Paradise Papers -
The Shadowy World of Big Money

Do Not Disturb

On the Isle of Man, cats don't have tails and letterbox firms don't have letterboxes. The island seems to have a unique business model, too: It acts like a tax haven while pretending it's unaware of doing so.

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The Real Tax Scandal Is Unfolding in Europe

The Paradise Papers show how EU member states use fiscal trickery to deny their neighbors much-needed tax revenues. This is at least as damaging to EU cohesion as the nationalism and lack of solidarity displayed when it comes to redistributing refugees.

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Oxford and the Oil Wells

Elite universities in Britain and the U.S. have invested secretly in iron ore mines and oil wells, using shell companies to avoid paying taxes on the dividends.

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The Big Addle

It’s not always easy to set up a complex offshore structure for your company plane. But as the German clothing retailer New Yorker found, it usually works out in the end.

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Paradise for the Rich

Multinationals and the super-rich are shamelessly neglecting their societal responsibility. In the tax havens of this world, mortal law does not apply.

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From Sugarcane to Sweet Tax Deals

For many decades, Mauritians made a living farming sugarcane. But that was before their country became a paradise – for vacationers and for people who don’t like paying taxes. Officials don’t seem too bothered by the dubious origins of the latter.

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From Moscow with Love

Companies financed by the Kremlin invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Facebook and Twitter.

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A Bridge to the West

International sanctions can be ruinous for business. That is, unless your name is Arkady Rotenberg, you’re a close friend of Vladimir Putin and you have a resourceful law firm like Appleby working for you.

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Dear Tim Cook

An open letter to Apple's CEO from the Süddeutsche Zeitung's editor-in-chief.

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A New Home

Apple wanted to find a country without transparency, taxes or pesky political opposition where it could set up shop. It seems to have found one.

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Fueling Inequality

Who profits from tax tricks? Large corporations and the ultra-rich. The rest of us lose  

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Just Do It

Nike is synonymous with athletics the world over. But there’s one discipline in which the company seems unbeatable: the competitive sport of tax avoidance.

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How Nike Avoids Paying Taxes

With a sophisticated structure of subsidiaries, the sports giant manages to escape taxation in Germany and elsewhere.

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Bermuda? The Cayman Islands? Nope, the Netherlands!

How an odd agreement between the United States and the Netherlands turned Germany’s neighbor into a tax haven. 

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Behind the Scenes

Multiple leaks, a massive data set and absolute secrecy. That's how the Süddeutsche Zeitung researched the Paradise Papers.

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The Same Old Tune

The Paradise Papers show how much money hit tunes like "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "Disco Inferno" make in a year, and how one catalog of songs escaped paying taxes.  

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The High-Flyer

Racecar driver Lewis Hamilton has long been a global brand – and played the part. Whether it's his jet, motorhome, employment contract or marketing rights, little happens without offshore help.

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The Broken Heart of Africa

A power-hungry president, a cunning businessman, an influential ex-minister and the secretive Swiss mining giant Glencore: Why Congo remains dirt poor despite its abundant riches.

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Nelson Mandela, a Secret Trust and Money for Margot Honecker

Did the famous freedom fighter Nelson Mandela send money to Margot Honecker while she was in exile in Chile? The Paradise Papers shed light on an unusual legal battle between Mandela and his heirs.

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Power to the (Rich) People

The people of Angola were supposed to benefit from their country's oil deposits through a sovereign wealth fund. But the money is often siphoned off by a select few - some of whom live in Switzerland.

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The New Leak

Documents from the offshore world show how the rich, the famous and corporations use tax havens.

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How We Reported the Paradise Papers

A total of 13.4 million documents, hundreds of journalists and a year of reporting: Answers to the most pressing questions about the leak. 

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The Secretary's Ties to Russia

Even as a member of U.S. President Donald Trump's cabinet, billionaire Wilbur Ross continues to profit from business dealings with Moscow.

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The Cloud Hanging Over Trudeau

Canada’s prime minister campaigned on a pledge to fight tax evasion. But one of his most important advisers appears in the Paradise Papers

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Henry and the Queen

Queen Elizabeth II owned holdings through an offshore fund in a company that sells her own subjects vacuum cleaners at extortionate prices.

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The Firm

International law firm Appleby organizes offshore companies around the world in ways it claims are clean and professional. But along with companies like Nike, its clients have also included criminals.

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What a Gamble

Online gambling is largely prohibited in Germany, but the Paradise Papers show how offshore companies can be used to skirt the country’s gaming laws.

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Playing the System

How banks aid and abet dubious online gambling.

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Is Anybody There?

Rent a room, put a sign on the door and fly to an island at least once: Inside the absurd tax avoidance scheme used by European hostel chain Meininger.

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Maltese Maneuver

In the past, German car rental giant has poked fun at tax evaders in own ads. But the company has come up with a trick of its own in Malta.

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Wheeling and Dealing

Former German politician Peter Harry Carstensen maintains close ties with Swedish pharmaceuticals billionaire Frederik Paulsen. Possibly too close.

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“Transparency Is a Powerful Tool”

Kofi Annan served for 10 years as secretary-general of the United Nations. In the time since, he has dedicated himself to the fight against tax evasion and the looting of Africa. It’s a tough battle against multinational corporations and greedy leaders.

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