According to the ICIJ, the database will likely be the largest ever release of secret offshore companies and the people behind them, reads the report.
Users will be able to search through the data and recreate the networks around thousands of offshore entities, including, when possible, Mossack Fonseca’s internal records of the company’s true owners. The interactive database will also include information about more than 100,000 additional companies that were part of the 2013 ICIJ Offshore Leaks investigation.
Read alsoPoroshenko instructs Finance Ministry, Fiscal Service to "take first step" to deoffshorizationHowever, ICIJ said, the release will not be a “data dump” of the original documents – it will be a careful release of basic corporate information.
“ICIJ won’t release personal data en masse; the database will not include records of bank accounts and financial transactions, emails and other correspondence, passports and telephone numbers. The selected and limited information is being published in the public interest,” ICIJ said.
Read alsoPutin says U.S. behind Panamapapers megaleakAs reported earlier, more than 11 million documents were leaked from the secret files of Mossack Fonseca, a Panama law firm known for its factory-like mass production of offshore companies for its worldwide clientele
The leaked records come from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, one of the top players in the offshore world, and include information about companies, trusts, foundations and funds incorporated in 21 tax havens, from Hong Kong to Nevada in the United States. They reportedly link to people in more than 200 countries and territories.
Meanwhile, ICIJ, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung that received the leak, and other global media partners, including several new outlets in countries where ICIJ has not been able to report, will continue to investigate and publish stories in the weeks and months to come.
Read alsoPanamapapers claim first scalp as Iceland PM resignsSince its release, the Panama Papers investigation has led to high profile resignations, including the prime minister of Iceland; triggered official inquiries in multiple countries; and put pressure on world leaders and other politicians, such as Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, to explain their connections to offshore companies. It sparked a new sense of urgency among lawmakers and regulators to close loopholes and make information about the owners of shell companies public.
The database is to be released at 21:00 Kyiv time on May 9.
