A number of high profile South African businesses and individuals have been named in the Paradise Papers leak.<\/p>\n
The Paradise Papers<\/a> <\/strong>are a huge leak of financial documents that throw light on the top end of the world of offshore finance.<\/p>\n The names form part of a\u00a0leak of more than 13.4 million files that expose the global environments in which tax abuses can thrive \u2013 and the complex and seemingly artificial ways the wealthiest corporations can legally protect their wealth.<\/p>\n More than 380 journalists have spent a year combing through data that stretches back 70 years, with the report being shared by\u00a0the\u00a0International Consortium of Investigative Journalists\u00a0with partners including the Guardian,\u00a0the BBC\u00a0and\u00a0the New York Times.<\/p>\n Most of the documents relate to Appleby, an elite law firm with offices in offshore jurisdictions across the globe, and its corporate services provider Estera, which operated together under the Appleby name until last year.<\/p>\n According to South African investigative website\u00a0amaBhungane<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0South Africa\u2019s largest JSE-listed commodities company Glencore has been implicated in the leak, as well as\u00a0Illovo Sugar, investment company Shanduka (which has ties to deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa), and a number of large banks.<\/p>\n While merely being an Appleby\u2019s client, or simply being mentioned in the leaks, does not imply wrongdoing, the leak of information is likely to embarrass companies, said\u00a0amaBhungane.<\/p>\n “Several SA banks maintain offices in secrecy jurisdictions, from where account details were compromised \u2013 including Investec and Standard Bank,” it said.<\/p>\n “In a brochure for potential clients, Appleby brags about its role in advising Standard Bank of South Africa Limited on a $70 million facility for the purpose of refinancing Zambia Sugar, a subsidiary of Illovo Sugar Limited.”<\/p>\n Speaking to\u00a0amaBhungane,\u00a0David Lewis, director of Corruption Watch and the former chair of the Competition Tribunal, said it was not illegal for South African firms to put money into places considered tax havens.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the problem is, some companies abuse this privilege by using it for transfer pricing, evading taxes and hiding transactions behind secrecy provisions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n There are also a number of connotations attached to tax avoidance, with the built-in secrecy historically attracting money-launderers, kleptocrats and politicians eager to hide bribes.<\/p>\n You can read the full story on\u00a0amaBhungane here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
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