CONCLUDING a six-month investigation that involved more than two million leaked files and 50 reporting partners from all over the world, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reported that close relatives of China’s top leaders – including close kin of Politburo officials – held secret offshore accounts in tax havens in the British Virgin Islands, Samoa, and other offshore centers associated with hidden wealth.
The report captures the growing dependency of insular China on offshore accounts, and focuses attention on possible corruption by China’s “red nobility,” or elites tied by blood or marriage to current or former party officials. Chinese citizens have increasingly grown angry over the apparent hypocrisy of their officials who tout ‘people-first’ ideals while allowing their relatives to profit from corruption.
The ICIJ story is published in partnership with Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper, Commonwealth Magazine (Taiwan), Suudeutsche Zeituna (Germany), The Guardian (UK and US), BBC Newsnight, Le Monde (France), El Pais (Spain), CBC (Canada), Le Soir (Belgium), L’Espresso (Italy), Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeituna (Switzerland), Trouw (Netherlands) Asahi Shimbun (Japan), Newstapa (South Korea), Global Mail (Australia), and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).
The ICIJ stories may be read here:
Leaked records reveal offshore holdings of China’s elite
Offshore leaks China: How we did it
The stories previously published in ICIJ’s “Offshore Leaks” series have had impact across the globe, triggering inquiries, resignations, and policy changes in several countries.
As the ICIJ partner in the Philippines, the PCIJ in April 2013 reported on the offshore accounts of Ilocos Norte Governor Maria Imelda ‘Imee’ Marcos, then senatorial candidate Joseph Victor.Ejercito, former senator Manuel B. Villar Jr., and three former senior officials appointed to government corporations.
The previous stories may be viewed here:
Ferdinand Marcos’s daughter tied to offshore trust in Caribbean
Manny Villar, JV Ejercito tied to offshore accounts