No accounts were created and not a single cent went in or came out, he said. However, the minister said that the deal fell through due to a law and order situation in the country and the companies were closed down. "Once that is done, there should be no legal implications unless a misrepresentation of facts is spotted in the declaration," he says, noting that for businesspeople, the offshore structure is helpful in expediting international projects.įor example, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin said that the companies he was associated with were opened with the approval of the central bank at a time when he was trying to attract the investment of a foreign group for Silkbank.Īccording to the finance ministry's website, Tarin has been the main sponsor for the bank since March 2008.
The News International's Umar Cheema, who was part of the research, writes that in Pakistan, the law requires the owners of such companies to declare them to tax authorities and the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). However, those who have not declared these companies in their returns as assets can face legal action. Under the law, setting up an offshore company is not an offence or crime if the company is not involved in any illegal activity. Is it illegal to set up an offshore company? Some European countries like Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco have also served as havens for those trying to avoid taxes, though many nations have tightened banking laws to combat tax cheating. There also are havens like the Isle of Man off Britain, Macau off China and the Cook Islands in the South Pacific Those looking to hide assets establish accounts in countries like Panama, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda, where the banking laws are designed to vigorously protect account owners’ identities. Offshore bank accounts and other financial dealings in another country can be used to evade regulatory oversight or tax obligations.Ĭompanies or individuals often use shell companies, initially incorporated without significant assets or operations, to disguise ownership or other information about the funds involved. Because information can be hard to extract, tax havens are sometimes also called secrecy jurisdictions," it says.
"Tax havens also typically limit public disclosure about companies and their owners.
What are tax havens and offshore accounts?Īccording to the ICIJ, tax havens or offshore financial centres are typically countries or places with low or no corporate taxes that allow outsiders to easily set up businesses there. Here we attempt to answer some of the more common questions about offshore companies. However, like the Panama Papers, those of us who are not so well-versed about the intricacies of finance and global regulations have all asked the same question: what exactly does it mean? Revealed: List of all Pakistanis named in Pandora Papers so far Some 35 current and former leaders from across the world are featured in the documents analysed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) - facing allegations ranging from corruption to money laundering and global tax avoidance.įrom Pakistan, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Senator Faisal Vawda, PML-Q leader Chaudhry Moonis Elahi, Ishaq Dar’s son, PPP’s Sharjeel Memon, the family of Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiar, PTI leader Abdul Aleem Khan and Axact CEO Shoaib Sheikh have been named among those with alleged links to offshore companies. The investigation, involving some 600 journalists from media organisations including The Washington Post, the BBC and The Guardian, is based on the leak of around 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies around the world. The Pandora Papers - named after the Greek myth of Pandora’s box - has laid bare the financial activities and dealings of several heads of state and government as well as notable politicians and businessmen across the world.
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