Panama Papers

[Drew Phipps]

How does your theory, or Meissan's, square with the German newspaper's revelations that the Panama Papers contain information that American CIA agents and their informants as far back as Iran Contra have used that law firm as a conduit for funding their operations?

[David Guyatt]

How does your theory, or Meissan's, square with the German newspaper's revelations that the Panama Papers contain information that American CIA agents and their informants as far back as Iran Contra have used that law firm as a conduit for funding their operations?

No American names have been published yet, Drew, even though there are 441 of them listed in the PP. The various media controlling the PP story say they won;t publish the American names for privacy reasons. But those privacy reasons don't seem to manifest in regard to all those non American names that have been pubished.

Therefore, saying the CIA were involved in using the hacked Panamanian company can be hardly surprising when in the same sentence the German newspaper claims Hezbollah were also doing the same (we do it because they do sort of argument - no harm done). For me, this is a classic "limited hang-out" to regain some street cred in the light of ever growing criticism that the entire PP affair is a US covert operation.

[David Guyatt]

From NEO:

Washington's Spin on the Panama Papers is Laughable
.entry-header
Column: Politics
Region: USA in the World




Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you will be familiar with the Panama Papers story, which has dominated the media landscape. The main focus of the story has been centred on a man who has become somewhat of an obsession for the mainstream media; Vladimir Putin. His image has been on the front page of all the Western propaganda outlets, as their campaign against the Russian leader only seems to intensify with time. The only problem for the West is that the Panama Papers have uncovered absolutely no evidence that directly connects Putin with the numerous allegations in the Western press.Newspapers that are the antithesis of independent and objective media have been running stories around the clock on Putin's so-called crimes. On the 13th of April, one such paper the Guardian was still writing hit-pieces against the Russian President and the Russian nation. The article titled: So what if Putin is corrupt?': Russia remains unmoved by offshore revelations, is an affront to objective journalism and human intelligence, and is merely another article demonising the Russian people.From the very beginning, there were serious questions regarding the authenticity of the Panama Papers. It is clear that the Panama Papers scandal is being carefully managed by the Western establishment, and they are selectively releasing stories without allowing the public to see the entire trove of documents and data. The first thing that all the real journalists did when the news broke was to spend a few minutes looking at the funders of one of the main organisations handling the leak: the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). As listed on their own website, recent funders include George Soros' Open Society Foundations in addition to the Ford Foundation.
Their site also states that the "ICIJ was launched as a project of the Center for Public Integrity." A look at the financial supporters of the Center for Public Integrity reveals that they include the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; the Rockefeller Family Fund; and the Open Society Foundations once again. We should remember that at the end of last year, Russia (correctly) banned the Open Society Foundations and other groups owned by Soros as they were a threat to national security.So we know that this so-called leak is clearly a Western operation to further this concerted propaganda campaign against Russia and the enemies of the West. Even though the Panama Papers have caused a little trouble for a few token puppets of the Anglo-American establishment David Cameron for instance the main focus of the leaks has been to target the forces that have stood up to the West Putin, Assad etc.
Despite this being obvious to anyone who has done even a little research, one of the most influential think tanks in Washington comically tried to spin this story on its head. The Brookings Institution published a bizarre and childish article written by Clifford G. Gaddy on April 7th titled: Are the Russians actually behind the Panama Papers?The author even admits that there is "no evidence of Putin's direct involvement" in any criminal activity and the media has concentrated on Putin disproportionately considering the lack of evidence. The initial few paragraphs of his article actually support the thesis that it was the CIA who was behind the leak, but then Gaddy loses any rational person with his argument.He posits that the operation was conducted by "Putin's personal financial intelligence unit:" the Russian Financial Monitoring Service (RFM). According to Gaddy, Russia is trying to blackmail US officials who are implicated in the leak but Moscow is withholding that information so they can apply pressure on these US officials behind the scenes. This is Gaddy's pitiful attempt to spin the fact that no major US figures were exposed in the leak, which of course raises suspicions as to who was behind it.If the Russians really were behind it, the US criminal class would be the main target for the operation. This information would not be kept secret by Moscow, but spread around the world by Russian media in a bid to foment chaos in the US and the wider West. Forget the pig-lover Cameron; there are far bigger whales that Russia would target. Gaddy's argument is an inversion of logic, and is a laughable attempt at spinning the truth.

[David Guyatt]

The below is from the Guardian.

For me this further supports Thierry Meyssan's contention that all tax havens are to be shut down other than those that are to be permitted by the Anglo-American camp.

US corporations have $1.4tn hidden in tax havens, claims Oxfam report

Charity analysis of the 50 biggest US businesses claims Apple have $181bn held offshore, while General Electric has $119bn and Microsoft $108bn
[URL="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/14/us-corporations-14-trillion-hidden-tax-havens-oxfam?CMP=share_btn_fb#img-1"]

[/URL] The report singled out British overseas territories such as Bermuda for their popularity with US firms seeking to slash their tax bill by profit-shifting'. Photograph: AlamyRob Davies
Thursday 14 April 2016 05.01 BSTLast modified on Thursday 14 April 2016 08.53 BST

US corporate giants such as Apple, Walmart and General Electric have stashed $1.4tn (£980bn) in tax havens, despite receiving trillions of dollars in taxpayer support, according to a report by anti-poverty charity Oxfam.

The sum, larger than the economic output of Russia, South Korea and Spain, is held in an "opaque and secretive network" of 1,608 subsidiaries based offshore, said Oxfam.
The charity's analysis of the financial affairs of the 50 biggest US corporations comes amid intense scrutiny of tax havens following the leak of the Panama Papers.
And the charity said its report, entitled Broken at the Top was a further illustration of "massive systematic abuse" of the global tax system.
Technology giant Apple, the world's second biggest company, topped Oxfam's league table, with some $181bn held offshore in three subsidiaries.
Boston-based conglomerate General Electric, which Oxfam said has received $28bn in taxpayer backing, was second with $119bn stored in 118 tax haven subsidiaries.
Computing firm Microsoft was third with $108bn, in a top 10 that also included pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer, Google's parent company Alphabet and Exxon Mobil, the largest oil company not owned by an oil-producing state.

In defence of tax havens': offshore banking is not the same as dodgy dealing

Oxfam contrasted the $1.4tn held offshore with the $1tn paid in tax by the top 50 US firms between 2008 and 2014.
It pointed out that the companies had also enjoyed a combined $11.2tn in federal loans, bailouts and loan guarantees during the same period.
Overall, the use of tax havens allowed the US firms to reduce their effective tax rate on $4tn of profits from the US headline rate of 35% to an average of 26.5% between 2008 and 2014.
The charity said this had helped firms spend billions on an "army" of lobbyists calling for greater state support in the form of loans, bailouts and guarantees, funded by taxpayers.
The top 50 US firms spent $2.6bn between 2008 and 2014 on lobbying the US government, Oxfam said.
"For every $1 spent on lobbying, these 50 companies collectively received $130 in tax breaks and more than $4,000 in federal loans, loan guarantees and bailouts," said Oxfam.
Robbie Silverman, senior tax adviser at Oxfam said: "Yet again we have evidence of a massive systematic abuse of the global tax system.
"We can't go on with a situation where the rich and powerful are not paying their fair share of tax, leaving the rest of us to foot the bill.
"Governments across the globe must come together now to end the era of tax havens."
Oxfam estimates that tax avoidance by US corporations costs the world's largest economy some $111bn a year, but said it was also fuelling the global wealth divide by draining $100bn from the poorest countries.

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"Tax dodging practised by corporations and enabled by federal policymakers contributes to dangerous inequality that is undermining our social fabric and hindering economic growth," the report said.
Oxfam also singled out British overseas territories such as Bermuda for their popularity with US firms seeking to slash their tax bill by "profit-shifting".
In 2012, said Oxfam, US firms reported $80bn of profit in Bermuda, more than their combined reported profits in Japan, China, Germany and France, four of the world's five largest economies.
The charity called on the US government to pass the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, including a requirement for firms to report their tax contribution on a country-by-country basis.
Country-by-country reporting has been recommended by a host of non-governmental organisations and charities to prevent companies from artificially shifting their income out of the poorest countries.

[Drew Phipps]

So then you're thinking that the Panama Papers themselves are legit, but that the way the press is handling the story is a stage managed attempt by the US to direct the damage toward others and/or close tax havens. If the UK is supposed to remain undamaged from this event, why are the villagers carrying pitchforks and baying for Cameron's head?

[Magda Hassan]

If the UK is supposed to remain undamaged from this event, why are the villagers carrying pitchforks and baying for Cameron's head?

There are a thousand other reasons why the population of the UK hate and despise him. Panama Papers just anther straw on the camel's back. Personally I am astounded no one has tried to pop any of the Tories. They are a truly vile and cruel lot. So may have suffered.

[David Guyatt]

I'm with Maggie. Cameron really is a piece of poo. And so is the Party he came to town in. Historically, they have always supported the well to do and the elite and don't give a damn for anyone else.

But I would also add, Drew, that I believe the Obama administration is happy to hang Cameron out to dry. Pepe Escobar's article (that I posted earlier in this thread) outlines this. But Cameron has recently come in for a real public bashing from Obama over his involvement in Libya, plus the displeasure shown by the US over the UK's decision to join with the Chinese Infrastructure bank against clear and repeated American demands to not join.

[David Guyatt]

I've been watching a very interesting interview on RT this morning with Joh Mcafee, the computer security guy on the Panama Papers. His view is that in addition to having used these records to smear and attack its enemies, the US government by withholding all the American names, was sending a blackmail message to wealthy US citizens saying that they have proof of tax evasion (and probably worse) and are using this to hold it over their heads. McAfee added that he knows many Americans who have accounts in Panama and that they use them because they don't trust the US banking system - on several levels.

I have to say it makes perfect sense and I sort of kick myself for not thinking this part through more thoroughly.

[Magda Hassan]

I've been watching a very interesting interview on RT this morning with Joh Mcafee, the computer security guy on the Panama Papers. His view is that in addition to having used these records to smear and attack its enemies, the US government by withholding all the American names, was sending a blackmail message to wealthy US citizens saying that they have proof of tax evasion (and probably worse) and are using this to hold it over their heads. McAfee added that he knows many Americans who have accounts in Panama and that they use them because they don't trust the US banking system - on several levels.

I have to say it makes perfect sense and I sort of kick myself for not thinking this part through more thoroughly.

McAfee is a very interesting guy in so many ways himself and deserving of a whole new thread just for him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McAfee

What he says does make perfect sense too.

[David Guyatt]

I've been watching a very interesting interview on RT this morning with Joh Mcafee, the computer security guy on the Panama Papers. His view is that in addition to having used these records to smear and attack its enemies, the US government by withholding all the American names, was sending a blackmail message to wealthy US citizens saying that they have proof of tax evasion (and probably worse) and are using this to hold it over their heads. McAfee added that he knows many Americans who have accounts in Panama and that they use them because they don't trust the US banking system - on several levels.

I have to say it makes perfect sense and I sort of kick myself for not thinking this part through more thoroughly.

McAfee is a very interesting guy in so many ways himself and deserving of a whole new thread just for him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McAfee

What he says does make perfect sense too.

I've not seen him interviewed before so it was a bit of an eye-opener for me. He seems to be a very cool guy who understands how the world really works...