“The Panama Papers might represent the world’s largest ever leak of classified documents. There are about 11.5 million internal documents from a Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca.
“Mossack Fonseca sells “shelf” companies around the world, potentially allowing individuals to conceal their business operations.
“The papers were first leaked to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. That paper engaged the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists to help co-ordinate the reporting and research into the documents.
“The ICIJ involved other media outlets, including Fairfax Media’s The Australian Financial Review.
“Early reports indicate that associates of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and of the family of Chinese president Xi Jinping are implicated in the papers.
“The prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan are also mentioned in the papers.”
Read more at SMH
