More than 16,000 Taiwanese investors’ offshore account details were published yesterday in a massive document leak by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the ICIJ Web site showed.
The documents, dubbed the “Panama Papers,” showed how Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca allegedly helps its clients avoid taxes and skirt financial oversight.
The ICIJ Web site said the firm has about 16,785 Taiwanese clients, including individuals and enterprises. Based on more than 11.5 million leaked files, the investigation has exposed people who use offshore companies to facilitate bribery, arms deals, tax evasion, financial fraud and drug trafficking, the ICIJ said on its Web site.
Mossack Fonseca worked with more than 14,000 banks, law firms, corporations and other go-betweens to set up companies, foundations and trusts for clients, the ICIJ said.
Offshore bank accounts and other financial dealings in another country can be used to evade regulatory oversight or tax obligations. Companies or individuals often use shell companies, initially incorporated without significant assets or operations, to disguise ownership or other information about funds.
Panama, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda are among more than a dozen small, low-tax locations that specialize in handling business services and investments of non-resident companies.
Financial and legal professionals receive training on how to spot potential violations, since in some cases lawyers and bankers are unaware they are handling illicit transactions. Banking secrecy laws can obscure offshore financial dealings.
Local publication CommonWealth Magazine and the University of Hong Kong Journalism and Media Studies Center are two of the ICIJ’s reporting partners, the Web site showed.
The consortium is a nonprofit organization based in Washington.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
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The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
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