So much so that Metro Vancouver addresses are about four times as likely to feature in the Panama Papers and Offshore leaks database as Canadian addresses as a whole, per capita. Their presence on this basis more than doubles that of Toronto addresses, despite that city’s status as the financial capital of Canada.
A few hours spent burrowing into the database of financial information leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reveals even wider disparities. City of Vancouver addresses are 8.2 times as likely to appear as Canadian addresses as a whole (32 addresses/100,000 population vs 3.9/100,000), while Richmond addresses (34.1/100,000) were 8.7 times as likely to appear. But the epicentre of addresses linked to these tax haven firms, at least on a density basis, is West Vancouver. Long a bolthole of the rich and famous (and/or infamous), West Van addresses appear in the database at a rate of 75/100,000 population - some 19.2 times the Canadian norm.
The 375 Metro Vancouver addresses represented in the Panama Papers/Offshore Leaks database are present at a per-capita rate that far exceeds that of other major Canadian cities and outstrips the national rate by almost four-to-one. Source: ICIJ / SCMP Graphic
It isn’t hugely surprising that centres of wealth should feature relatively more people trying to hide it. But when compared to Canada’s other major population centres, Vancouver clearly punches above its weight.
The ICIJ database, uploaded in a searchable format this month, is based on a vast trove of leaks from the Panama-based Mossack Fonseca law firm, which for decades helped the global rich hide their assets in offshore tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands. Also included are data from the ICIJ’s 2013 Offshore Leaks investigation. The millions of documents have revealed the secret dealings of wealthy gangsters, politicians, celebrities and sportsmen from around the world.
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Wide disparities can be seen in the representation of various Metro Vancouver municipalities in the Panama Papers/Offshore Leaks database of offshore tax haven firms. Source: ICIJ / SCMP Graphic
The Hongcouver blog reported a fortnight ago that Michael Ching Mo Yeung, the Vancouver property developer who is wanted by China for alleged corruption and hiding assets, once owned two secret offshore firms set up with the help of Mossack Fonseca in the 1990s. At the time, Ching’s late father, former Hebei governor Cheng Weigao, was one of China’s most powerful provincial politicians, but in 2003 Cheng was drummed out of the Communist Party amid a major graft scandal. Michael Ching is now seeking refugee status in Canada to evade his Chinese accusers.
It’s important to note that simply being linked to an offshore company does not prove wrongdoing, by Ching or anyone else mentioned in the database. But ownership of such a firm, under no obligation to reveal its shareholders, does suggest a desire for privacy.
