Most of us agree that paying taxes are unpleasant, but few of us will ever make enough money to walk in the footsteps of the following multi-millionaires, who went to great lengths to avoid taxes or hide their wealth. Those that do, however, turn to tax havens–like Panama.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a tax haven, or stashing your treasure in one. In fact, the United States is quickly becoming a favorite haven among the world’s wealthy. But if you’re caught funneling cash overseas, especially as a public figure, expect your actions to be considered suspicious. Companies set up in tax havens are anonymous, conveniently hiding where the money that’s tucked away came from. If you’re a world leader lining your pockets by engaging in corruption and you need somewhere to bury the evidence, a tax haven like Panama is ideal. Thanks to the Panama Papers leak, led by the International Consortium for Investigative Journalism, some of those names and shady practices have seen the light of day. These are some of the headliners:
Russia’s Vladimir Putin
Controversy surrounding President Vladimir Putin always seems to take a familiar shape: A lurking suspicion about his activities is counterbalanced by plausible deniability, the absence of hard fact and the blaming of Western powers. Though Putin himself wasn’t named in the papers, a very close friend of his, cellist Sergei Roldugin, was listed as the owner of two offshore companies. One was involved in a particularly shady deal where a $6 million loan was later written off for $1. Some of this money has been traced back to loans from state banks and linked to Putin through a ski resort, where one of his daughters was married. Roldugin has yet to explain how he as a musician rather than a businessman holds a number of stakes in Russian companies, including Bank Rossiya, described as Putin’s “crony bank” and sanctioned by the U.S. The bank also just happens to be run by Yuri Kovalchuk, whom the U.S. alleges is Putin’s personal banker. There are others close to Putin who hold offshore accounts, spiking suspicion that they may exist for the same purpose suspected for Roldugin’s offshores. Amid the controversy, Putin has said that the information revealed in the leaks was all true, but he has vehemently denied “any element of corruption”. To cap it all off, he presented the ordeal as a Western plot to smear his name. It has certainly called into question exactly how much personal wealth the man has amassed–and what lengths he might go through to make sure no one can answer that very question.
Iceland’s Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson
Of all of the Panama Paper’s victims, none fell faster than the former Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson–and he didn’t even do anything illegal. Iceland, which saw its economy tank in the 2008 recession, had zero tolerance for a leader who, the day before such disclosures would be required by law, conveniently sold his shares in an offshore company founded in 2007 to hold and invest his now-wife’s inheritance for $1. But then, after the 2008 market crash caused the company to lose millions, it claimed more than $4 million from Iceland banks, a deal Gunnlaugsson, as prime minister, was involved in despite the conflict of interest. Iceland’s citizens didn’t shy away from demonstrating their views on the matter. Protests were massive in the nation of only 330,000, and within a week Gunnlaugsson’s prime ministership was gone, though he did not resign. Although there was no evidence of Gunnlaugsson having evaded taxes or engaged in corruption, Icelanders were furious with the misdeeds of their leader when the nation was reeling from an economic downfall.
Argentina’s Mauricio Macri
While Argentina broke free of Cristina Fernandez Kirchner’s corrupt presidency late last year, the pristine reputation of her replacement, Mauricio Macri, unfortunately didn’t last long. Macri’s name was included in the massive Panama Papers leak, revealing that he had been on the boards of two offshore companies, a fact he had failed to disclose. Again, while his actions were not necessarily illegal, the discovery raised questions about the accountability of Argentina’s leader. Facing an inquiry and calls to resign, Macri, while largely silent on the matter, has maintained that he hasn’t done anything illegal. As much as Macri undoubtedly hoped the scandal would blow over, it’s still steaming as the inquiry into the affair continues.
The UK’s David Cameron
While it was the Brexit vote, not the Panama Papers, that cut short David Cameron’s time as the United Kingdom’s prime minister, both developments contributed to the public losing faith in his leadership. The discovery that Cameron’s late father held an offshore company, which didn’t pay British taxes, sat ill with a country hard hit by the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Cameron maintained that he had sold his shares in the fund before he became prime minister and didn’t have any further connections to the fund, though it sullied his reputation for leading the charge against shell companies and tax dodging. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn called for him to publicize his financial dealings and accused him of having “one rule for the wealthy and another for us.”
