One of the largest financial document leaks has revealed the secret wealth and dealings of international leaders, politicians, and billionaires.

Branded the Pandora papers, the cache of 11.9 million confidential files was leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington DC.

The 2.94 terabytes of data exposed the secret offshore affairs of 35 world leaders, including current and former presidents, prime ministers and heads of state, in addition to shining a light on the secret finances of more than 300 other public officials such as government ministers, mayors, judges and military generals in more than 90 countries. 

More than 100 billionaires are featured in the files - of which many use shell companies to hold luxury items such as yachts and property, as well as incognito bank accounts.

The Guardian wrote: “The Pandora papers reveal the inner workings of what is a shadow financial world, providing a rare window into the hidden operations of a global offshore economy that enables some of the world’s richest people to hide their wealth and in some cases pay little or no tax.”

Information leaked also include:

  • The King of Jordan secretly amassing £70m of UK and US property
  • How ex-UK PM Tony Blair and his wife saved £312,000 in stamp duty
  • Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis failing to declare an offshore investment company which was used to purchase two villas for £12m in the south of France

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