Follow-Up Expose: After Panama Papers, Now The Paradise Papers

From Axios

A consortium of more than 90 news organizations around the world unveiled the Paradise Papers, a leak of 13.4 million financial documents that throw light on the top end of the world of offshore finance, per the BBC:

• "It's a week-long expose of how politicians, multinationals, celebrities and high-net-worth individuals use complex structures to protect their cash from higher taxes."
• "As with last year's Panama Papers leak, the documents were obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which called in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) to oversee the investigation."
• "The Paradise Papers name was chosen because of the idyllic profiles of many of the offshore jurisdictions whose workings are unveiled, including Bermuda, the HQ of the main company involved, Appleby."

One of the biggest finds ... Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross "kept a financial stake in a firm whose major partners include a Russian company part-owned by President Vladimir Putin's son-in-law."

• Why the Ross revelation matters, from the N.Y. Times: "While several Trump campaign and business associates have come under scrutiny, until now no business connections have been reported between senior administration officials and members of Mr. Putin's family or inner circle."