Boris Johnson says all donations are ‘vetted in the normal way’ as Pandora Papers reveal Tory party donor who gave party more than £500,000 'was involved in $220million bribe to firm controlled by Uzbekistan president's daughter

  • Mohamed Amersi has given nearly £525,000 to the Tories since 2018 
  • Labour has called on the Conservative party to return the money to Mr Amersi 
  • Mr Amersi, who denies any wrongdoing, has been named in leaked documents 
  • He is alleged to have been involved in a controversial $220m (£162m) payment
  • Cash is alleged to have gone to Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of the then president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov  

Boris Johnson today said all donations to the Tories are properly vetted after a millionaire who helped bankroll his leadership campaign was named in the Pandora Papers and linked to a $220m bung.

Mohamed Amersi has given nearly £525,000 to the Tories since 2018 and enjoys access to senior Conservative figures including ministers at the party's elite dining club. The telecoms millionaire previously said he was invited to a private meal with Prince Charles.

Today he was accused of being involved in one of Europe's biggest corruption scandals with the glamorous daughter of the then president of Uzbekistan at its heart. 

Mr Amersi, who denies any wrongdoing, has now been named in leaked documents as being involved in a controversial $220m (£162m) payment to a secretive offshore company in 2010 while working for a Swedish telecoms company.

The Prime Minister told reporters at a Network Rail site in Manchester this morning: 'I see that story today. But all I can say on that one is all these donations are vetted in the normal way in accordance with rules that were set up under a Labour government. So, we vet them the whole time'. Labour has called on the Conservative party to return the money to Mohamed Amersi immediately.

Telia was later fined $965m (£700m) in a US prosecution and the $220m payment was found to be a bribe for Gulnara Karimova, the eldest daughter of the then president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov.

Ms Karimova, a former diplomat, businesswoman and pop singer famous for performing a duet with Gérard Depardieu, is now in an Uzbek jail on corruption charges.   

Mr Amersi, 61, a lawyer who worked as a consultant for Telia between 2007 and 2013.  His lawyers said the offshore company had been 'vetted and approved by Telia' and any claims he made 'improper or illegal payments', or was a conduit to for Telia to do so, were completely false.

The transaction is revealed in a cache of 11.9million files dubbed the Pandora papers, which shine a light on the secret financial affairs of 35 world leaders. 

Mohamed Amersi and his Russian partner Nadezhda Rodicheva have between them given £793,000 to the Tory party and senior MPs in recent years. Mr Amersi had been named in today's Pandora Papers as being involved in one of Europe's biggest corruption scandals

Mohamed Amersi and his Russian partner Nadezhda Rodicheva have between them given £793,000 to the Tory party and senior MPs in recent years. Mr Amersi had been named in today's Pandora Papers as being involved in one of Europe's biggest corruption scandals

Telia, who Mr Amersi worked for as a consultant, was later fined $965m (£700m) in a US prosecution and the $220m payment was found to be a bribe for Gulnara Karimova (pictured), the eldest daughter of the then president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov

Telia, who Mr Amersi worked for as a consultant, was later fined $965m (£700m) in a US prosecution and the $220m payment was found to be a bribe for Gulnara Karimova (pictured), the eldest daughter of the then president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov

Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak during a visit to a construction site in Manchester. Mr Johnson said all donations to the party are vetted

Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak during a visit to a construction site in Manchester. Mr Johnson said all donations to the party are vetted

The Kenya-born businessman and his Russian partner Nadezhda Rodicheva have between them given £793,000 to the party and senior MPs in recent years.  

Political law expert Gavin Millar QC told the BBC he believes the Conservatives should return the money.

'I think they should give it back… if serious questions are being asked about the donor,' he said, but added: 'The bottom line is they don't have to, and there's nothing in the law or the regulation of our system that compels them to do that'.

Gulnara Karimova is now in an Uzbek prison on alleged corruption charges

Gulnara Karimova is now in an Uzbek prison on alleged corruption charges

Labour has also called on the Prime Minister 

According to The Guardian, in the run up to Christmas 2009 Mr Amersi was emailed by a senior Telia executive to speak about 'an urgent job on Uzbekistan'. The Tory donor was working for Telia on its central Asian strategy.

The newspaper claims that emails leaked to them allegedly show Mr Amersi helped  Telia executives in negotiations with an associate of Gulnara Karimova. 

Karimova, 49, who was once seen as a possible presidential successor to her father, is now in jail on corruption charges.

Before her incarceration in Uzbekistan she was also known as a pop singer and fashion designer, running jewellery and cosmetics businesses and number of charities. 

As her alter-ego GooGoosha, she recorded a duet with Gerard Depardieu and had been Uzbekistan's permanent representative in the UN in Geneva and the country's ambassador in Spain. 

Lawyers for Mr Amersi said he had 'no reason to suspect' that the intermediary he worked with for Telia was linked to Gulnara.

Mohamed Amersi (left) said the Conservatives would have treated him better if he had a traditional English name and had been to Eton and Oxford. (Pictured right, former Prime Minister Theresa May)

Mohamed Amersi (left) said the Conservatives would have treated him better if he had a traditional English name and had been to Eton and Oxford. (Pictured right, former Prime Minister Theresa May)

Mr Amersi donated to Boris Johnson's leadership campaign in 2019

Mr Amersi donated to Boris Johnson's leadership campaign in 2019

Telia reached with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) in 2017 with an record $965m settlement. 

The telecoms firm admitted to paying a 'foreign official' – later identified as Gulnara Karimova.

Tony and Cherie Blair 'avoided paying £312,000 in stamp duty when they purchased £6.45m London office by buying using offshore loophole' 

The leaked documents show the Blairs bought the building (pictured) by setting up a UK company to acquire Romanstone

The leaked documents show the Blairs bought the building (pictured) by setting up a UK company to acquire Romanstone

Tony and Cherie Blair avoided paying £312,000 in stamp duty when they bought a £6.45million London office, explosive documents revealed last night.

The disclosure is contained in a leak of offshore papers which exposes hidden wealth and tax avoidance by some of the world's richest and most powerful people.

The ex-Labour prime minister and his barrister wife did not have to pay the tax bill because they bought the offshore firm that owned the property.

Mrs Blair, who runs a law firm and a women's foundation from the four-storey Victorian building, said the sellers had insisted the office be sold in this way.

There is nothing illegal about the transaction, but the deal highlights a loophole that helps wealthy property owners avoid paying a tax that most UK home buyers cannot escape.

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Mr Amersi said when implicated in the cash-for-access row with the Tories earlier this year that he would have been treated better by the party if he had been white.

He said in August the Conservatives would have treated him better if he had a traditional English name and had been to Eton and Oxford. 

He has also set up a new foreign affairs network called the Conservative Friends of the Middle East and North Africa (Comena), which he hoped would become an affiliate group of the party.

But he has become embroiled in a dispute with ex-MPs who run the Conservative Middle East Council, even threatening legal action over memos written about his background that claimed he had business ties to Russia.

He also made the explosive allegation that party chairman Ben Elliot, whose aunt is the Duchess of Cornwall, had sold him access to Prince Charles.

Mr Amersi revealed that he had been an elite client of Mr Elliot's lifestyle management firm Quintessentially, and as a result had enjoyed a private dinner with the heir to the throne – later becoming a trustee of one of his charities.

He also told how the Conservatives operate a secretive club called the Advisory Board for top donors and that 'one needs to cough up £250,000 per annum or be a friend of Ben' to gain admission.

Mr Amersi told the Daily Mail he believed he had been treated badly by the Tories because of his background.

'I sometimes wonder if I was white and my surname was John Smith and I had been to Eton and Oxford I might have been treated differently. And I think there is some truth in that,' he said.

However he insisted that he loves the party and will continue to donate to it.

He also apologised to Prince Charles. 'My intention was never to embarrass the Royal Family and particularly the Prince of Wales,' he said.

'I have the greatest respect for him and have witnessed his work first-hand round the world.'

There are now calls for the Tories to stop taking money from him. One senior figure said: 'Donor money is being used to buy a position of influence.'

A party spokesman said: 'The Conservative Party is the party of aspiration and opportunity for all, no matter your gender, your ethnicity or where you come from.'

The party board is expected to consider Comena's application for affiliation next month.

Labour chairman Anneliese Dodds said: 'Ministers ... must be beyond reproach, but instead it seems like a six-figure sum can buy you access to their offices.'

However then Tory co-chairman Amanda Milling pointed out that Labour had taken £1.2million from the Unite union in the past year and is seeking cash from billionaires.

She wrote to Miss Dodds: 'The Labour Party runs its own Chair Circle Membership group and the Rose Network whose members can pay a fee to get access to Sir Keir Starmer, yourself, and other senior Shadow Cabinet members.'

 

The secret offshore wealth of world leaders: Leak of 12 MILLION files reveals Putin 'mistress' owns $4.1m Monaco flat, Azerbaijani ruler's $500m London property deals, King of Jordan's $100m empire and Czech PM's $20m French villas 

The secret offshore wealth of more than 300 world leaders, politicians and billionaires has been exposed in one of the biggest ever leaks of financial data.

Dubbed the Pandora Papers, the documents show how 35 current and former world leaders - including associates of Vladimir Putin - used accounts in tax havens to accrue huge amounts of wealth and carry out transactions. 

The files consist of 12 million documents from 14 financial services companies in countries including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Belize, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Switzerland. 

They were obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) before being studied by more than 650 reporters from BBC Panorama, the Guardian and more than 100 other news outlets. 

They reveal that former British prime minister Mr Blair and his wife Cherie saved some $434,000 (£321,000) in stamp duty when they bought an office in London by purchasing the offshore company that owned it.

Meanwhile Russian President Mr Putin was linked to secret assets in Monaco, while an offshore company owned by his alleged lover purchased a $4.1million apartment below the principality's casino. 

The luxury fourth-floor flat was purchased by Brockville Development Ltd, which was eventually traced back to Svetlana Krivonogikh, reported the Guardian.

The woman, who was 28 at the time, is said by Russian investigative outlet Proekt to be the mother of Putin's child, after giving birth to Elizaveta, or Luiza, in March of the same year.

A luxury fourth-floor flat below Monaco’s casino was bought by Brockville Development Ltd, which was eventually traced back to Svetlana Krivonogikh (pictured), alleged to be a lover of Mr Putin and the mother of his child

A luxury fourth-floor flat below Monaco's casino was bought by Brockville Development Ltd, which was eventually traced back to Svetlana Krivonogikh (pictured), alleged to be a lover of Mr Putin and the mother of his child  

The apartment bought by Ms Krivonogikh was in the exclusive Monte Carlo Star apartment complex (pictured)

The apartment bought by Ms Krivonogikh was in the exclusive Monte Carlo Star apartment complex (pictured)

Ms Krivonogikh is said by Russian investigative outlet Proekt to be the mother of Putin’s child, after giving birth to Elizaveta, or Luiza, in March 2003 (Pictured: Monte Carlo Star apartment complex)

Ms Krivonogikh is said by Russian investigative outlet Proekt to be the mother of Putin's child, after giving birth to Elizaveta, or Luiza, in March 2003 (Pictured: Monte Carlo Star apartment complex) 

Since becoming friends with Putin, the former cleaner seems to have amassed a luxury portfolio of assets, including a flat in a well-to-do area of St Petersburg, other properties in Moscow and a yacht, coming to a total of $100million - the Kremlin has refused to comment. 

Meanwhile, the King of Jordan was able to secretly add £70million worth of property to his portfolios in the UK and US - mainly in Malibu, California and in London and Ascot, the papers showed. 

While many of the transactions leaked in the papers - made by tens of thousands of different offshore firms -feature no legal wrongdoing, they expose how the UK Government has failed in its promise to bring in a register of offshore property owners.

There are concerns that some of the purchases could be the work of money laundering - while some of those named now face allegations of corruption and global tax avoidance.      

The release of the documents could not have come at a worse time for Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis - who is facing an election later this week - as they show how he failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase two villas for $16.2million in the south of France. 

The papers follow four other huge data leaks in the past seven years - including the FinCen Files, the Paradise Papers, Panama Papers and LuxLeaks. 

They also show how some 95,000 offshore firms were legally set up to secretly by property in Britain.   

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his family and close associates snapped up more than £400million worth of property in the UK using offshore accounts, the papers revealed.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his family and close associates snapped up more than £400million worth of property in the UK using offshore accounts, the papers revealed.

Dubbed the Pandora Papers, the documents show how Tony (pictured) and Cherie Blair avoided paying stamp duty on their purchase of an office in London. The transaction was not illegal.

Dubbed the Pandora Papers, the documents show how Tony (pictured) and Cherie Blair avoided paying stamp duty on their purchase of an office in London. The transaction was not illegal.

While the Blairs' purchase of the London office (pictured) was not illegal, its revelation comes after the former Labour leader has been critical of tax loopholes, once saying that 'the tax system is a haven of scams, perks, City deals and profits'

While the Blairs' purchase of the London office (pictured) was not illegal, its revelation comes after the former Labour leader has been critical of tax loopholes, once saying that 'the tax system is a haven of scams, perks, City deals and profits'

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis (pictured ) failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase two villas for £12million in the south of France

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis (pictured ) failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase two villas for £12million in the south of France

The chateau and neighbouring villa in Mougins, France, bought by Mr Babis using offshore companies, which he failed to declare, according to the Pandora Papers

The chateau and neighbouring villa in Mougins, France, bought by Mr Babis using offshore companies, which he failed to declare, according to the Pandora Papers

Pandora Papers reveal world leaders and their associates avoided taxes and made huge property purchases using secret offshore companies 

  • Alleged Putin lover Svetlana Krivonogikh purchased a $4.1million apartment below Monaco's casino via an offshore account in September 2003 - six months after allegedly giving birth to the Russian president's child. Since becoming friends with Putin, the former cleaner seems to have amassed a luxury portfolio of assets, including a flat in a well-to-do area of St Petersburg, other properties in Moscow and a yacht, coming to a total of $100million - the Kremlin has refused to comment.
  • Former British prime minister Mr Blair and his wife Cherie saved some $434,000 (£321,000) in stamp duty when they bought an office in London by purchasing the offshore company that owned it
  • King of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein was able to secretly add £70million worth of property to his portfolios after purchasing 15 properties in the UK and US - mainly in Malibu, California and in London and Ascot. 
  • Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his family and close associates snapped up more than $500million (£400million) worth of property in the UK - consisting of 17 properties, including an office block in London for $44.6million (£33million) for the president's son Heydar Aliyev, aged 11. They also appeared to have made a $41.9million (£31million) profit after selling a London property to the Queen's Crown Estate, which is managed by the Treasury
  • Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis - who is facing an election later this week - failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase two villas for $16.2million in the south of France. 
  • President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta and six of his family members, who were revealed to secretly own 11 offshore companies containing $30million worth of assets.
  • Prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan's cabinet ministers and their families were shown to own millions of dollars worth of offshore companies.
  • President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was shown to have moved his stake in a secret offshore company just before his victory in the 2019 election.

 

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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his family and close associates snapped up more than $500million (£400million) worth of property in the UK, the papers revealed.

They also appeared to have made a tidy $41.9million (£31million) profit after selling a London property to the Queen's Crown Estate, which is managed by the Treasury. 

The group bought 17 properties, including an office block in London for $44.6million (£33million) for the president's son Heydar Aliyev, aged 11. 

The building, in the exclusive Borough of Mayfair, was bought by a front company owned by a family friend of President Ilham in 2009 before being transferred a month later to young Heydar. 

According to the papers, a second nearby office block, also owned by the family, was sold to the Crown Estate for $89.3million (£66million) in 2018.

The Crown Estate is now reportedly looking into the purchase, but said it conducted the sale using all the checks required by the law at the time.   

Speaking on the papers, Fergus Shiel, from the ICIJ, said: 'There's never been anything on this scale and it shows the reality of what offshore companies can offer to help people hide dodgy cash or avoid tax.' 

He added: 'They are using those offshore accounts, those offshore trusts, to buy hundreds of millions of dollars of property in other countries, and to enrich their own families, at the expense of their citizens.' 

Duncan Hames, Director of Policy at Transparency International UK, added: 'These revelations should act as a wake up call for the Government and regulators to deliver on much-needed and long-overdue measures to strengthen Britain's defences against dirty money. 

'These leaks show that there is one system for corrupt elites who can buy access to prime property and enjoy luxury lifestyles and another for honest hard-working people.

'Once again Britain's role as an enabler of global corruption and money laundering have been exposed with the same loopholes exploited to funnel suspect wealth into the country. 

'Not only does this damage the UK's reputation as a country governed by the rule of law, but it enriches corrupt elites around the world at the expense of their populations. No one benefits from this system but them.

'The UK must redouble its efforts in tackling illicit finance, bringing in long overdue transparency reforms to reveal who really owns property here as well as resourcing regulators and law enforcement to clamp down on rogue professionals and corrupt cash held in the UK.'

While the Blairs' purchase of the London office was not illegal, its revelation comes after the former Labour leader has been critical of tax loopholes, once saying that 'the tax system is a haven of scams, perks, City deals and profits'.

The property is now used by Mrs Blair's legal consultancy firm Omnia Strategy and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. 

Mrs Blair said the sellers had insisted they buy the house through the offshore company, reported the BBC, and that they would be liable to pay capital gains tax should they go on to sell it.  

It was purchased from a family with political connections in Bahrain. Both sides maintain they did not initially know who was involved in the deal.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) was linked to secret assets in Monaco by the Pandora Papers

Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) was linked to secret assets in Monaco by the Pandora Papers

The papers show King of Jordan Abdullah Il bin Al-Hussein (pictured) bought 15 homes since coming to power in 1999, using offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and other tax havens

The papers show King of Jordan Abdullah Il bin Al-Hussein (pictured) bought 15 homes since coming to power in 1999, using offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and other tax havens

Properties purchased by Mr Al-Hussein using offshore companies include three ocean-view homes in Malibu, California (pictured)

Properties purchased by Mr Al-Hussein using offshore companies include three ocean-view homes in Malibu, California (pictured)

Elsewhere, lawyers for King of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein said the leaked property purchases in the UK and US were bought with personal wealth, adding that using offshore companies to carry out such transactions was common practice for high profile individuals, citing privacy and security concerns. 

The papers show Mr Al-Hussein bought 15 homes since coming to power in 1999, using offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and other tax havens.     

It comes as he has been accused of running an authoritarian regime, which has seen a rise in protests in recent years over tax hikes and austerity measures.    

A string of other world leaders have also been named in the Pandora Papers leak - which owes its name to the fact that it will be 'opening a box on a lot of things', according to the ICIJ. 

They include president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta and six of his family members, who were revealed to secretly own 11 offshore companies containing $30million worth of assets.   

Meanwhile the prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan's cabinet ministers and their families were shown to own millions of dollars worth of offshore companies.   

And the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was shown to have moved his stake in a secret offshore company just before his victory in the 2019 election. 

 

Claudia Schiffer, Shakira and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar are named in Pandora Papers leak revealing offshore fortunes

  • Shakira accused of using offshore companies in British Virgin Islands to conceal assets
  • Lawyers of Colombian star, 44, said she declared all of her offshore companies 
  • Representatives for Ms Schiffer, 51,  said she correctly pays her taxes in the UK
  • Mr Tendulkar's lawyers said his investment is legitimate and has been declared

Claudia Schiffer and Shakira are among the famous faces linked to the unprecedented Pandora Papers leak - which has revealed how the super wealthy used offshore companies to accrue wealth and make transactions. 

They are joined by Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar - as well as associates of Vladimir Putin and 35 world leaders - after they were all found to have companies set up in tax havens.

The papers claim Colombian pop star Shakira set up offshore entities in the British Virgin Islands to conceal assets. 

But lawyers of the 44-year-old said the singer declared the offshore companies, adding that they did not provide tax advantages. 

It comes as the Hips Don't Lie hitmaker is already in a legal wrangle with the Spanish Government, which has accused her of failing to pay taxes in Spain in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014.

In response to their client being named in the report, representatives of German supermodel Ms Schiffer, 51, said the mother-of-three correctly pays her taxes in the UK, where she lives. 

Meanwhile Mr Tendulkar's lawyers said his investment is legitimate and has been declared to tax authorities. 

The cricket star is also reported to have dissolved an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands three months after the release of the Panama Papers in 2016.  

The papers claim Colombian pop star Shakira (pictured) set up offshore entities in the British Virgin Islands to conceal assets

The papers claim Colombian pop star Shakira (pictured) set up offshore entities in the British Virgin Islands to conceal assets

In response to their client being named in the report, representatives of German supermodel Claudia Schiffer (pictured), 51, said the mother-of-three correctly pays her taxes in the UK, where she lives

In response to their client being named in the report, representatives of German supermodel Claudia Schiffer (pictured), 51, said the mother-of-three correctly pays her taxes in the UK, where she lives

The Pandora Papers consist of 12 million documents from 14 financial services companies in countries including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Belize, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Switzerland. 

They were obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) before being studied by more than 650 reporters from BBC Panorama, the Guardian and more than 100 other news outlets.      

Italian mobster Raffaele Amato is also named in the leak, which shows how he used a shell company in the UK to buy land in Spain, where he fled to to set up his own crime gang. 

Mr Amato, who has been tied to at least a dozen killings, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. His lawyers declined to comment. 

While many of the transactions leaked in the papers - made by tens of thousands of different offshore firms - feature no legal wrongdoing, they expose how the UK Government has failed in its promise to bring in a register of offshore property owners.

There are concerns that some of the purchases could be the work of money laundering - while some of those named now face allegations of corruption and global tax avoidance.      

The papers also exposed how current and former world leaders used offshore companies to carry out transactions.  

They revealed that former British prime minister Mr Blair and his wife Cherie saved some $434,000 (£321,000) in stamp duty when they bought an office in London by purchasing the offshore company that owned it.

Sachin Tendulkar's (pictured) lawyers said his investment is legitimate and has been declared to tax authorities

Sachin Tendulkar's (pictured) lawyers said his investment is legitimate and has been declared to tax authorities 

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the couple said they had bought the property in 'a normal way through reputable agents' and should not have been 'dragged into a story about 'hidden' secrets of prime ministers etc'. 

The spokeswoman said: 'The vendor was an offshore company. The Blairs had nothing whatsoever to do with the original company nor those behind it. 

'The vendor sold the company not the property - again a decision the Blairs had nothing to with.

'Since the purchase was of a company no buyer would have had to pay UK stamp duty on that transaction. 

'However, because the Blairs then repatriated the company and brought it onshore, they are liable for capital gains and other taxes on the resale of the property which will significantly exceed any stamp duty.

'For the record, the Blairs pay full tax on all their earnings. And have never used offshore schemes either to hide transactions or avoid tax.'

Meanwhile Russian President Mr Putin was linked to secret assets in Monaco, while an offshore company owned by his alleged lover purchased a $4.1million apartment below the principality's casino. 

The luxury fourth-floor flat was purchased by Brockville Development Ltd, which was eventually traced back to Svetlana Krivonogikh, reported the Guardian.

The woman, who was 28 at the time, is said by Russian investigative outlet Proekt to be the mother of Putin's child, after giving birth to Elizaveta, or Luiza, in March of the same year.

The King of Jordan was able to secretly add £70million worth of property to his portfolios in the UK and US - mainly in Malibu, California and in London and Ascot, the papers showed, and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis - who is facing an election later this week - failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase two villas for $16.2million in the south of France.  

The Pandora Papers probe is much larger than the landmark Panama Papers investigation, which rocked the world in 2016, spawning police raids and new laws in dozens of countries and the fall of prime ministers in Iceland and Pakistan, reported the ICIJ.

This time around, the papers also shine a light on the lawyers and middlemen who are at the heart of the offshore industry, with the owners of more than 29,000 companies revealed from more than 200 countries and territories - mostly from Russia, the UK, Argentina and China. 

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