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Why there is no high-profile American in the Panama Papers?

30/4/16

 “Panama Papers” has been the biggest document leak in the history with 11.5 million documents, contained in 2.6 terabytes of data, revealing the ways the super rich and powerful people over the world hide their assets, bringing to light “the unknown things in the dark world of international politicians and tycoons”.
Over a year ago, an anonymous source contacted the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) and submitted encrypted internal documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm that sells anonymous offshore companies around the world. These shell companies enable their owners to cover up their business dealings, no matter how shady.
In the months that followed, the number of documents continued to grow far beyond the original leak. Ultimately, SZ acquired about 2.6 terabytes of data, making the leak the biggest that journalists had ever worked with. The source wanted neither financial compensation nor anything else in return, apart from a few security measures.
The data provides rare insights into a world that can only exist in the shadows. It proves how a global industry led by major banks, legal firms, and asset management companies secretly manages the estates of the world’s rich and famous: from politicians, Fifa officials, fraudsters and drug smugglers, to celebrities and professional athletes.
Especially, in the list of the world leaders who are related to Panama Papers, there is no American politician.
The world is shocked with the Panama Papers, and also feels strange that there hasn’t got the most important financial factor of the world, the United State on the list of the Papers.
In the revealed list, the investigative reporters has just discovered  some American, the ordinary citizen, who has transferred their assets to the “tax haven” and covered companies with the help of Mossack Fonsena’s law office.
Beside the names of David Geffen, the boss of music disk company and co-founder of DreamWorks, and famous director Steven Spielberg, there is no name of high-profile ones in the US Government.
The “absence” in a notorious case is not a beautiful evidence of the US because  the US itself is simply a “tax heaven”.
Firstly, Americans can be hesitant to transfer their assets to distant countries and South American countries. Because they have many options to send their assets to the banks in the Cayman Islands or the Virgin Islands of the United Kingdom.
On the other hand, the wealthy Americans want to keep secret their activities without leaving the territory. In many states of the USA, the expectation can be met with just some hundreds of dollar, and you could be the owner of an offshore company.
And the activities are under control and helped by many American banks.
According to the Tax Justice annual rankings, America is ahead of Panama, ranked at the third in the number of countries that is "ambiguities" in financial transactions over the world./.

Chia sẻ bài viết ^^
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