedure to people from the Panama Papers, and the one and a half years later, released the Paradise Papers to the "evasion of large sums of tax".

Leading Nations in the recovery of the hidden money of the United Kingdom, the total collected 253 million dollars, Denmark with 237 million and Germany with 183 million dollars. In France have been carried out since the publication of the Panama Papers more than 500 tax inspections, in Canada, there were 66, about 200 are planned.

According to the publications of the Icelandic Premier resigned, Pakistan's head of government went to jail, and recently was made public against the former President of El Salvador under investigation due to findings from the Panama Papers.

Exactly three years ago today, on 3. April 2016, had launched the International consortium of Investigative journalists (ICIJ), the series of articles about the data of an Offshore firm in Panama. The revelations are based on a data leak from a law firm in Panama, the information came to the "süddeutsche Zeitung".

100 media in 80 countries, reports since then, in Switzerland, the Recherchedesk of Tamedia . After three years of a new consequences of reporting are known.

The Federal government has not accepted as the only government in the world, the data of the Panama Papers.

In the past week, 40 canadian criminal officials were to follow at two addresses in Vancouver in the footsteps of a 77-million-Dollar fraud, through the Panama Papers blown. A former South Korean General was indicted in the previous month due to corruption. At the end of last November, were looking for an investigator for the German Federal criminal police office for hours, the Frankfurt headquarters of the Deutsche Bank, among other things, because of the entanglements of the Bank in the Panama Papers.

Switzerland was a major Hub of the Panama-law firm. In many cases, led to investigations that went on in Geneva and Zurich. Nevertheless, the Federal government has decided, as the only government in the world, the original data of the Panama Papers. They were offered to the Federal office for police of the German authorities.

In Switzerland to communicate the tax authorities are also not active on your proceedings against individuals or companies in the Panama Papers. In the summer of 2017, a big method all around the Geneva lawyer Andre Zolty, was known, however, caught the attention of the FTA. Zolty was one of the largest Swiss customer of the Panama law firm.

The FTA accuses Zolty, among other things, to have his income from the management of over 900 Offshore companies are not taxed. This number was thanks to the Panama Papers public. The FTA wants to collect at Zolty tax and any buses after tax on a turnover of 21.3 million Swiss francs. Zolty denies the allegations.

Angola-funds in the visor

even much more money in the process of the FTA against the Swiss-Angolan Jean-Claude Bastos and his Quantum Global company with headquarters in Zug. Bastos came in the context of the Paradise Papers is on the Radar of the authorities, of a further data leaks from the Offshore area, it is reported that since November of 2017. Bastos had managed with Quantum Global, the sovereign wealth Fund of Angola.

The Paradise Papers showed how very Bastos personally of this mandate benefited. On the one hand, he invested the funds of the state Fund in its own projects. On the other hand, he received very high management fees. According to state Fund-information about fins since 2013, over 500 million dollars to various companies from Bastos. A portion of these fees could siphon off Bastos as a dividend. Bastos denied any conflict of interest and referred to the amount of the fees as is usual in the market. A method in Angola ended recently with an out-of-court settlement. Bastos gave all the mandates and assets – the procedure was discontinued.

Details to the cash flows from the Paradise Papers, the FTA initiated the tax proceedings against Bastos and his helpers met. She accuses you of, to 109 million Swiss francs illegally on the Swiss authorities funneled, via two companies in Mauritius and Cyprus. This allegation is denied.

Switzerland brings 200 million

their biggest success, the sfta was able to capture but due to a further journalistic and evaluated data leaks – the 2014 published Luxembourg Leaks, a repertoire of secret tax documents from Luxembourg.

From a document showed that the international audit and consulting group could have included Accenture, the value of its intellectual property in Switzerland too deep. The FTA opened the end of 2016, a control method met – and agreed already a year and a half later with Accenture on a record tax payment of around CHF 200 million.

in addition, an FTA spokesman, run according to the cantons, a number of tax proceedings against persons whose names appeared in the data leaks. Their output is not known. Around 70 percent of procedures, the FTA from the cantons have received no feedback, so the FTA speakers.

In Switzerland, the Panama Papers have shown, but, above all, that lawyers and Trustees are to be supervised a little. The Federal Council has initiated, among other things, therefore, a tightening of money laundering rules – a Lex Panama. A appointed by the Federal Council group of experts had referred to the "consulting or administrative operations of the business lawyers, notaries or Trustees" in the Offshore sector previously in a report as "highly vulnerable". The use of foreign letterbox companies was "one of the most common forms of international financial crime, which endanger especially Switzerland". The specific bill will come soon to the Parliament.

staff: Douglas Dalby, and Amy Wilson-Chapman (ICIJ) (editor-in-Tamedia)

Created: 02.04.2019, 23:13 PM