Pandora Papers: World leaders deny allegations

After appearing in the massive leak of financial records from offshore firms, several state leaders have denied the allegations.

The 12 million files, dubbed the Pandora Papers, are the largest data leak in history.

Some 35 current and past politicians are linked to the files, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Jordan's King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, reports BBC.

Both have released comments claiming that they have committed no wrongdoing.

The Jordanian royal palace stated that King Abdullah owning property outside of Jordan was "not unusual nor improper".

Since gaining office in 1999, the leader has covertly spent more than £70 million ($100 million) on a property empire in the UK and the United States, according to leaked papers.

In the meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov questioned the "unsubstantiated" information's credibility after it disclosed secret riches related to President Putin and members of his closest circle.

"For now it is just not clear what this information is and what it is about," he told reporters, adding that "we didn't see any hidden wealth of Putin's inner circle in there".

The data was extracted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington, DC, which has been working on its largest-ever worldwide investigation involving more than 140 media organisations with over 600 journalists from 117 countries.

In the United Kingdom, the inquiry was spearheaded by BBC Panorama and the Guardian.

Other leaders linked to the leak include:

Andrej Babis, the Czech Prime Minister, is accused of failing to register an offshore investment firm that was used to buy two properties in the south of France for £12 million; Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has been linked to 13 offshore businesses, along with six members of his family; Chile's President Sebastián Piera, a billionaire businessman accused of selling a copper and iron mine in an environmentally sensitive area to a childhood friend, according to Spain's El Pais newspaper; and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, whose family and close associates have allegedly been secretly involved in property deals in the UK worth more than £400 million.

In a tweet thread, the Czech prime minister said the allegations are an attempt to influence elections scheduled for this week and insisted he tweeted "I have never done anything illegal or wrong."

Kenyatta said the investigation "will go a long way in enhancing the financial transparency and openness that we require in Kenya and around the globe", and promised to "respond comprehensively" to the leak once he returned from a state visit abroad.

Ivory Coast Prime Minister Patrick Achi's office denounced the "malicious use" of information after it emerged that he had become the owner of Bahamas-based company Allstar Consultancy Services Ltd through a trust that obscured his ownership.

His office said the information dated back to the late 1990s when he was an adviser to Ivory Coast's energy minister.

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso defended himself after revelations he had lodged funds in two trusts based in the United States. "All my revenue has been declared and I have paid the corresponding tax in Ecuador," he said, reports AFP.  

The President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, in a written announcement said that there is no wrongdoing attributed to him.

According to the Presidency announcement, the government, after identifying supervision issues arising from companies whose legal status provided the possibility of non-disclosure for real beneficiaries (shell companies and offshore companies), terminated, already in 2018, the operation of shell companies, while a recent draft bill by the government imposes an obligation to keep a beneficiaries' register for all companies.

Therefore "any attempt to reproduce unfounded allegations, serves nothing more than considerations arising from petty politics, to the detriment of the institution of the President and the country's prestige" the announcement concludes, reports Stockwatch.

The Pandora Papers show no evidence that the Kenyatta family stole or hid state assets in their offshore companies. In a statement released by Piñera's office, he denied any involvement in or having any knowledge on the sale of the Dominga mining project. According to The Guardian, President Aliyev and his family have not responded to attempts to reach them. Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has promised to look into citizens related to the Pandora Papers. Hundreds of Pakistanis have been implicated in the leak, including members of Khan's government.