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Tonight on Panorama we expose the secret world of tax havens. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:15 | |
It's very easy for criminals, tax evaders, money launderers to go | 0:00:15 | 0:00:17 | |
and take that secrecy and hide their behaviour behind it. | 0:00:17 | 0:00:22 | |
An enormous leak of confidential documents reveals the truth | 0:00:22 | 0:00:27 | |
about offshore. | 0:00:27 | 0:00:30 | |
These documents contain countless stories about the rich and powerful, | 0:00:30 | 0:00:32 | |
and how they hide their wealth. | 0:00:32 | 0:00:37 | |
The world leaders with secrets to hide. | 0:00:37 | 0:00:44 | |
Our documents show why people use tax havens. | 0:00:50 | 0:00:52 | |
A world so secret, we might never get to know the truth. | 0:00:52 | 0:00:55 | |
That property in north London, you must have made about ?1 million | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
on that. | 0:00:58 | 0:00:59 | |
Did you tell the tax man about that? | 0:00:59 | 0:01:02 | |
Tonight we go inside the Panamanian company that helps the rich | 0:01:02 | 0:01:05 | |
and powerful hide their wealth. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:11 | |
These weren't Robin Hood robbers, you know, they were really | 0:01:37 | 0:01:39 | |
nasty, vicious men. | 0:01:39 | 0:01:44 | |
It was a brutal robbery. | 0:01:44 | 0:01:49 | |
Three tonnes of gold stolen from the Brinks Mat | 0:01:49 | 0:01:52 | |
warehouse near London. | 0:01:52 | 0:01:55 | |
Can you just imagine the fear? | 0:01:55 | 0:01:59 | |
You're lying there, you can't see what's happening, | 0:01:59 | 0:02:01 | |
there's a bloke flicking a lighter saying he's going to set fire | 0:02:01 | 0:02:05 | |
to all this petrol. | 0:02:05 | 0:02:10 | |
The gold was melted down and sold, and cash was hidden offshore. | 0:02:12 | 0:02:17 | |
When were you last down here, then? | 0:02:17 | 0:02:19 | |
About 1987, I would think. | 0:02:19 | 0:02:21 | |
Long time ago now. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:24 | |
Former detective Billy Miller's job was to find the money. | 0:02:24 | 0:02:28 | |
And some of it had been spent on property. | 0:02:28 | 0:02:33 | |
This house in Kent was bought with Brink's Mat loot using a secret | 0:02:33 | 0:02:37 | |
Panamanian front company. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:40 | |
Why would this house then be owned by a Panamanian company? | 0:02:45 | 0:02:49 | |
Well, it was just a cover. | 0:02:49 | 0:02:54 | |
Nobody would think, you know, it doesn't belong to | 0:02:54 | 0:02:56 | |
a launderer for Brinks Mat. | 0:02:56 | 0:03:01 | |
It's, this company owns it so it must be OK, you know? | 0:03:01 | 0:03:04 | |
Now, we have found a crucial memo. | 0:03:04 | 0:03:09 | |
The organisation which helped create the front company | 0:03:09 | 0:03:11 | |
carried on working for the client, even after being warned | 0:03:11 | 0:03:20 | |
they were involved with | 0:03:20 | 0:03:22 | |
the proceeds of the famous robbery at Brinks Mat in London. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:28 | |
What's clear, crystal clear, as you can see, is that the people | 0:03:28 | 0:03:31 | |
who were helping them keep the money out of your reach, | 0:03:31 | 0:03:35 | |
knew that it was from the Brinks Mat robbery. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:42 | |
Well once they knew that it was from the | 0:03:42 | 0:03:50 | |
Brinks Mat robbery, they should have washed their hands of it and should | 0:03:50 | 0:03:53 | |
have had no more to do with it. | 0:03:53 | 0:03:55 | |
So it makes them as bad as the man who bought the house. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:58 | |
In the end, the police managed to trace most of the Brinks Mat | 0:03:58 | 0:04:02 | |
loot, though it took years. | 0:04:02 | 0:04:03 | |
What's shocking is the company that helped launder some of the cash has | 0:04:03 | 0:04:05 | |
Welcome to Panama. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:14 | |
It's a long way from criminal gangs in London. | 0:04:14 | 0:04:19 | |
It's carnival, but Panama makes much of its living | 0:04:19 | 0:04:21 | |
as an important tax haven. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:28 | |
Billions of dollars a year flow through this tiny | 0:04:28 | 0:04:30 | |
Central American country. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:35 | |
Panama helps you hide your wealth. | 0:04:35 | 0:04:43 | |
What Panama sells is secrecy, you can go to Panama and you can get | 0:04:43 | 0:04:46 | |
a foundation or a trust or a company and you can use those complicated | 0:04:46 | 0:04:53 | |
and slightly strange structures to hide and disguise your ownership | 0:04:53 | 0:04:56 | |
and control of assets. | 0:04:56 | 0:05:01 | |
And Panama is the home of one of the world's biggest providers | 0:05:05 | 0:05:08 | |
of offshore services. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:17 | |
Mossack Fonseca has offices in 27 countries. | 0:05:17 | 0:05:21 | |
It's the company that helped the Brink's Mat robbers. | 0:05:21 | 0:05:25 | |
From the outside, Mossack Fonseca looks like a | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
perfectly respectable company. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:30 | |
But this is a business that's helped people from around the world | 0:05:30 | 0:05:33 | |
break the law. | 0:05:33 | 0:05:36 | |
We know because 11 million documents from Mossack Fonseca | 0:05:41 | 0:05:44 | |
have been leaked. | 0:05:44 | 0:05:53 | |
They were handed to a German newspaper, Suddeutsche Zeitung. | 0:05:54 | 0:05:58 | |
It shared them with the International Consortium | 0:05:58 | 0:06:00 | |
of Investigative Journalists. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:04 | |
Together with Guardian and more than 100 media organizations | 0:06:04 | 0:06:06 | |
around the world, we've been analyzing them. | 0:06:06 | 0:06:13 | |
I think the leak will prove to be probably the biggest blow | 0:06:13 | 0:06:16 | |
the offshore world has ever taken because of the extent | 0:06:16 | 0:06:20 | |
of the documents, they span over a 40-year period and they really | 0:06:20 | 0:06:24 | |
tell the day-to-day, almost point by point, | 0:06:24 | 0:06:25 | |
of the offshore world. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:30 | |
We've found links to 72 current or former heads of state, | 0:06:31 | 0:06:35 | |
including dictators accused of looting their countries. | 0:06:35 | 0:06:42 | |
So what is it that Mossack Fonseca does to attract all these clients? | 0:06:44 | 0:06:49 | |
Well, they hide your involvement in a company so no one will know. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:59 | |
So, nobody knew about the secret company of the Icelandic Prime | 0:06:59 | 0:07:02 | |
Minister, Sigmundur Gunnlaugson. | 0:07:02 | 0:07:12 | |
It was an offshore company called Wintris and he and his wife had | 0:07:14 | 0:07:16 | |
shares in it. | 0:07:16 | 0:07:18 | |
It held her family wealth. | 0:07:18 | 0:07:22 | |
But nobody knew his wife had interests in Iceland's banks worth | 0:07:22 | 0:07:25 | |
millions of dollars. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
And nobody knew she could potentially benefit from her | 0:07:28 | 0:07:30 | |
husband's policies to help the banks. | 0:07:30 | 0:07:35 | |
They do now. | 0:07:35 | 0:07:59 | |
Mr Gunnlaugson says his wife was the true owner and didn't | 0:08:02 | 0:08:04 | |
benefit financially from his decisions. | 0:08:04 | 0:08:07 | |
But he never declared an interest to the Icelandic Parliament. | 0:08:07 | 0:08:13 | |
Today he is facing calls for his resignation. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:16 | |
Mr Gunnlaugson says he has not broken any rules. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:21 | |
Some of the deals we have found are a bit more sophisticated. | 0:08:38 | 0:08:47 | |
Mossack Fonseca helped set up what seems to be a billion-dollar | 0:08:47 | 0:08:50 | |
money laundering operation involving close associates of Vladimir Putin. | 0:08:50 | 0:08:59 | |
This is Sergei Roldugin. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:08 | |
A famous cellist and one of President Putin's oldest friends. | 0:09:08 | 0:09:18 | |
How close are Putin and Roldugin now? | 0:09:18 | 0:09:19 | |
They remain very close. | 0:09:19 | 0:09:20 | |
Roldugin is the godfather of Putin's oldest daughter, | 0:09:20 | 0:09:22 | |
Mariya. | 0:09:22 | 0:09:26 | |
I think he's one of those people who remains part of the personal | 0:09:26 | 0:09:31 | |
inner circle, and close to him on a level that's more | 0:09:31 | 0:09:34 | |
intimate than certainly any government official. | 0:09:34 | 0:09:39 | |
But the documents show it's a relationship someone | 0:09:39 | 0:09:42 | |
wanted to hide. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:46 | |
This is an application for a bank account for one his companies. | 0:09:46 | 0:09:51 | |
And it asks whether Mr Roldugin has any relations to politically exposed | 0:09:51 | 0:09:55 | |
persons, or PEPs. | 0:09:55 | 0:09:57 | |
And the answer here is no. | 0:09:57 | 0:09:59 | |
And that is simply not true. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:04 | |
So, why hide it? | 0:10:04 | 0:10:09 | |
Well, it could be the suspicious deals being carried out under | 0:10:09 | 0:10:11 | |
Mr Roldugin's name. | 0:10:11 | 0:10:17 | |
Take this example - one of the companies owned | 0:10:22 | 0:10:24 | |
by the cellist borrows $6 million. | 0:10:24 | 0:10:29 | |
Three months later, the loan is written off for just $1. | 0:10:29 | 0:10:36 | |
The company has been given $6 million. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:40 | |
In another suspicious deal, the offshore company buys the rights | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
to the repayments on a $200 million loan, again for a dollar. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:52 | |
Why would anyone want to give all this money to a cellist? | 0:10:54 | 0:11:04 | |
There's nothing that I have seen which would me | 0:11:17 | 0:11:20 | |
make do anything other | 0:11:20 | 0:11:21 | |
than say stop, we need to investigate very closely what's | 0:11:21 | 0:11:23 | |
going on here. | 0:11:23 | 0:11:24 | |
To you does it look like money laundering? | 0:11:24 | 0:11:26 | |
Yes, it does look like money laundering to me, for sure. | 0:11:26 | 0:11:28 | |
The deals were managed by Bank Rossiya, which was described | 0:11:28 | 0:11:31 | |
as the personal bank for senior Russian officials | 0:11:31 | 0:11:33 | |
when it was sanctioned by the US government. | 0:11:33 | 0:11:36 | |
The Mossack Fonseca files show highly complex deals, | 0:11:36 | 0:11:38 | |
in the name of a cellist who runs a music school. | 0:11:38 | 0:11:46 | |
So what's going on? | 0:11:46 | 0:11:52 | |
If a man who says to you he's not a businessman has his name over | 0:11:52 | 0:11:56 | |
deals worth hundreds of millions, would you imagine that those deals | 0:11:56 | 0:11:59 | |
and that money is being held for somebody else? | 0:11:59 | 0:12:01 | |
I would. | 0:12:01 | 0:12:02 | |
I would not imagine that he was somebody who controlled | 0:12:02 | 0:12:04 | |
a vast financial empire. | 0:12:04 | 0:12:07 | |
Mr Roldugin hasn't answered our questions. | 0:12:07 | 0:12:11 | |
So, is he simply a front man for somebody else? | 0:12:11 | 0:12:20 | |
It looks to me as though he is | 0:12:21 | 0:12:24 | |
an instrument, | 0:12:24 | 0:12:34 | |
who is playing him as an instrument is unclear. | 0:12:37 | 0:12:39 | |
Why does this leak matter in the UK? | 0:12:39 | 0:12:41 | |
Well, for starters, 100,000 properties here are owned | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
by offshore companies. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:45 | |
It's all about secrecy, and often about avoiding tax. | 0:12:45 | 0:12:52 | |
This is Nick Hague, a millionaire property investor. | 0:12:52 | 0:12:58 | |
The Mossack Fonseca files show he owned UK properties | 0:12:58 | 0:13:00 | |
through a secret offshore company. | 0:13:00 | 0:13:08 | |
This is Islington in north London. | 0:13:08 | 0:13:12 | |
It's wealthy, it's fashionable, very sought after. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:16 | |
Now, Nick Hague, he owned one of the houses on this street | 0:13:16 | 0:13:20 | |
and he sold it for a whacking great profit. | 0:13:20 | 0:13:24 | |
But he did he tell the tax man? | 0:13:24 | 0:13:27 | |
He sold the house for nearly ?1 million more | 0:13:32 | 0:13:35 | |
than he bought it for. | 0:13:35 | 0:13:38 | |
In an email, Mr Hague told me his offshore company: | 0:13:41 | 0:13:44 | |
"fully complied with HMRC legislation in 2014 in relation | 0:13:44 | 0:13:49 | |
to the disposal of this property." | 0:13:50 | 0:13:53 | |
But is that the full story? | 0:13:59 | 0:14:01 | |
Or is it really about sleight of hand? | 0:14:01 | 0:14:03 | |
That Mr Hague is trying to look like his offshore company | 0:14:04 | 0:14:07 | |
is in charge, when really it's him? | 0:14:07 | 0:14:10 | |
It's a Mossack Fonseca speciality, to help investors like Mr Hague | 0:14:13 | 0:14:17 | |
pretend they're not running their own company. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:22 | |
Directors can be hired to rubber-stamp decisions. | 0:14:23 | 0:14:27 | |
You can be sold a nominee, that means that someone | 0:14:28 | 0:14:31 | |
will put their name down on the company documents. | 0:14:32 | 0:14:34 | |
Whereas in fact you're behind there in the shadows | 0:14:34 | 0:14:36 | |
pulling the strings. | 0:14:36 | 0:14:39 | |
That's exactly what Mr Hague is doing. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:43 | |
So what's the advantage? | 0:14:43 | 0:14:46 | |
Well, if his offshore company is managed overseas, | 0:14:47 | 0:14:50 | |
it might not be taxed here in the UK. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
Richard Brooks is a former tax inspector who now writes for | 0:14:55 | 0:14:58 | |
Private Eye. | 0:14:58 | 0:15:01 | |
The structure serves two purposes. | 0:15:01 | 0:15:02 | |
One it keeps the ultimate ownership of all these things secret. | 0:15:03 | 0:15:06 | |
And it also enables you to claim that any profits you make on these | 0:15:07 | 0:15:12 | |
properties are tax free. | 0:15:13 | 0:15:15 | |
If HMRC saw all this, what would they make of it? | 0:15:15 | 0:15:19 | |
I'm pretty sure they would have some tough questions for Mr Hague. | 0:15:19 | 0:15:23 | |
Hiya. | 0:15:24 | 0:15:24 | |
I'm Richard Bilton from BBC Panorama. | 0:15:25 | 0:15:27 | |
I want to know if Mr Hague has a genuine reason | 0:15:28 | 0:15:30 | |
for running his business in this way. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:33 | |
That property in north London, you must have made about ?1 million | 0:15:34 | 0:15:36 | |
on that. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:37 | |
Did you tell the tax man about that? | 0:15:38 | 0:15:40 | |
Richard, you've had my answer via email. | 0:15:40 | 0:15:42 | |
Yes, but these are such... | 0:15:42 | 0:15:43 | |
OK, Richard, I've given you my answer. | 0:15:43 | 0:15:45 | |
What is that then? | 0:15:45 | 0:15:46 | |
Does the taxman know about that money? | 0:15:46 | 0:15:47 | |
He should know, shouldn't he? | 0:15:47 | 0:15:48 | |
Are you deaf? | 0:15:49 | 0:15:49 | |
I'm not deaf but... | 0:15:49 | 0:15:50 | |
Hard of hearing? | 0:15:50 | 0:15:51 | |
There's no problem with me. | 0:15:51 | 0:15:52 | |
Listen... | 0:15:52 | 0:15:53 | |
I'm just trying to get straight answers from you and that's | 0:15:53 | 0:15:54 | |
proving a bit more difficult, to be honest. | 0:15:55 | 0:15:56 | |
Richard, with all due respect, I gave you my answer via email. | 0:15:57 | 0:15:58 | |
You've had it. Yes. | 0:15:59 | 0:16:01 | |
I have made my position clear. Right. | 0:16:01 | 0:16:03 | |
And that's all I've got to say. | 0:16:03 | 0:16:05 | |
I know but there are some problems with that. | 0:16:05 | 0:16:06 | |
There isn't, Richard. | 0:16:07 | 0:16:08 | |
Do you control an offshore company that you don't tell the taxman, | 0:16:08 | 0:16:10 | |
because I think that you might? | 0:16:10 | 0:16:12 | |
Richard, you've got to stop laughing. | 0:16:12 | 0:16:13 | |
I'm interested. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:14 | |
These are serious issues. | 0:16:14 | 0:16:15 | |
I'm smiling because you're having a go at me, but I'm interested | 0:16:15 | 0:16:17 | |
to know what you think? | 0:16:17 | 0:16:18 | |
I'm armed with a baguette. | 0:16:18 | 0:16:20 | |
So I'm not having a go at you. | 0:16:20 | 0:16:21 | |
OK? | 0:16:21 | 0:16:22 | |
Have you told the taxman that you control that company? | 0:16:22 | 0:16:24 | |
I have already made my position clear. | 0:16:24 | 0:16:26 | |
Now have a good day. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:28 | |
Mr Hague's lawyer later told us he had always acted within the law | 0:16:28 | 0:16:31 | |
and his arrangements were a matter for his advisers and HMRC. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:35 | |
He's made his position clear, he says. | 0:16:35 | 0:16:40 | |
Not to me, I have to say. | 0:16:40 | 0:16:43 | |
We still think that's a man who controls an offshore interest, | 0:16:43 | 0:16:47 | |
but pretends that he doesn't. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:51 | |
Mossack Fonseca say the services they provide are "commonly used | 0:16:53 | 0:16:56 | |
worldwide" and they are "responsible members of the global financial | 0:16:57 | 0:17:02 | |
and business community". | 0:17:02 | 0:17:05 | |
They "strongly disagree" that their primary function | 0:17:06 | 0:17:08 | |
is to facilitate tax avoidance and evasion. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:13 | |
But dig around in the files and it's clear that a lot of their business | 0:17:19 | 0:17:22 | |
is about tax. | 0:17:23 | 0:17:25 | |
This memo gives the game away. | 0:17:26 | 0:17:28 | |
It was written by one of the partners of Mossack Fonseca | 0:17:28 | 0:17:33 | |
and it says in Spanish that "95% of our work consists in selling | 0:17:33 | 0:17:37 | |
vehicles to avoid taxes." | 0:17:37 | 0:17:41 | |
The Prime Minister's late father was one of those who used | 0:17:48 | 0:17:51 | |
Mossack Fonseca's services. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:56 | |
The files show Ian Cameron helped set up a company in Panama. | 0:17:56 | 0:18:00 | |
They wanted to attract investors to put their money in a fund | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
so they made sure it never paid UK tax. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:11 | |
Mr Cameron and other directors would fly to the Bahamas for board | 0:18:14 | 0:18:18 | |
meetings so they could say the company was run offshore. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:24 | |
But there is more. the company was run offshore. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:26 | |
The Mossack Fonseca files reveal investors held their stake | 0:18:27 | 0:18:30 | |
through bearer shares. | 0:18:30 | 0:18:33 | |
Now they were used widely at the time, but are now banned | 0:18:33 | 0:18:36 | |
in many countries because they can be used for money laundering | 0:18:36 | 0:18:39 | |
and tax evasion. | 0:18:40 | 0:18:43 | |
A bearer share is a piece of paper saying that you own a share | 0:18:44 | 0:18:47 | |
of a company. | 0:18:48 | 0:18:53 | |
paper, which means you can hide your ownership of bearer shares. | 0:18:53 | 0:18:58 | |
And when it comes to declaring what assets, what wealth you have, | 0:18:58 | 0:19:00 | |
what income you have, it really leaves it just | 0:19:01 | 0:19:14 | |
The Prime Minister has been demanding greater transparency | 0:19:16 | 0:19:20 | |
So that's why we need to shine a spotlight on who owns | 0:19:23 | 0:19:32 | |
going to go ahead, but it's also going to be open to the public. | 0:19:32 | 0:19:37 | |
He's introducing a register of beneficial owners that will list | 0:19:37 | 0:19:40 | |
the ultimate owners of UK companies. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:46 | |
But we have discovered that Mossack Fonseca is prepared to help | 0:19:46 | 0:19:49 | |
clients get around even such in-depth checks. | 0:19:49 | 0:19:53 | |
This is Marianna Olszewski. | 0:19:56 | 0:19:59 | |
I wanted to earn enough money so I can create the life | 0:20:00 | 0:20:02 | |
I really wanted to. | 0:20:02 | 0:20:04 | |
And I did. | 0:20:04 | 0:20:05 | |
She's a business guru and life coach. | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
It's all about living the life of your dreams and taking control | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
of your money. | 0:20:13 | 0:20:14 | |
And taking control is what she wanted to do. | 0:20:17 | 0:20:20 | |
The files show she had $1.8 million secretly invested offshore. | 0:20:20 | 0:20:25 | |
She wanted to get her money back. | 0:20:26 | 0:20:29 | |
But the bank wouldn't release her funds until they knew | 0:20:29 | 0:20:32 | |
the identity of the beneficial owner. | 0:20:32 | 0:20:35 | |
One way to become aware of how much money you really have and how much | 0:20:36 | 0:20:39 | |
you're spending is to keep track of it in what I call a money diary. | 0:20:39 | 0:20:43 | |
She was desperate not to be named, | 0:20:44 | 0:20:49 | |
to pretend to be the owner of the cash. | 0:20:54 | 0:20:57 | |
"We may use a natural person who will act as the beneficial owner | 0:20:57 | 0:21:01 | |
and therefore his name will be disclosed to the bank. | 0:21:01 | 0:21:05 | |
Since this is a very sensitive matter, fees are quite high." | 0:21:05 | 0:21:11 | |
It's highly problematic if a company is providing fake beneficial | 0:21:12 | 0:21:16 | |
ownership information to a bank and undermines the credibility | 0:21:17 | 0:21:20 | |
of our anti-money laundering system that's designed to deter tax | 0:21:20 | 0:21:24 | |
evasion, corruption and money laundering. | 0:21:24 | 0:21:28 | |
It's a blatant breach of anti-money laundering rules, | 0:21:29 | 0:21:33 | |
but Ms Olszewski signed up. | 0:21:33 | 0:21:36 | |
When a company like Mossack Fonseca offers fake beneficial owner | 0:21:38 | 0:21:41 | |
services, that is completely undermining all international | 0:21:41 | 0:21:44 | |
efforts to open up company ownership. | 0:21:44 | 0:21:48 | |
Then you completely pull the rug out from under the whole system. | 0:21:49 | 0:21:53 | |
Ms Olszewski didn't respond to our questions. | 0:21:55 | 0:21:58 | |
Mossack Fonseca say allegations that they provide shareholders | 0:22:00 | 0:22:04 | |
with structures to hide the identity of the real owners are completely | 0:22:04 | 0:22:08 | |
unsupported and false. | 0:22:09 | 0:22:11 | |
They conduct "thorough due diligence" and have "always complied | 0:22:12 | 0:22:14 | |
with international protocols" to ensure companies are not used | 0:22:15 | 0:22:19 | |
for illicit purposes. | 0:22:19 | 0:22:22 | |
It is true that not everyone in the files is up to no good. | 0:22:23 | 0:22:27 | |
But they are full of examples of how Mossack Fonseca's services allow | 0:22:27 | 0:22:32 | |
the wealthy to lie. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:34 | |
Even on deals paid for by you and me. | 0:22:36 | 0:22:40 | |
Chris Hudson helped finance an NHS hospital. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:47 | |
But the files show he moved money from the project to a secretive | 0:22:52 | 0:22:56 | |
Panamanian Foundation. | 0:22:56 | 0:22:59 | |
I called him to ask why. | 0:23:00 | 0:23:02 | |
Hi. | 0:23:04 | 0:23:04 | |
Is that Chris Hudson? | 0:23:04 | 0:23:05 | |
It is, yes. | 0:23:05 | 0:23:06 | |
Hi, Chris. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:07 | |
The Yarrow Foundation is so secretive, even Mr Hudson | 0:23:08 | 0:23:10 | |
doesn't seem to know much about it. | 0:23:10 | 0:23:13 | |
Is Yarrow anything to do with you? | 0:23:13 | 0:23:14 | |
It was. | 0:23:15 | 0:23:16 | |
I don't think it's even functioning anymore, is it? | 0:23:16 | 0:23:18 | |
What's your relationship with Yarrow then? | 0:23:18 | 0:23:20 | |
I don't have one. | 0:23:20 | 0:23:21 | |
Did you ever have a foundation in Panama? | 0:23:21 | 0:23:24 | |
Did I? No. | 0:23:24 | 0:23:26 | |
You didn't have that? No. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:29 | |
But the Mossack Fonseca documents paint a different picture. | 0:23:30 | 0:23:34 | |
He was the principal beneficiary, the money was his. | 0:23:34 | 0:23:39 | |
Has Yarrow ever paid any money into your UK bank accounts? | 0:23:44 | 0:23:47 | |
You just asked me that. | 0:23:47 | 0:23:48 | |
Yeah, and what did you say? | 0:23:49 | 0:23:50 | |
I said no. | 0:23:50 | 0:23:52 | |
But it did. | 0:23:53 | 0:23:55 | |
Here's the proof. | 0:23:55 | 0:23:57 | |
This is Mr Hudson instructing Yarrow to pay 85,000 euros | 0:23:58 | 0:24:03 | |
into his London account. | 0:24:03 | 0:24:06 | |
He even used the Foundation to make a down payment on a jumbo jet | 0:24:07 | 0:24:11 | |
for a business venture. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:14 | |
But in a letter to us he lied about that as well. | 0:24:15 | 0:24:19 | |
"The idea that a Panamanian entity has been or indeed could be used | 0:24:20 | 0:24:23 | |
to buy a 747 is fanciful in the extreme." | 0:24:24 | 0:24:27 | |
But here's the proof. | 0:24:31 | 0:24:33 | |
This is what a down payment for a 747 looks like. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:39 | |
Mr Hudson said to me the Yarrow Foundation, | 0:24:40 | 0:24:43 | |
he didn't set it up and it was nothing much | 0:24:43 | 0:24:45 | |
to do with him. | 0:24:45 | 0:24:46 | |
The document here contradicts that. | 0:24:46 | 0:24:48 | |
It seems to be very much to do with him. | 0:24:48 | 0:24:50 | |
So, why does this matter? | 0:24:51 | 0:24:53 | |
Well, we think the Foundation has been set up to help | 0:24:53 | 0:24:56 | |
Mr Hudson avoid tax. | 0:24:56 | 0:24:58 | |
But the secrecy stops us knowing for sure. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:01 | |
Secrecy stops everyone knowing. | 0:25:01 | 0:25:05 | |
I think it's time for a word with Mr Hudson. | 0:25:06 | 0:25:10 | |
He has consistently misled us about the Yarrow Foundation. | 0:25:10 | 0:25:13 | |
He says it's nothing to do with him. | 0:25:13 | 0:25:15 | |
And we're pretty sure that it is. | 0:25:16 | 0:25:23 | |
Mr Hudson. Hi. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:25 | |
It's Richard Bilton from Panorama. | 0:25:25 | 0:25:27 | |
Can I grab a quick word with you? | 0:25:27 | 0:25:28 | |
Why did you tell me that the Yarrow Foundation | 0:25:29 | 0:25:30 | |
was nothing to do with you, sir? | 0:25:30 | 0:25:31 | |
Ah, he's gone inside. | 0:25:32 | 0:25:33 | |
That's a shame. | 0:25:33 | 0:25:34 | |
Sir, you just saw me and I know you are in there. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:35 | |
Why don't you just answer my questions? | 0:25:36 | 0:25:37 | |
I've got notes that says you're the principle beneficiary, | 0:25:37 | 0:25:39 | |
that you were asking them to send money. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:42 | |
You're just there. | 0:25:42 | 0:25:43 | |
Why don't you answer the questions, sir? | 0:25:43 | 0:25:45 | |
I don't think... | 0:25:46 | 0:25:47 | |
Sir, would you tell me why you told me | 0:25:48 | 0:25:49 | |
a lie about the Yarrow Foundation? | 0:25:49 | 0:25:50 | |
I can't hear you now. | 0:25:50 | 0:25:52 | |
Sir, would you just tell me that? | 0:25:52 | 0:25:53 | |
Er, I'd be very, very grateful. | 0:25:53 | 0:25:54 | |
Why don't you just answer the question? | 0:25:54 | 0:25:55 | |
This is your chance, sir. | 0:25:55 | 0:25:56 | |
I've told you. | 0:25:56 | 0:25:57 | |
It's a bit rich, isn't it? | 0:25:57 | 0:25:58 | |
You were getting money from the taxpayer for the hospital. | 0:25:58 | 0:26:01 | |
Whaaaay! | 0:26:02 | 0:26:04 | |
Is that the way you answer, sir, by driving a car at me? | 0:26:04 | 0:26:07 | |
I asked you straightforward questions about the Yarrow | 0:26:07 | 0:26:08 | |
Foundation and you told me that it was nothing to do | 0:26:09 | 0:26:11 | |
with you and you are the principle beneficiary, sir. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:14 | |
Anything to say? | 0:26:14 | 0:26:18 | |
I told you. | 0:26:19 | 0:26:20 | |
I could prove to you that there's no tax been avoided and you've refused | 0:26:21 | 0:26:24 | |
to do that. | 0:26:24 | 0:26:25 | |
You told me a lie. | 0:26:25 | 0:26:27 | |
Mr Hudson did offer to show us he'd done nothing wrong, | 0:26:27 | 0:26:30 | |
but only in a meeting we couldn't report. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:33 | |
So we asked him to provide his evidence openly. | 0:26:34 | 0:26:37 | |
He hasn't done so. | 0:26:37 | 0:26:39 | |
Blimey. | 0:26:41 | 0:26:42 | |
He wasn't keen to answer our questions. | 0:26:42 | 0:26:44 | |
I haven't had a car driven at me for a while. | 0:26:45 | 0:26:48 | |
The thing is, he was pretty straightforward and said | 0:26:49 | 0:26:50 | |
the Yarrow Foundation was nothing to do with him. | 0:26:51 | 0:26:52 | |
He's the principal beneficiary. | 0:26:53 | 0:26:55 | |
Mossack Fonseca say that for 40 years they've "operated | 0:27:03 | 0:27:06 | |
beyond reproach" and have "never been accused or charged | 0:27:07 | 0:27:11 | |
in connection with criminal wrongdoing." | 0:27:11 | 0:27:14 | |
They say they have a "strong compliance record," their services | 0:27:15 | 0:27:18 | |
are "regulated on multiple levels" and are used "for | 0:27:18 | 0:27:21 | |
a variety of legitimate reasons". | 0:27:22 | 0:27:26 | |
But the leaked documents tell a rather different story. | 0:27:33 | 0:27:37 | |
The Mossack Fonseca files reveal how the rich and powerful use tax havens | 0:27:40 | 0:27:45 | |
to hide their secrets. | 0:27:46 | 0:27:49 | |
What this shows is that you can't rely on tax havens and the people | 0:27:50 | 0:27:53 | |
who operate there to open up ? they won't, they'll carry | 0:27:53 | 0:27:56 | |
on concealing as long as they can operate. | 0:27:56 | 0:28:00 | |
What you need is to shut down the tax haven models. | 0:28:00 | 0:28:03 | |
It's really time that the world didn't have tax havens. | 0:28:04 | 0:28:07 | |
As long as places like Panama are allowed to sell secrecy, | 0:28:13 | 0:28:18 | |
wealthy people will want to buy it. | 0:28:18 | 0:28:21 | |
And governments that promise fair taxes whether you're rich or poor | 0:28:21 | 0:28:25 | |
may find it impossible to deliver. | 0:28:25 | 0:28:29 |