https://www.scmp.com/rss/510925/feed The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) obtained 11.9 million confidential documents from 14 financial services companies around the world, which the group said exposed how money was hidden by the wealthy in ways that law enforcement agencies could not detect. The files are linked to about 35 current and former national leaders, and more than 330 politicians and public officials in 91 countries and territories. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Claims by former Malaysian finance minister Daim Zainuddin that the graft probes into his wealth are politically motivated have been “vindicated”, his wife said on Monday, after she filed a police complaint against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Her comments follow a Bloomberg report accusing Anwar of using his influence to drive investigations into his political rivals, including Daim – a key power broker linked to Anwar’s nemesis, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. Speaking to the press on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3280535/wife-says-daim-zainuddin-vindicated-she-files-police-report-against-malaysia-pm-anwar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3280535/wife-says-daim-zainuddin-vindicated-she-files-police-report-against-malaysia-pm-anwar?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Sep 2024 08:35:33 +0000 Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s two eldest sons, Mirzan and Mokhzani on Thursday pleaded for patience from Malaysia’s anti-graft body, which the brothers say has demanded “an impossible endeavour” of an asset declaration of holdings going back to 1981, the year their father first came to power. The pair, both multimillionaire businessmen, are embroiled in an anti-corruption probe that has already seen the 98-year-old Mahathir’s close ally, former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, charged... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3251454/mahathirs-sons-seek-patience-malaysias-anti-graft-body-amid-impossible-endeavour-digging-through?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3251454/mahathirs-sons-seek-patience-malaysias-anti-graft-body-amid-impossible-endeavour-digging-through?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Feb 2024 15:17:05 +0000 Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar will become Malaysia’s king later this week, with experts anticipating the royal institution will play a pivotal role in supporting the government, as a potentially explosive corruption investigation billows out across parts of the political and business elite. The ruler of the southern state of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim begins his term as king on Wednesday at a time when the constitutional monarch faces heightened public expectations to broker political stability between... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3250145/malaysias-vocal-new-king-bring-scrutiny-anwars-government-amid-clamour-political-stability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3250145/malaysias-vocal-new-king-bring-scrutiny-anwars-government-amid-clamour-political-stability?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jan 2024 10:00:32 +0000 Former Malaysian finance minister Daim Zainuddin was a successful businessman even before he joined the government in 1984 and is now persecuted for his success, with claims that he is corrupt, his wife said on Wednesday. Naimah Khalid, who was questioned by anti-corruption investigators on Wednesday, said her husband, who was twice finance minister, was already widely referred to as a tycoon in the media and a multimillionaire before taking public office 40 years ago. “His success has now been... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3248004/daim-zainuddins-wife-says-malaysia-targeting-ex-finance-minister-corruption-probe-because-his?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3248004/daim-zainuddins-wife-says-malaysia-targeting-ex-finance-minister-corruption-probe-because-his?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jan 2024 02:02:44 +0000 Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis won a general election on Saturday but will struggle to put together a parliamentary majority, meaning any new government could be weeks or even months away. Preliminary results showed the populist billionaire’s ANO party came first with 28 per cent of the vote, despite widespread accusations of financial impropriety and just a week after he was named in the Pandora Papers investigation. The Together alliance of the right-wing Civic Democrats, the centre-right... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3151802/czech-billionaire-prime-minister-andrej-babis-wins-vote-falls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3151802/czech-billionaire-prime-minister-andrej-babis-wins-vote-falls?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Oct 2021 17:16:28 +0000 The Pandora Papers have understandably upset many rich and powerful people around the world. We even have a few of them in Hong Kong. Billed as the biggest journalism partnership in history, the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has dropped a bombshell of three terabytes of incriminating data. In their own words, they “uncovered financial secrets of 35 current and former world leaders, more than 330 politicians and public officials in more than 91... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3151292/us-cracks-down-tax-havens-then-becomes-one?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3151292/us-cracks-down-tax-havens-then-becomes-one?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Oct 2021 13:01:51 +0000 The Czech prime minister, the king of Jordan and the chairman of a well-known Indian conglomerate were among global figures denying wrongdoing on Monday after the leak of what major news outlets called a secret trove of documents about offshore finance. India said it would investigate cases linked to the data dump, known collectively as the “Pandora Papers”, while Pakistani Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said officials named in the documents would be investigated – including himself. The Kremlin... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3151191/pandora-papers-rich-and-powerful-scramble-deny-wrongdoing-limit-damage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3151191/pandora-papers-rich-and-powerful-scramble-deny-wrongdoing-limit-damage?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Oct 2021 21:56:07 +0000 Former Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying has warned against the “flames of irresponsible journalism” as he hit back at a news outlet that raised questions about his public financial disclosures based on the Pandora Papers, the biggest leak yet of data about tax haven secrecy. In a series of Facebook posts on Monday, Leung accused Stand News of misrepresenting the facts and being either ignorant of the laws governing what the city leader must disclose about his finances or driven by ulterior... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3151162/former-hong-kong-leader-caught-pandora-papers-hits-back?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3151162/former-hong-kong-leader-caught-pandora-papers-hits-back?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Oct 2021 12:15:01 +0000 An unprecedented leak of financial records known as the Pandora Papers has revealed the offshore financial assets of dozens of current and former world leaders and hundreds of politicians from Asia and the Middle East to Latin America. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) obtained 11.9 million confidential documents from 14 separate legal and financial services firms, which the group said offered “a sweeping look at an industry that helps the world’s ultrawealthy,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3151100/biggest-revelations-pandora-papers-leak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3151100/biggest-revelations-pandora-papers-leak?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Oct 2021 06:11:01 +0000 More than a dozen heads of state and government, from Jordan to Azerbaijan, Kenya and the Czech Republic, have used offshore tax havens to hide assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a far-reaching new investigation by the ICIJ media consortium. The Pandora Papers investigation – involving some 600 journalists from media including The Washington Post, the BBC and The Guardian – is based on the leak of some 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies around the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3151065/pandora-papers-investigation-exposes-offshore-assets-heads-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3151065/pandora-papers-investigation-exposes-offshore-assets-heads-state?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Oct 2021 19:42:19 +0000