Secret documents have exposed at least eight people with ties to China's leaders who had control of hidden offshore companies, according to a new report.
Mossack Fonseca, a law firm based in Panama with offices worldwide, has been the subject of much attention when 11.5 million of its documents were leaked to journalists. Dubbed the "Panama Papers," they contain information about the firm's clients hiding money in tax havens.
The clients include some of the world's most powerful leaders and personalities.
The BBC reports the brother-in-law of President Xi Jinping served as a director and a shareholder of two companies registered offshore. Both were closed between 2010 and 2011 after they were open for just 18 months.
The BBC reports that seven other Chinese nationals whose relatives were in positions of power within the communist nation's government also controlled companies that were registered offshore. About $1 trillion left China last year, and much of it went through Hong Kong.
The Wall Street Journal reports the Chinese government is censoring the news related to the leaked documents, as news stories published on Chinese websites are being taken down.
A Bloomberg story published Monday explained that in most instances, offshore accounts held by the wealthy are legal. Government officials, however, are often held to a higher standard.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was also mentioned in the Panama Papers, although the Kremlin
blasted the report and said he was the target of a plot to destabilize Russia. Putin
has been rumored for years to hold a secret $40 billion fortune.
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