Just in:
No running of govt from jail, says Delhi Lt Governor // Arvind Kejriwal Was Used By BJP In 2011 Movement To Take On The Congress // Ajman Celebrates Conclusion of Ramadan Activities with Grand Ceremony // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // Experience Ultimate Shopping Freedom at 4.4 Shopee Spree: Don’t Worry, Shop Shopee! // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // TUMI Hosts Global Launch Event in Singapore to Unveil Women’s Asra Collection and Announce Global Ambassador, Mun Ka Young // US reiterates concern over Kejriwal arrest, Cong accounts // French Leaders Gather for Interfaith Iftar Dinner // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Following the Money Trail: US and UK Investigate $20 Billion in USDT Transfers Tied to Sanctioned Russian Exchange // Saudi Arabia Unveils Green Financing Tool to Achieve Net-Zero Goals // U.S. Compliance Takes Center Stage at OKX Following Industry Jitters // German Job Market Resilience Bodes Well for Economic Recovery // Melco Style Presents “SANRIO CHARACTERS STUDIO CITY CARNIVAL” – Explore a SANRIO World of Unlimited Love and Cuteness // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // Ingdan Announces 2023 Annual Results // 2024 Lok Sabha Elections Will Be The Costliest One Till Now In The Whole World // New Nylon Constant Torque Hinge From Southco Provides Position Control In A Compact Package //
HomeWorldPanama Papers: Europol links 3500 names to suspected criminals – The Guardian

Panama Papers: Europol links 3500 names to suspected criminals – The Guardian

2688

Almost 3,500 individuals and companies in the Panama Papers are probable matches for suspected criminals including terrorists, cybercriminals and cigarette smugglers, according to a document seen by the Guardian.

The analysis, which was carried out by Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, sheds more light on the breadth of criminal behaviour facilitated by tax havens around the world.

ADVERTISEMENT

“The main point here is that we can link companies from the Panama Papers leaks not only with economic crimes, like money laundering or VAT carousels, but also with terrorism and Russian organised crime groups,” Simon Riondet, head of financial intelligence at Europol, told a committee of MEPs.

The Panama Papers, leaked files from the offshore services company Mossack Fonseca, revealed that hundreds of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful individuals had used offshore companies to hide their riches.

While the use of offshore structures is legal, critics have long alleged that they can also be used to facilitate improper or unlawful behaviour.

The memo was prepared for a European parliamentary committee investigating how the offshore world can be used to facilitate tax abuse and international crime.

According to the memo, Europol compared a publicly available version of the Panama Papers published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with its own databases of individuals and companies suspected of criminal involvement and identified 3,469 probable matches .

ADVERTISEMENT

It matched 1,722 names in the Panama Papers with entities that had been reported by EU member states as having been involved in potential money-laundering transactions. The majority of matches originated from the UK, although the memo cautioned that this was probably due to the country’s status as Europe’s pre-eminent financial centre.

Of the rest, among others, a further 516 of the matches were connected to eastern European organised criminal gangs, 388 were connected to VAT fraud operations, and 260 to cigarette smuggling operations. It said 116 of the names were connected to “Hydra” – a Europol codeword for Islamist terrorism, according to the document – while 99 related to “Cola”, or drug crime.

One of the “main schemes” identified by the Europol analysis of the Panama Papers involves the abuse of trusts – legal arrangements whereby the owner of an asset places it under the control of another individual or company – by criminals seeking to obscure their assets.

The document identifies “the use of corporate service providers by criminals to acquire large numbers of shell companies (including finding third parties for positions within the company) located in offshore/tax havens (usually under the form of holding companies or trusts)” as one such scheme.

That analysis stands in stark contrast with a 2013 letter by David Cameron to the then president of the European council, in which he argued for trusts to be excluded from new transparency measures that would affect offshore companies.

“As we clamp down on the misuse of companies, we must take care not to displace illicit activity elsewhere,” the then prime minister wrote, adding later in the letter: “It is clearly important we recognise the important differences between companies and trusts. This means that the solution for addressing the potential misuse of companies – such as a central public registries – may well not be appropriate generally.”

Separately to its analysis of the Panama Papers, the Europol briefing also suggests that Luxembourg, widely known as a major tax haven for multinational corporations, is also failing to tackle money-laundering offences.

“Reporting figures across the EU do not always appear to be commensurate with the activities of the regulated sector in particular jurisdictions: notably Cyprus and Malta and Luxembourg receive very few reports given the significance of these jurisdictions in offshore financial service and the online gambling industry,” the memo reads.

“Furthermore, the vast majority of reports filed with Luxembourg stem from a single electronic bank/payment service provider, in spite of the fact that other sectors, such as private banking and offshore financial services, offer significant scope for money-laundering activities and tax crimes.”

Europol declined to comment.

Separately, Giovanni Kessler, the director general of OLAF, the European anti-fraud office, told the MEPs his agency had opened four investigations into potential cases of fraud against the European Union “on the basis of an analysis of information related to the Panama Papers and of information obtained from other sources”.

(via Google News)

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT
Just in:
No running of govt from jail, says Delhi Lt Governor // French Leaders Gather for Interfaith Iftar Dinner // U.S. Compliance Takes Center Stage at OKX Following Industry Jitters // New Nylon Constant Torque Hinge From Southco Provides Position Control In A Compact Package // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers // Ingdan Announces 2023 Annual Results // Experience Ultimate Shopping Freedom at 4.4 Shopee Spree: Don’t Worry, Shop Shopee! // TUMI Hosts Global Launch Event in Singapore to Unveil Women’s Asra Collection and Announce Global Ambassador, Mun Ka Young // Samsung Partners National Heritage Board to Bring a Slice of Singapore’s Cultural Heritage to Samsung The Frame TV // Melco Style Presents “SANRIO CHARACTERS STUDIO CITY CARNIVAL” – Explore a SANRIO World of Unlimited Love and Cuteness // Following the Money Trail: US and UK Investigate $20 Billion in USDT Transfers Tied to Sanctioned Russian Exchange // Arvind Kejriwal Was Used By BJP In 2011 Movement To Take On The Congress // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened // Sharjah Chamber Breaks Ground on Final Expansion with New HQ Pact // Emirati Aid Reaches Ukraine as Food Shortages Bite // CABSAT 2024 Ushers in 30 Years of Media Innovation // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Ajman Celebrates Conclusion of Ramadan Activities with Grand Ceremony // First-Ever Fortune Innovation Forum Draws Top Global Leaders to Hong Kong, Promoting Agendas On Collective Cross-Sector Advancement //