The Panama Papers, 11,445,650 confidential documents from a law firm, went partially public in the biggest leak in history on April 3, creating ripples across the world.
Among the most interesting facts to emerge is the repeated appearance of specialist bank Investec in those lists. The entity, which also has offices offshore, scores 24,062 hits in the database, far outpacing other SA bank names.
None of the Investec people contacted for comment have responded to the Financial Mail.
An early perusal of some of the Investec documents in the Panama Papers indicates the operation of a network of entities, not least companies, trusts and foundations, from Panama to the British Virgin Islands, Israel, Mauritius, Switzerland and so on.
This does not mean that Investec, or any other entity conducting an apparent roaring trade with the law firm Mossack Fonseca, has done anything wrong. The challenge Investec faces, however, is that tax havens have been shown to be favoured by individuals wanting to hide wealth, and also to conduct illegal activities, ranging from the relatively benign such as tax evasion to the more pernicious such as narcotics trafficking.
Thabo Mbeki, chairman of the AU/UN Economic Commission for Africa high level panel, has said the Panama Papers "confirm the existence of a network of offshore accounts and complex investment vehicles that drive tax avoidance and evasion". He referred to "the staggering amount of illicit practices and the large number of actors exposed".
The UK-based Tax Justice Network has described Panama as one of the oldest and best-known tax havens in the Americas, and "the recipient of drug money from Latin America, plus ample other sources of dirty money". Panama, moreover, is one of only three countries (along with Vanuatu and Lebanon) likely to be reinstated as an unco-operative tax haven by the OECD.
Nedbank, one of SA’s "Big Four" banks, scores 1,464 hits in the Panama Papers, and reacted to queries on its activities by stating: "Nedbank takes note of media reports concerning the data leak. In line with our usual internal policy and practices following media publications of this nature, we are conducting a full internal review to determine if we have any exposure or concerns in this context."
For SA entities and residents, the other factor at play in and around the Panama Papers is foreign exchange controls. It is no secret that there has long been a trade in illicit — by foreign exchange control standards — cash and assets leaving SA, and there is no question that tax havens have played a role.
So far, more than 40 heads of government have been linked to entities, or people, with a hollowed-out address in Panama.
The papers from Mossack Fonseca are being managed within a Web-based database by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
