Pandora Papers: Documents Dump Takes World Leaders to Secret Wealth

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A massive leak of financial documents was published on Sunday by several major news agencies which allegedly linked world leaders to secret reserves of wealth, including King Abdullah of Jordan, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The dump of more than 11.9 million records, representing approximately 2.94 terabytes of data, came five years after the leak known as the “Panama Papers” that revealed how money was hidden by the rich in a way law enforcement could not detect.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a network of journalists and media organizations based in Washington, DC, said the files are linked to about 35 current and former national leaders, and more than 330 politicians and officials in 91 countries and territories. He did not specify how the files were obtained and Reuters could not independently verify the allegations or documents detailed by the consortium.

King Abdullah of Jordan, a close ally of the United States, is said to have used offshore accounts to spend more than $ 100 million on luxury homes in the United Kingdom and the United States.

DLA Piper, a London law firm representing Abdullah, told the media consortium that he had “at no time abused public money or in any way used the proceeds of aid or assistance for public use “.

The Washington Post here, which is part of the consortium, also reported on the case of Svetlana Krivonogikh, a Russian woman who he claims became the owner of an apartment in Monaco through an offshore company incorporated on the island. Caribbean from Tortola in April 2003, just a few weeks. after giving birth to a daughter. At the time, she was in a covert multi-year relationship with Putin, the newspaper said, citing Russian investigative newspaper Proekt.

The Post said his daughter Krivonogikh, who is now 18, and the Kremlin did not respond to requests for comment.

Days before the October 8-9 parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic, the documents reportedly linked the country’s Prime Minister Babis to a $ 22 million secret estate in a hilltop village near Cannes, France.

Speaking in a televised debate on Sunday, Babis denied any wrongdoing.

“The money left a Czech bank, was taxed, it was my money, and went back to a Czech bank,” Babis said.