Sri Lankan politicians named in Panama Papers – Ranjan

Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake says that the names of three Sri Lankan politicians are featured in the Panama Papers revelations, the publication by a coalition of media outlets of an investigation into offshore financial dealings by the rich and famous.

The leaked documents have shone a light on the finances of politicians and public figures from around the world, causing public outrage over how the powerful are able to hide money and avoid tax.

“The Prime Minister said that names of 3 Sri Lankan politicians are in the Panama Papers. It will be revealed soon,” he told reporters after the UNP’s Working Committee meeting at party headquarters -Sirikotha on Tuesday. 

The Deputy Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, celebrities Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan and Jackie Chan are among those featured in a massive leak of documents, some of which reveal hidden offshore assets. 

“Leaders who held top positions in Sri Lankan politics area also among them,” he claimed. “The Panama Papers are not something we made. We will soon find out who the three rouges are.”

More than 100 media groups have investigated a massive leak of 11.5 million documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm with offices in 35 countries.

The stash of records was obtained from an anonymous source by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with media worldwide. The documents, from around 214,000 offshore entities, cover almost 40 years. 

These records reveal a list of individuals who have paid the firm — and bought the benefits of the secretive, lax regulatory system in which it operates — to set up offshore entities in tax havens around the world. 

Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson became the first major casualty of the Panama Papers revelations, stepping down on Tuesday after leaked files showed his wife owned an offshore firm with big claims on the country’s collapsed banks.