The massive leak of confidential documents described as the Panama
Papers has got a lot of politicians and world leaders hot under the
collar.
The leak of more than 11.5 million documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca—obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung
and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)
and shared with more than 100 other news organizations—is the biggest
data leak in history. The documents show how 143 politicians, including
12 national leaders, have used offshore tax havens and other means to
avoid tax and sanctions. While the use of offshore facilities is not in
itself a crime, the leak could have devastating consequences for
many—the Australian Tax Office is investigating more than 800 people for possible tax evasion, while world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson may also have questions to answer.
Here, Newsweek considers five of the African personalities who have been caught up in the scanda
1. South Africa: President Jacob Zuma’s nephew
The papers name the nephew of embattled South African President Jacob Zuma, Khulubuse
Zuma, as a representative of Caprikat Limited—one of two offshore
companies that acquired oilfields in Democratic Republic of Congo in a
100 million rand ($6.8 million) deal in 2010. Caprikat is registered in
the British Virgin Islands, the main offshore tax haven involved in the
Panama Papers.
Khulubuse’s spokesperson Vuyo Mkhize said on Monday
that “Khulubuse does not, and has never held any offshore bank account”
and that the Panama Papers simply suggested he was associated with
Caprikat, which was a matter of public record.
2. Kenya: Kalpana Rawal, the country’s second-highest judge
Rawal,
the Deputy Chief Justice and Deputy President of Kenya’s Supreme Court,
has been linked to as many as 11 offshore companies based in the
British Virgin Islands by the leak. The judge was a director or
shareholder of four companies while her husband, Hasmukhrai, held the
same position in seven other companies, Kenya’s Daily Nation reported. Three of the companies were used to buy and sell property in the U.K.
The
judge has denied any wrongdoing and stated that the practice of
registering and running businesses in tax havens is a “perfectly legal
and legitimate corporate practice in the U.K.,” where her family are
involved in the real estate business.
3. Nigeria: James Ibori, the jailed ex-governor of Nigeria’s oil hub
Ibori served as the governor of Nigeria’s Delta state—a center of the West African country’s vital oil and gas industry —between 1999 and 2007. He was convicted in 2012
for fraud, totaling nearly £50 million ($77 million at the time) by a
London court following a complicated extradition procedure after he
evaded arrest by Nigerian authorities and fled to Dubai. Ibori is
currently serving a 13-year prison sentence in the U.K.
Ibori was
linked to four offshore companies by the Panama Papers link, one of
which—named Stanhope Investments—was used to open a Swiss bank account,
into which funds were channeled for the purchase of a $20 million private jet.
4. Democratic Republic of Congo: The president’s twin sister
The twin sibling of Congolese President Joseph Kabila,
Jaynet Désirée Kabila Kyungu, has been a member of parliament in the
vast Central African country since 2012. Kyungu, who is also the
daughter of assassinated ex-Congolese president Laurent Kabila, also
runs a media company called Digital Congo, which has TV, radio and
internet wings.
She is linked to Keratsu Holding Limited, a
company incorporated in the Pacific island of Niue in June 2001, months
before her brother was elected as the president of Democratic Republic
of Congo. Kyungu has yet to comment on the allegations.
5. Angola: The oil-rich country’s petroleum minister
José
Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos has twice served as Angola’s petroleum
minister, between 1999 and 2002 and again from 2008 until present. He
also served as president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) in 2009. Angola is Africa’s second-biggest oil producer
behind Nigeria, churning out 1.8 million barrels per day according to 2014 data from the U.S. Department of Energy.
According
to the Panama Papers, Botelho de Vasconcelos was listed as one of two
individuals with power of attorney for Medea Investments Limited, which
was founded in 2001 in Niue. Botelho de Vasconcelos is yet to respond to
the leak.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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