Did the Panama muckrakers bend the in-house rules for favouritism?

The Panama Papers on Monday brought to light the clandestine method of wealth accumulation mainly by the elite. The quantum of data that was procured by the international consortium of journalists, effectively exposed how political power towers and celebrities systematically duped financial establishments in their jurisdictions specifically to evade taxation.

Panama Papers, the ‘biggest’ leaks so far, has shared its characteristics with ‘Watergate’ scandal and ‘Cablegate’. However, conspiracy theorists have confronted the exposè with the conspicuous absence of American names in the paper trails leaked from the law firm Mossack Fonseca.

The propounded ‘conspiracy’ theories include an extension of the US-Soviet cold war—that is, the ‘western’ bid to destabilize Russian regime headed by Vladimir Putin.

Corporate media protecting the influential 1%?

The sole US link to the Mossack Fonseca scam is that of the financial writer and life coach Marianna Olszewski, who, according to trail of Panama papers, employed a British nonagenarian as a benami to cover up funds she had secretly invested in an offshore company.

The former British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray in a blog post on Monday tried to deconstruct the motives behind the said the leaks.

The German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung had made the “dreadful mistake of turning to the western corporate media to publicise the results.”

“In consequence the first major story, published today by the Guardian, is all about Vladimir Putin and a cellist on the fiddle. As it happens I believe the story and have no doubt Putin is bent. 

But why focus on Russia? Russian wealth is only a tiny minority of the money hidden away with the aid of Mossack Fonesca. In fact, it soon becomes obvious that the selective reporting is going to stink. Do not expect a genuine expose of western capitalism. The dirty secrets of western corporations will remain unpublished (sic),” Murray wrote.

In the post Murray also accuses the muckrakers of favouritism towards their western patrons by not mentioning the names of American benefactors.

“International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is funded and organised entirely by the USA’s Center for Public Integrity. Their funders include Ford Foundation, Carnegie Endowment, Rockefeller Family Fund, W K Kellogg Foundation, Open Society Foundation,” he added.

Kremlin rubbishes the allegations against Putin

Unsurprisingly, Kremlin rejected allegations levelled against Putin. Kremlin phrased it as ‘CIA backed anti-Putin’ campaign. 

“It’s obvious the main aim of this dump is our president in the context of parliamentary elections and, in the longer term, presidential elections… It’s obvious the barbs of this attack are directed against our country and, personally, against our president,” Russian diplomat Dmitry Peskov was quoted by a new channel on Monday.

Also read:

Panama Papers exposes names of world leaders and celebrities alike

Indian doyens shamed after the Panama Papers exposè