Republicans and the billionaire Banksters that keep them, as pets love paradise, not the idyllic setting pictured below, but the way they can hide their money to evade the taxes they ought to pay. But with Paradise busted, Republicans do not like the revelation that a senior cabinet official is laundering money in conjunction with one of Putin’s relatives.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and a key ally to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are among the 120 rich and powerful people mentioned in the Paradise Papers, a new release of data about offshore tax havens and obscure financial dealings.
The Paradise Papers are a massive trove of 13.4 million records — many of which were leaked from the offshore law firm Appleby, which was founded more than 100 years ago and operates in places ranging from Bermuda and the Cayman Islands to the Isle of Man, Mauritius, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Reflecting millions of loan deals, financial statements, emails and other documents, the data reveals how specialty firms handle the money of wealthy individuals, families and corporations.
Some 380 journalists collaborated to unravel the connections in the Paradise Papers’ nearly 1.5 terabytes of data. The trove was acquired by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which says the records show how the wealthy and powerful sometimes duck taxes, regulations, sanctions and "at least their social responsibility."
Wilbur Ross "was a major client of Appleby," the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists says, noting that the law firm administered more than 50 companies and partnerships linked to investments on behalf of his private equity firm, W.L. Ross & Co, LLC.
"Ross divested himself of most of his business interests when he joined the Trump Cabinet in February 2017," the group says. "But he kept a stake in the shipping company Navigator Holdings through a chain of companies in the Cayman Islands, Appleby’s files and public records show."… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <NPR>
Here’s the video embedded with the article.
Rachel Maddow, also covered this story.
Note the connection between Ross and Putin’s son-in-law.
I have no doubt that I shall write about the Paradise Papers again.
RESIST THE REPUBLICAN REICH!!
14 Responses to “Paradise Busted!”
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Trouble in Paradise. Yep. I have gotten to the point that oligarchs, billionaires, and other Republicans are guilty of tax evasion until proven innocent (like, for example, Nick Hanauer, whose proof of innocence is at least somewhat convincing. And there are a couple of others. But not many.) Grrrrrr.
Cute Puddys!
Purrrrfect!
Love the lovely puddy frame, Joanne. Lot of resisting each other there too.
The artist is Lesley Anne Ivory, a Brit. This is the second border of hers I have used. She is amazing.
All those curlicues make me dizzy! (It’s my Meniere’s)
WOW! Boggles my mind at the sheer amount of $$, and their deception and secrecy of the ultra-rich! wow!!
Here is a Daily Kos petition to sign.
Thank you Freya!
Maybe this will really upset the Paul Ryan Wet Dream bill!
Paradise Papers: Well, well, who would’a thought? Thank you, thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Leaker! Bye, bye Paul Ryan, and take your damnable bill with you?
Rachel: How much do the REPUGS lie? “How deep is the ocean, how high the sky?” So, can Ross be indicted, or whatever, for contempt of congress? I know, fat chance. How many tRump supporters believe he “cleaned the swamp?” Yes, sure he did, and then replaced it with a cess pool!
Paradise Lost! . . . don’t they wish!
As you can imagine the Paradise Papers have driven Drumpf from his number one news spot (for once) here too. Whats stands out most that almost none of it is illegal (evasion apparently is, while avoidance isn’t), as everyone mentioned in the media is quick to point out. However, in general people think it’s utterly reprehensible that people already wallowing in money should be able to increase the depth of their wallowing so easily. So while it may not be illegal, it is definitely morally wrong and all those mentioned in the Paradise Papers know full well it is; it’s exactly why they want it kept a secret.
For people like Wilbur Ross the Paradise Papers are another matter. Besides the tax avoidance that is “normal” in billionaire circles, Ross has lied about divesting all of businesses which could lead to a conflict of interest for a Secretary of Commerce. Duh…as if being a billionaire with so many businesses in his portfolio isn’t the major conflict of interest in this job. But Ross has been so incredibly stupid to hold on to his sanctioned Russian business interest, and maintaining the direct link between Drumpf’s cabinet and Russia. And “sanctioned Russian” makes it illegal, Mr. Ross. Drumpf has some firing to do when he returns from the Far East.
You are correct that “avoidance” is technically legal, while “evasion” is not. This has vexed me since before I retired – information on “financial planning” is considered to be valuable to people who work with insurance, so I have studied it some, between barf bags, as it were. If you ever want to use the services of a Certified Financial Planner, firstly, make sure they are required to have a fiduciary toward you, and, having established that, keep a sharp eye on the ethical implications of what they want YOU to do. I am not saying they are all crooks. Just that they view finance differently from the way some of us do.
Thanks all. Hugs!