Money: follow it, hide it and Panama leaks

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-03-2016

Moderator's Note as new thread's opening post moved to No.14

Money: follow it, hide it and Panama leaks The impact of the millions of documents from the Panamanian lawyers is clear if media headlines are a guide, whether action follows is very moot. See the BBC's briefing:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-35954224

There are a number of issues that could, if not will impact the interests of the 'small wars' community: "dirty" money, covert funding of extremism, international politics, how confident domestic public opinion is in it's leaders who appear to hide their money and more. The reaction in Iceland being the most public:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35966412

As one commentator here points out the UK's official position is difficult as so many jurisdictions that enable this activity are British overseas territories, leaving aside London's apparent role in handling "dirty" money. See:https://www.opendemocracy.net/maxim-edwards-francesc-badia-i-dalmases-adam-ramsay/panama-papers-old-tradition-of-english-piracy?

There are a number of posts in the current Ukraine War thread, as President Putin's regime allegedly has benefited and this has consequences. Yes, these posts will be moved to this thread shortly and so this opening post will not be first.

(Ends)

The OCCRP is about to unleash hellfire on the house of #Putin or so they claim. ..assuming the position so https://twitter.com/DrewOCCRP/status/716335782512967680 …

Acc. to Ukrainian journo, Sunday's OCCRP report concerns offshore companies connected to leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Serbia etc.

OCCRP ‎@OCCRP
12 hours to go! At 8pm CET tonight we will break a major new set of investigative stories. Follow and share on
http://occrp.org

Will be interesting to see if western MSM picks up on this investigative reporting.....

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-03-2016

Under the rubric of ...OMG.......2.6 terabytes of data .........
Süddeutsche Zeitung has a background piece live on the #panamapapers. 214,000 companies.
http://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/...b8d3c3495adf4/ …

This will rock Ukraine as well...........
President Poroshenko's Secret Offshore Deals, Revealed
#panamapapershttp://int.hromadske.tv/en/articles/...raine_offshore …
pic.twitter.com/ebTkY6Vb9a

President Poroshenko's Secret Offshore Deals, Revealed
#panamapapers
http://int.hromadske.tv/articles/sho...raine_offshore …
Video is coming soon
pic.twitter.com/dTNfdgCQWP

'The Panama Papers: Victims of Offshore'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6XnH_OnpO0 …

Secret Records Reveal Money Network Tied to Russian Leader
https://panamapapers.icij.org/201604...e-network.html …

The Guardian
✔ ‎@guardian Revealed: the $2bn offshore trail that leads to Vladimir Putin
http://trib.al/SGa4qWW

PanamaPapers - Think about it people: Putin is bulletproof whatever. Poroshenko falls (this week) When does the Russian invasion II happen?

So #panamapapers is now trending worldwide with more than 25,100 tweets. Great for investigative journalism. https://www.occrp.org/en/panamapapers/ …

PanamaPapers - SVR/FSB will have known this was coming. Is that why Russia withdrew some forces from Syria? To throw against Ukraine?
All this coverage of #PanamaPapers - Wha'd do ya suppose is going to be Russia's reaction? Taking bets on escalation in Donbas in next 24-48

Russian Twitter users try to play down the #panamapapers’ “revelation” that Putin (maybe) has $2b in slush funds.

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-03-2016

OCCRP ‎@OCCRP
Our site is either under attack or experiencing unprecedented demand - either way, your patience is appreciated #panamapapers
Are you getting through to
https://occrp.org/en/panamapapers/ …
okay, or is it slow for you? Let me know, we're still under attack..

The Guardian
✔ ‎@guardian ‘We are responsible members of the global financial community.’ Mossack Fonseca’s response to the Panama Papers
http://trib.al/Fiba1nU

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-03-2016

Here is Putin complaining about Russians using offshore companies in 2013:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVKYD6D_W00 …

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-04-2016

How much is corruption or the use of money a cornerstone of Russian non linear warfare........?

OCCRP ‎@OCCRP
Peskov once said offshore networks "immensely support corruption practices". We couldn't agree more #PanamaPapers https://www.occrp.org/en/panamapaper...hore-patriots/

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-04-2016

#PanamaPapers breaks the Internet with revelations of global corruption
http://mashable.com/2016/04/03/panam.../#Q5Hpd382q05u …

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-04-2016

The DDoS is originating and controlled from Russia right now via UAE servers....

Drew Sullivan ‎@DrewOCCRP
We are under a sustained dDoS attack as is our partners. We are able to operate from our pages athttps://www.occrp.org/en/panamapapers/ …

AND one wonders why western MSM seems to fail in their coverage of the Russian fighting in eastern Ukraine and the Russian military fighting in Syria......

Perfect example of that MSM failure......

If you rely on @nytimes, "the paper of record," you'd have to read the fine print to find the world's biggest story.
HERE is the true kicker ..maybe they will "wake up" when the OCCRP releases an exclusive report of the involvement of American taxpayers in their hiding of they earning from the US IRS.....in the coming days.

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-04-2016

Russian info warfare......

Kremlin is increasing its financing of state-run #Russian #propaganda.
https://twitter.com/specghost/status/700149810238775296 …

Kremlin spksmn claims that among the Panama Papers investig,journalists "are many ex State Dept & CIA reps, & other intell agencies too"

Peskov denies Panama Papers claim his wife had an offshore company, adds "Based on this I am inclined to doubt authenticity of other claims"

BUT WAIT...she is massively wealthy and yet no one in Russia understands just how she acquired her wealth......

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-04-2016

Staggering $117bn siphoned offshore from Ukraine between 2004-2013
http://www.gfintegrity.org/report/il...ies-2004-2013/ …

BUT WAIT...and the West still wonfers why the Ukrainian civil society went to the Maidan?????

THIS has been repeatedly mentioned as a deep seated driver of Putin's actions to remain in office for as long as possible.

Panama leak shows Putin's friends are rich, he's a pauper - if he ever loses power.
http://bv.ms/25GHpuy

THIS is interesting...from his KGB officer days.......
Great read by @shustry on Sergei Roldugin, Putin confidant in #PanamaPapers. They met during night out in 1977
http://ti.me/1qki21L

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-04-2016

OCCRP ‎@OCCRP

Two new stories coming up in about 40mins on #panamapapers at
https://www.occrp.org/en/panamapapers/ … --
they're big! Meanwhile:
https://www.occrp.org/en/panamapaper...mining-empire/ …

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-04-2016

Can't wait @lemondefr tomorrow's piece on #panamapapers about Marine Le Pen's #NationalFront !

Kremlin Says Offshore Investigation Seeks to 'Destabilize' Russia:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/a...ia/564699.html …

Novaya Gazeta publishes investigation into Putin’s and Russia’s offshore connections
https://meduza.io/en/news/2016/04/04...re-connections …

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-05-2016

Russian info warfare in the EU is going to have a hard time with the Panama Papers leakage......

France's Front National upset about #panamapapers. Wonder why?
http://www.politico.eu/article/natio...r-speculation/ …

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-05-2016

Further proof that Carnegie Russia is totally under Russian control.....first was indicated in their defense of the Russian annexation of Crimea.....and then their support to the Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine and Syria ...now this......

Carnegie's Andrei Movchan rips into #panamapapers, says all the work journos wasted on research is the real marvel.
http://m.ru.rfi.fr/rossiya/20160404-...na-s-ofshorami …

Sorry in Russian.

PanamaPapers reveals how Putin uses money, corruption to wield, keep & grow his own power in Russia, @MarkGaleotti http://www.vox.com/2016/4/4/11360212...source=twitter

**davidbfpo** · 04-05-2016

The impact of the millions of documents from the Panamanian lawyers is clear if media headlines are a guide, whether action follows is very moot. See the BBC's briefing:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-35954224

There are a number of issues that could, if not will impact the interests of the 'small wars' community: "dirty" money, covert funding of extremism, international politics, how confident domestic public opinion is in it's leaders who appear to hide their money and more. The reaction in Iceland being the most public:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35966412

As one commentator here points out the UK's official position is difficult as so many jurisdictions that enable this activity are British overseas territories, leaving aside London's apparent role in handling "dirty" money. See:https://www.opendemocracy.net/maxim-edwards-francesc-badia-i-dalmases-adam-ramsay/panama-papers-old-tradition-of-english-piracy?

There are a number of posts in the current Ukraine War thread, as President Putin's regime allegedly has benefited and this has consequences. Yes, these posts will be moved to this thread shortly and so this opening post will not be first.

**OUTLAW 09** · 04-06-2016

Now Russian info warfare is hard at work.....

Russia’s Attorney General promises to investigate Panama Papers’ revelations
https://meduza.io/en/news/2016/04/05...rs-revelations …
via @meduza_en

Response might be...yeah right.........

**Firn** · 04-08-2016

Some thoughts about the saga:

1) Much of it was already common knowledge however the sheer size of capital involved still surprises. Quantity has indeed a quality all of it's own.

2) The global nature of the various practices, with the financial maze running truly through the whole world.

3) The variety of entities linked to offshore accounts, with wealthy and companies of all backgrounds using them.

4) So many different goals pursued with so similar means of the financial maze.

Hiding money incurs additional costs which are expected to get offset in the specific calculations. Obviously illgotten money, money put to ill use or money shielded from taxation will tolerate those costs much more readily then money just wanting privacy. Not surprisingly dirty money loves a clean justice system as long it is suitably legally set up.

**AdamG** · 04-16-2016

The flow of wealth can also be an indicator. This reads like an OSINT puzzle piece for a few readers here.

China is still growing at a healthy clip, China says.

But the slowdown continues, with the world’s second largest economy expanding 6.7% in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the same quarter of the prior year. That’s the slowest growth since the depths of the Great Recession back in 2009.

Recently released data from the Institute of International Finance shows expected net outflows from China of roughly $530 billion in 2016, down a bit from the titanic $675 billion that zipped out last year.

That’s not just foreign money pulling out. IIF analysts forecast that the outflow of cash from China related to foreign investors will ease somewhat this year. “We expect a modest recovery in foreign inflows to China but continued substantial resident outflows,” they wrote.

If Chinese investors are voting with their feet, foreign investors would do well to take note.

http://qz.com/662887/chinese-money-d...tory-any-more/

**AdamG** · 04-18-2016

Jeff Kiarie was guarding a Chinese mine back in early 2014 near Arusha, Tanzania when Chinese managers and investors picked up and left, leaving their excavators, tractors, and wheel loaders behind, offering no explanation. “They couldn’t just leave so many machines here,” Kiarie, the lone Tanzanian now guarding thousands of tons of Chinese mining equipment, says he reasoned. But that’s exactly what seems to have happened; Kiarie’s mine remains abandoned, and other Chinese operations on the African continent seem to be in peril. For years, Western media has covered Chinese trade and investment with the continent somewhat breathlessly; a November 2006 New York Times report declared that Chinese development “looks more like Africa’s future than its past,” and a February 2011 article for the BBC proclaimed that “the Chinese are coming” to Africa. Now, with the recent drop in Chinese investment and trade with the continent, it might seem appropriate to declare that the Chinese are going. But as some are leaving, others are innovating, exploring, and digging in.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/02/18/...tment-chinese/

In December, Chinese president Xi Jinping offered a whopping $60 billion loan and aid package to Africa, according to Voice of America. Xi said that China aims to develop infrastructure, improve agriculture and reduce poverty on the continent. This is only the latest example of China’s burgeoning economic presence in Africa. Its investment there has skyrocketed in recent years from $7 billion in 2008 to $26 billion in 2013, according to figures cited at a Wharton Africa Business Forum held last fall. But the relationship is fraught with controversy.

Opponents assert that it is exploitative for China to finance African infrastructure projects in exchange for the continent’s natural resources. Some accuse China of “neo-colonialist” behavior as it acquires the raw materials like oil, iron, copper and zinc that it urgently needs to fuel its own economy. Supporters, on the other hand, say that China’s initiatives to build and improve infrastructure such as roads, railways and telecom systems have been a boon to Africa’s manufacturing sector; have freed up domestic resources for other critical needs such as health care and education; and have aided everyone doing business on the continent.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/a...he-real-story/

See also
http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...&postcount=147

**AdamG** · 05-17-2016

Chinese nationals have become the largest foreign buyers of US property after pouring billions into the market in search of safe offshore assets, according to a study.

A huge surge in Chinese buying of both residential and commercial real estate last year took their five-year investment total to more than $110bn, according to the study from the Asia Society and Rosen Consulting Group.

The sheer size of that total has helped the real estate market recover from the crash that began in 2006 and precipitated the 2008 economic crisis, they said.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...ate-says-study