All Things Digital

Tuesday 10, May 2016

PANAMA PAPERS: AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES REVEALED

 

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has published a searchable database that reveals nearly 214,000 offshore entities created in 21 jurisdictions, from Nevada to Hong Kong to the British Virgin Islands. 

The newly released data is a small segment of the Panama Papers investigation; the largest ever release of information revealing offshore companies and their owners, covering over 11.5 million leaked files from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. 

The ICIJ is releasing the data in the public interest with the database also disclosing information about more than 100,000 additional offshore entities previously revealed in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Investigation in 2013. 

In its totality the interactive application reveals over 360,000 names of people and companies at the helm of secret offshore structures. 

 

Australia: Locations of offshore entities and clientele of Mossack Fonseca.

 

Although the majority of these companies and locations may be legally using the tax structures, e.g. hedge funds, investment schemes and multinational companies, their involvement has a direct impact on the taxes we pay and in continuation of OnQue’s previous blog post discussing The Panama Papers and Brand Management  – it is our belief that we should support ethical corporate-citizen branding. 

 

Greater Sydney:  An alarming 526 addresses found.

 

Theodore Roosevelt said, “The first requisite of a good citizen in this Republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight.” Corporate responsibility according to Corporate Responsibility (CR) Magazine involves seven categories: environment, climate change, employee relations, human rights, governance, finance, and philanthropy.        

 

South East Queensland: 256 addresses located.

 

Bill Hatton, Editor-in-Chief of Corporate Responsibility Magazine says, “The Top 100 Corporate Citizen list of companies are to be recognised for meeting the highest commitment to the programming and transparency necessary to lead the business community in the area of responsible corporate practices.” Unfortunately in the case of Mossack Fonseca and a majority of its newly disclosed affiliates ‘responsible corporate practices’ are not a high priority.   

 

Melbourne: 216 addresses now searchable.  

 

We at OnQue Digital are committed to communicating how good corporate citizenship can improve the bottom line of our clients. Numerous international studies have shown that the Return-On-Investment of transforming a business from one that is purely focused on financial profits to one that is focused on delivering the best for the community can be profound (a great paper on the Business Case for Corporate Citizenship) and we can help you effectively communicate this to your clients and community. For more information or if you would like to tell us how you are giving back to the community please comment below.

 

Adelaide: 37 addresses located.

 

Darwin: 5 addresses now searchable.

 

Perth: 199 addresses found.

 

ACT: 9 addresses located.

PANAMA PAPERS: AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES REVEALED

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has published a searchable database that reveals nearly 214,000 offshore entities affiliated with the Panama Papers. OnQue has geotagged the newly available data, creating a visual representation of Australia’s involvement in the world's largest data leak.