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Offshore finance is once again in the global spotlight after another leak of millions of documents to a group of investigative journalists – but Jersey does not appear to feature prominently in ‘Pandora Papers’ coverage so far.
The 11.9 million records handed over by secret sources to reporters, and reported by news organisations including the BBC, the Guardian and Spain’s El Pais, came from 14 offshore services – none of whom are headquartered in Jersey or Guernsey.
According to the ICIJ, the 14 firms’ founding office locations are: the British Virgin Islands (3), Belize (3), Hong Kong (2), Seychelles (2), Panama (2), Cyprus (1). One of the firms, SFM Corporate Services, has offices in Switzerland and the UAE.
The consortium say that the records “include an unprecedented amount of information on so-called beneficial owners of entities registered in the British Virgin Islands, Seychelles, Hong Kong, Belize, Panama, South Dakota and other secrecy jurisdictions”, without mentioning Jersey specifically.
However, the biggest single leak – more than 3.3m records – comes from Trident Trust Company, which is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, according to the ICIJ, but has offices in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, New York, London and 20 other locations.
The Pandora Papers allege that Trident Trust secretly set up structures to the benefit of the president of Ecuador, the sister of an Indian fugitive diamond jeweller, and a Serbian government minister, among others.
Pictured: Jersey Finance CEO Joe Moynihan: "Jersey is committed to the global transparency agenda".
However, it is understood that there was no data loss from Trident Trust's Jersey office.
One of the highest profile names appearing in the papers – and who featured prominently in Sunday evening’s BBC Panorama programme – is King Abdullah II of Jordan. The monarch is accused of secretly building up a portfolio of luxury property in Malibu, Washington and London’s Belgravia.
Although the king “disguised his ownership” of these homes, according to the ICIJ, though a series of companies incorporated in the BVI, the leaked Pandora documents also include, according to the Guardian, a February 2017 internal memorandum between compliance managers at a Panamanian law firm.
This states that a Jordanian national client called Abdullah Al Hussein, born 30 January 1962 - Abdullah II’s birth date - was the beneficial owner of 16 companies that variously held assets in the US, the UK and Jersey.
The papers also name an Indian businessman called Anil Ambani, who is chairman of conglomerate Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Indian Express, one of the news organisations involved, say that Mr Ambani and ADAG Group representatives own at least 18 offshore companies in Jersey, British Virgin Islands and Cyprus.
A report in Nigerian media this morning also focuses on Nigerian state Governor Abubakar Bagudu's involvement with dictator General Sani Abacha, whose wealth was seized following a Royal Court case in Jersey.
"Mr Bagudu was involved with all the offshore front companies and bank accounts – from the British Virgin Islands to Ireland, Switzerland, England, Guernsey, and Jersey – used to steal and launder billions of dollars belonging to Nigeria under the Abacha regime as a director, signatory on accounts or prime beneficiary, according to U.S. court documents and incorporation filings from the Pandora Papers leaks," the report reads.
The ICIJ say that while some of the leaked files date to the 1970s, most of those it reviewed were created between 1996 and 2020.
They cover a wide range of matters, they say, including the creation of shell companies, foundations and trusts; the use of such entities to purchase real estate, yachts, jets and life insurance; their use to make investments and to move money between bank accounts; estate planning and other inheritance issues; and the avoidance of taxes through complex financial schemes. Some documents are tied to financial crimes, including money laundering.
“The Pandora Papers investigation reveals how banks and law firms work closely with offshore service providers to design complex corporate structures,” the ICIJ says. “The files show that providers don’t always know their customers, despite their legal obligation to take care not to do business with people who engage in questionable dealings.”
It adds that the Pandora Papers include information on more than 27,000 companies and 29,000 so-called ultimate beneficial owners from 11 of the providers, or more than twice the number of beneficial owners identified in the Panama Papers.
Responding to the data leak, Jersey Finance Chief Executive Officer Joe Moynihan said: “Jersey is committed to the global transparency agenda to fight financial crime and tackle corruption.
“Our high standards and commitment to transparency as a well-regulated international financial centre have been recognised on numerous occasions by independent authorities including the OECD, IMF, World Bank and MONEYVAL.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Trident Trust said: “Trident Trust is a global provider of professional corporate, fund and trust administration services. Each of Trident’s trust and corporate services businesses is regulated in the jurisdiction in which it operates, and is fully committed to compliance with all applicable regulations. Trident routinely cooperates with any competent authority which requests information. Trident does not discuss its clients with the media.”
The JFSC said in a statement: "We do not comment on media enquiries relating to individual registered businesses or their activities. We equally do not comment on media coverage relating to businesses that we supervise."
Pictured top: King Abdullah II of Jordan features in the Pandora Papers, the latest exposé from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
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