For ordinary folks out there, Panama Leaks is a common event in which 11.5 million documents got leaked. But for many of the elite in Pakistan, panama history is, it’s like a never ending nightmare. The documents leaked during the Panama Paper Scandal contained sensitive personal financial information about different politicians of Pakistan and their families.
Why is Panama Leaks Important?
There are two reasons for which Panama Leaks is considered important. The first reason is that many of the persons’ whose names appeared in the offshore companies did not pay their due taxes. The second reason is probably the biggest one as many of these foreign company account holders also held public offices in the past.
Among other things, these are three of the most common suspicions which arise when you hear someone owing an offshore company.
The Conflict of Interest
When you are holding an important office in the government, and your name appears as the owner of foreign companies, you come under the radar of the tax collection and accountability authorities like FBR and NAB. The primary reason among others to hold an offshore company is to save on taxes. It makes the job of the tax authorities even harder to collect taxes from common folks when the elite of the country is choosing not to pay their taxes.
Failure to Declare Actual Assets
Many of the politicians whose names appeared in panama history Leaks did not declare these off-shore companies before. Failure to declare all assets makes them look liars and cheaters. The inability to declare the actual assets can quickly become a reason for the ECP (Election Commission of Pakistan) to disqualify a person from contesting elections. Therefore, their future as political candidates is also dim. All their political legacy they created over the years may just vanish into thin air.
Fear of Ill Financial Gains
One of the more worrying reasons for politicians owning offshore companies is the suspicion of ill financial gains. Many money laundering experts believe that a person may want to have an off-shore company when they want to transfer wealth gained from illegal means. This is one of the safest ways to hide the money gained through corruption. The holding of offshore companies makes a person suspicious in the eyes of the accountability institutions like the NAB, particularly when these persons also held important public offices in the past.
