MISSEDLINK

Panama Papers - the Guardian: LINK ¤ the GUARDIAN

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• "the Panama Papers were a leaked set of 11.5 million documents - of 214,000 offshore companies - created since the 1970s !"

 

 

 

 

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• "and included the identities of shareholders - and directors - in the tax haven !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "offshore tax regimes had been revealed - of companies - politicians - and celebrities !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "journalists from more than 80 countries had been reviewing 11.5m files - leaked from the database of Mossack Fonseca !"

 

 

 

 

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• "an offshore law firm - the records were obtained from an anonymous source - and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the best friend of the Russian Vladimir Putin - a cellist called Sergei Roldugin !"

 

 

 

 

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• "was at the centre of a scheme - of a US$ 2bn trail - in which money from Russian state banks was offshore !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "twelve national leaders were among 143 politicians - their families - and close associates !"

 

 

 

 

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• "among the politicians with offshore wealth was Nawaz Sharif - Pakistan’s former prime minister !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Ayad Allawi - ex-interim prime minister - and former vice-president of Iraq !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Petro Poroshenko - former president of Ukraine !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Alaa Mubarak - son of Egypt’s former president !"

 

 

 

 

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• "and the former prime minister of Iceland - Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "six members of the UK House of Lords - three former Conservative MPs - and dozens of donors to UK political parties - had had offshore assets !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the families of at least eight former members of China’s politburo - had had offshore assets !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "a member of Fifa’s ethics committee - which was supposed to be spearheading reform at world football’s scandal-hit governing body !"

 

 

 

 

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• "acted as a lawyer for individuals and companies - recently charged with bribery and corruption !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "one leaked memorandum from a partner of Mossack Fonseca said - ninety-five per cent !"

 

 

 

 

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• "of their work had been - tax vehicles !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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why we are shining a Light Offshore - the Guardian: LINK ¤ the GUARDIAN

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• "we were shining a light offshore - because it had been immoral !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the political climate that once had tolerated this - now changes decisively !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and we shined a spotlight on the facilitators - lawyers - accountants - and private bankers !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the money was sometimes spent - in funding yachts - private jets - art auctions - and property !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the Panama Papers lifted the veil on how this worked - and the people who used it ! - ( e.g. the secrecy on sale ! )"

 

 

 

 

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• "since the 2008 financial crash, there is a clamour for everyone - to pay a fair share of the tax burden !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "unsurprisingly, the public is questioning this system - more than ever !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "the Panama Papers revealed that the regulatory regimes - can work better !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the details from the Panama Papers contribute - to an important public debate !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "about what offshore activity - can be tolerated ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and what - should not !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "it is about - equality !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "the gulf between rich and poor must not widen - but has to shrink !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Putin’s Men - ICIJ: LINK ¤ I C I J

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• "complex offshore financial deals had channeled money - towards a network of people !"

 

 

 

 

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• "linked to Russian - Vladimir Putin !"

 

 

 

 

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• "as much as US$ 2 billion had been secretly shuffled - through banks and shadow companies !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Bank Rossiya had been instrumental - for a network of offshore companies !"

 

 

 

 

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• "dozens of loans, some worth hundreds of millions of dollars - were sold between offshore companies for as little as US$ 1 or less !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Putin and Sergey Roldugin had forged a bond as young men - fast friends, almost like brothers !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Roldugin had made a name for himself - as a classical cellist and conductor !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the secret documents revealed Sergey Roldugin - was a behind-the-scenes player - in a clandestine network !"

 

 

 

 

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• "that had shuffled US$ 2 billion - through banks and offshore companies !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Roldugin has publicly claimed - not to be a businessman !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the evidence in the files suggested Roldugin was acting - as a front man for the network !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "about 100 financial deals related to the network - were described in the leaked documents !"

 

 

 

 

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• "they were complex - payments were disguised in various ways - on paper, shares in companies were swapped back and forth in a day !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and documents were backdated - questionable financial penalties were assessed !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the rights to multimillion-dollar loans - were sold between offshore companies - for US$ 1 !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the network’s covert deals allowed it - to receive money !"

 

 

 

 

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• "included hundreds of millions of dollars in sweetheart loans - from a Russian bank !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "for years there had been reports - mainly from whistleblowers - about his secret wealth !"

 

 

 

 

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• "a few offshore companies - a palace - and a yacht had all been said - to belong to him !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the records revealed how his inner circle - conducted its business !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the records included email correspondence - bank account forms - loan agreements - share transactions - and passport scans !"

 

 

 

 

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• "dates - cash amounts - and contract terms were detailed !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "there was Yury Kovalchuk, a banker - and Arkady Rotenberg, who later had state-sponsored construction projects !"

 

 

 

 

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• "they were connected to the Bank Rossiya - which the US had identified as his cashbox !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the files made clear that Bank Rossiya had built - the network of offshore companies !"

 

 

 

 

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• "assigned ownership to Roldugin and others - and shepherded the transactions through banks in Russia - Cyprus - and Switzerland !"

 

 

 

 

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• "nowhere in the Mossack Fonseca files was the name - of him - actually mentioned !"

 

 

 

 

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• "audio recordings and witness accounts showed - that even when his closest confidants privately discussed - his financial dealings !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "they used pseudonyms - for him !"

 

 

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• "it was inconceivable, though, that the network could had existed - without the knowledge and support of him !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "of all those in the inner circle - Arkady and his brother Boris Rotenberg - had known him the longest !"

 

 

 

 

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• "in 2013, the year before the sanctions against Russia were issued - one of Arkady Rotenberg’s companies !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "received a government contract - to work on a proposed US$ 40 billion natural gas pipeline - between Russia and Europe !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "around the same time - three anonymous companies - had made huge payments !"

 

 

 

 

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• "into his network - records show !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "loans from these Rotenberg companies - totaled more than US$ 231 million !"

 

 

 

 

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• "appear to have gone to a British Virgin Islands-based - company !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "called Sunbarn Limited - created by a manager at Bank Rossiya !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the loans had - no repayment schedule !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Sergey Roldugin’s friendship landed him in the exclusive club - of Bank Rossiya shareholders !"

 

 

 

 

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• "Bank Rossiya had shares of - Gazprom-Media !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "and while Bank Rossiya publicly had owned 16 percent of - Video International !"

 

 

 

 

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• "( a television advertising company - had a range of 60% ! )"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "a Roldugin offshore company - had secretly held !"

 

 

 

 

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• "an additional 12.5 percent stake - the files show !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the leaked records showed, the classical cellist Roldugin - had made moves !"

 

 

 

 

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• "to secretly gain a degree of management control - over Kamaz !"

 

 

 

 

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• "( a company that built - trucks ! )"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "in March 2008, one of the Roldugin companies had been given - a secret option !"

 

 

 

 

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• "to buy a minority stake in Kamaz - through a company called Avtoinvest !"

 

 

 

 

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• "( Ruben Vardanyan had been board chair and principal owner - of the bank that ran Avtoinvest ! )"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "in September 2009, a Mossack Fonseca compliance officer - flagged a transaction for US$ 103 million !"

 

 

 

 

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• "involving a company called - Sandalwood Continental Limited !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the manager for Bank Rossiya that had been arranging the transaction - wanted Sandalwood corporate directors !"

 

 

 

 

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• "who were stand-ins provided by the law firm - to approve the deal !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Sandalwood had been the lynchpin - of the entire network - linked to him !"

 

 

 

 

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• "one of Sandalwood’s roles appeared to be to borrow money - from the Russian Commercial Bank - RCB - in Cyprus !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "which in turn had been backed by the state-controlled bank - VTB !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the US$ 103 million began as a loan - to Sandalwood from RCB Cyprus !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• "the owner on paper of Sandalwood had been - Oleg Gordin !"

 

 

 

 

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• "a small businessman with a background in "law enforcement agencies" - according to the files !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "between 2009 and 2012, Sandalwood had had lines of credit with RCB - for about US$ 800 million !"

 

 

 

 

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• "they went to a borrower who had no discernible business model - that would allow it to pay back the money - the loans carried no security !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "Sandalwood also had functioned as a link in a chain - of loan-swapping shadow companies !"

 

 

 

 

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• "it had assigned the rights to interest payments - in the millions of dollars to companies !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "including one of Roldugin’s - which paid US$ 1 dollar - to receive US$ 8 million a year in interest !"

 

 

 

 

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• "the documents did not seem to make - economic sense !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "about US$ 2 billion - had passed through the network between 2008 and 2013 - most of it through Sandalwood Continental !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "a later email detailed the fees Mossack Fonseca charged Sandalwood - which were based on the amount of the loans !"

 

 

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• "for helping to create the paper trail for the US$ 103 million - it earned US$ 2,030 !"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tax Havens should not only be reformed but outlawed - the Guardian: LINK ¤ the GUARDIAN

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• "seven years after a post-financial crisis G20 summit - committed to end tax haven abuse !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "the good intentions have translated into a blizzard - of international agreements on sharing information !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "but the problems of tax havens - are not addressed strong enough !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "the UK has great leverage over its 17 overseas territories - and crown dependencies - all of which depend on the mother country !"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "more than half of the 200,000 secret companies set up by the Panama lawyers - were registered in the British Virgin Islands !"

 

 

 

 

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• "at a stroke the UK government could shut down - the British Virgin Islands corporate system !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "it is clear that coaxing these territories into increased transparency - can achieve only partly gains !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "to tackle corruption at the heart - of the financial system !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "tax havens need not just - to reform !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "but to - end !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

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• "companies - trusts - and other structures - constituted in this shadow world !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

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• "must be refused access - to the real one !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

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• "no bank accounts - no property ownership - no access to legal systems !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PANAMA PAPERS - Wikipedia EN: LINK ¤ PANAMA PAPERS