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> When asked about the lack of Americans in the original release, the German newspaper’s editor responded mysteriously: "Just wait for what is coming next." We
by pdabbadabba 11y ago
> When asked about the lack of Americans in the original release, the German newspaper’s editor responded mysteriously: "Just wait for what is coming next."
We may see something eventually. But it has also been pointed out that U.S. laws give wealthy individuals fewer reasons to form companies in Panama. It is possible to form entities with secret owners under U.S. law, with a little effort. So the primary reason for Americans to go offshore may be tax-related, for which Panama would not normally be the jurisdiction of choice.
See: http://fusion.net/story/287671/americans-panama-papers-trove/ http://fusion.net/story/287671/americans-panama-papers-trove...
- rconti 11y agoThere's a whole series of NPR Planet Money podcasts about setting up offshore (and onshore!) shell companies. http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/07/27/157499893/episode-390-we-set-up-an-offshore-company-in-a-tax-haven http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/07/27/157499893/episo...
- joezydeco 11y agoJust finished these as well. PM couldn't have lucked out more with the timing on this one.
- freshyill 11y agoI don't think it was luck. I was just listening to All Things Considered and apparently there was considerable collaboration among journalists. The Planet Money podcasts were rebroadcasts from a few years ago. I bet they knew the story would be dropping soon, and they decided to give their listeners a primer. http://www.npr.org/2016/04/05/473139196/panama-papers-leak-is-the-result-of-unprecedented-media-collaboration http://www.npr.org/2016/04/05/473139196/panama-papers-leak-i...
- joezydeco 11y agoWow. Good point.
- epimetheus 11y agoThere are Americans named, actually, though just not as much in the limelight: http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/americans-including-a-bellevue-man-show-up-in-panama-papers/ http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/americans-including...
- pdabbadabba 11y agoYes, this is discussed in the article I linked to as well. It may be that, although Americans generally have less need to set up shell corporations in Panama, Panama may be relatively more attractive for criminals, since not only can they be anonymous (no different from the U.S.), but also less easily reached through U.S. judicial processes. This may mean that, though there are fewer Americans named in these files than one might expect, their dealings might be shadier, on average, than other nationalities'.