Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko denies he got up to anything rum on tax.
He's named in the Panama papers: "I believe I might be the first top
office official in Ukraine who treats declaring of assets, paying taxes
and conflict of interest issues profoundly and seriously, in full
compliance with the Ukrainian and international private law," he said
on Facebook.
He added: "Having become a President, I am not participating in
management of my assets, having delegated this responsibility to the
respective consulting and law firms."
"I expect that they will provide all necessary details to the Ukrainian and international media."
A huge leak of confidential documents has revealed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth.
Eleven million documents were leaked from one of the world's most secretive companies, Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
They show how Mossack Fonseca has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and avoid tax.
The company says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and has never been charged with criminal wrong-doing.
French
President Francois Hollande hailed the "good revelations" which would
"increase tax revenues from those who commit fraud".
The documents
show 12 current or former heads of state and at least 60 people linked
to current or former world leaders in the data.
They include the
Icelandic Prime Minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugson, who had an
undeclared interest linked to his wife's wealth. He has said he will not
resign.
The files also reveal a suspected billion-dollar money
laundering ring involving close associates of Russian President Vladimir
Putin.
Gerard
Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists (ICIJ), said the documents covered day-to-day business at
Mossack Fonseca over the past 40 years.
"I think the leak will
prove to be probably the biggest blow the offshore world has ever taken
because of the extent of the documents," he added.
Panama Papers - tax havens of the rich and powerful exposed
Eleven million documents held by the
Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca have been passed to German
newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which then shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. BBC Panorama and UK newspaper the Guardian
are among 109 media organisations in 76 countries which have been
analysing the documents. The BBC does not know the identity of the
source
They show how the company has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax
Mossack Fonseca says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and never been accused or charged with criminal wrong-doing
Panama Papers: Full coverage; follow reaction on Twitter using #PanamaPapers; in the BBC News app, follow the tag "Panama Papers"
Watch Panorama at 19:30 on BBC One on Monday, 4 April, or catch up later on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
The documents also shed light on
how Mossack Fonseca offered financial services designed to help business
clients hide their wealth.
One wealthy client, US millionaire and life coach Marianna Olszewski,
was offered fake ownership records to hide money from the authorities.
This is in direct breach of international regulations designed to stop
money-laundering and tax evasion.
An email from a Mossack
executive to Ms Olszewski in January 2009 explains how she could deceive
the bank: "We may use a natural person who will act as the beneficial
owner… and therefore his name will be disclosed to the bank. Since this
is a very sensitive matter, fees are quite high."
Ms Olszewski did not respond to the BBC's questions.
In
a statement, Mossack Fonseca said: "Your allegations that we provide
structures supposedly designed to hide the identity of the real owners,
are completely unsupported and false.
"We do not provide
beneficiary services to deceive banks. It is difficult, not to say
impossible, not to provide banks with the identity of final
beneficiaries and the origin of funds."
The data also contain
secret offshore companies linked to the families and associates of
Egypt's former President, Hosni Mubarak, former Libyan leader Muammar
Gaddafi and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.
Russian connection
Also
revealed is a suspected billion-dollar money-laundering ring that was
run by a Russian bank and involved close associates of President Putin.
The operation was run by Bank Rossiya, which is subject to US and EU sanctions following Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The documents reveal for the first time how the bank operates. Money has been channelled through offshore companies, two of
which were officially owned by one of the Russian president's closest
friends.
Concert cellist Sergei Roldugin has known Vladimir Putin
since they were teenagers and is godfather to the president's daughter
Maria.
On paper, Mr Roldugin has personally made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from suspicious deals.
But
documents from Mr Roldugin's companies state that: "The company is a
corporate screen established principally to protect the identity and
confidentiality of the ultimate beneficial owner of the company."
The
Kremlin spokesman said it was clear the main target of the reports was
Mr Putin, as well as Russia's political stability ahead of parliamentary
elections.
Dmitry Peskov dismissed the investigation as
insinuation and speculation, and suggested many of the team of
journalists behind it were actually former US state department and CIA
officials.