Ghanaians Silent On Kufuor’s Panama Hidden Cash

Authorities across the world, are being spurred into action after a huge leak of confidential documents, revealed how tax havens are used to hide wealth.

However, Ghanaians, including the media, have remained visibly silent over the matter, although former President John Kufuor and his family, have been named among the tall list of world leaders, who kept secret bank accounts through a Panamanian law firm.

Unusual of the Kufuor family, even Spokesperson, Frank Agyekum, is yet to issue an official statement on the international scandal, which has forced some world leaders to resign from office.

Eleven million documents were leaked from the secretive Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca.

The secret documents, show how the company, has helped some clients launder money, dodge sanctions and avoid tax.

The company says, it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years, and has never been charged with criminal wrong-doing.

Since the first revelations late on Sunday, a number of investigations have been launched by French, Austrian, Dutch and Australian authorities, among others.

The firm, Mossack Fonseca, is at the centre of huge data leak exposing the financial secrets of dozens of the world’s elite.

The leaked documents, known now as the Panama Papers, mentioned the eldest son of former President Kufuor – John Addo Kufuor, as the chief operative in a scheme controlling thousands of dollars with his mother, Theresa Kufuor, as one of the known beneficiaries.

According to the report, in early 2001, shortly after the start of his father’s first presidential term, Kufuor appointed Mossack Fonseca to manage The Excel 2000 Trust. Later that year, it controlled a bank account in Panama worth $75,000.

In November 2010, an employee of Mossack Fonseca’s compliance office in the British Virgin Islands suggested to colleagues that “due to the apparent prevalence of corruption surrounding Mr. Kufuor we would not recommend us taking him on as a client or continuing business with him.”

It has also been revealed that companies being operated by young Kufuor became inactive in 2004 and 2007, both times when Ghana was preparing for elections.

In 2012, Kufuor Jnr. asked Mossack Fonseca to close the trust. Files also connected Kufuor with BVI companies Fordiant Ltd and Stamford International Investments Group Limited. Both were registered when Kufuor’s father was president of Ghana and became inactive in 2004 and 2007.

Mr. Kufuor did not respond to repeated requests for comment when investigators spoke to him.

Throughout 2005, local media in Ghana reported allegations that the former president gained lucrative government contracts, and private sector business deals through paternal connections. An official commission later found no evidence of wrongdoing.

The documents feature 12 current or former heads of state, and at least 60 people linked to current or former world leaders.

The files revealed a suspected billion-dollar money laundering ring, involving close associates of Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin.
Iceland’s Prime Minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, is also shown to have had an undeclared interest linked to his wife’s wealth.

By Monday afternoon, 24,000 people in Iceland had signed a petition demanding his resignation, and a protest was expected in Reykjavik later.

Mr Gunnlaugsson has ruled out stepping down.

The leaked documents also show that Ian Cameron, the late father of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, was a Mossack Fonseca client.
Family members of China’s President Xi Jinping, and two other members of the country’s elite Standing Committee are also named in the leaked documents as having links to offshore firms.

The Chinese government has not responded to requests for comment. China appears to be censoring social media posts on the topic.

In other developments
 Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, says he has done nothing wrong, after documents suggested he had set up an offshore company

 Hussain Nawaz Sharif, the son of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, and one of three siblings shown to own real estate through offshore entities, says “there is nothing wrong with it”

 The UK tax authority HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) says it has received “a great deal of information on offshore companies” as it investigates – it is also asking the ICIJ to share all its data

 Australia’s tax office says it is investigating 800 individuals named in the leaks

 Austria’s financial markets regulator says it is investigating whether two banks breached rules on money laundering after being named in the leaks

 France has opened a preliminary investigation into money laundering and tax fraud

 Argentina’s presidency has denied that President Mauricio Macri owned shares in an offshore company called Fleg Trading Ltd

 A spokesman for Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev, whose children are named as owners of offshore companies, says such practice “is not banned by any law”, adding that they “are grown up Azerbaijani citizens”

 The documents reveal for the first time details of an operation run by a Russian bank and which involves close associates of President Putin.

 The operation was run by Bank Rossiya, which is subject to US and EU sanctions following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Money has been channeled through offshore companies, two of which were officially owned by one of the Russian president’s closest friends, cellist Sergei Roldugin.

The Kremlin spokesman, said it was clear the main target of the reports was Mr Putin, as well as Russia’s political stability ahead of parliamentary elections.

Dmitry Peskov dismissed the investigation as insinuation and speculation, and suggested many of the team of journalists behind it were actually former US state department and CIA officials.

Another case highlights how Mossack Fonseca offered financial services designed to help business clients hide their wealth. One wealthy client was offered fake ownership records to hide money from the authorities.

Mossack Fonseca says offshore companies are available worldwide and are used for a variety of legitimate purposes.

“If we detect suspicious activity or misconduct, we are quick to report it to the authorities,” it said. “Similarly, when authorities approach us with evidence of possible misconduct, we always co-operate fully with them.”

One of the company’s founders, Ramon Fonseca, told AFP that the leaks were “an attack on Panama”.

“Certain countries don’t like it that we are so competitive in attracting companies,” he told the news agency.

Meanwhile Pascal Saint-Amans, head of tax for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has attacked Panama for failing to clean up its tax system.

“Panama has refused to commit to automatic exchange of information [between countries],” he told the BBC.

 Eleven million documents held by the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca have been passed to German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which then shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. BBC Panorama and UK newspaper the Guardian are among 107 media organisations in 78 countries which have been analysing the documents. The BBC does not know the identity of the source

 They show how the company has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax

 Mossack Fonseca says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and never been accused or charged with criminal wrong-doing

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