Paradise Papers reveal cash stashes of the world’s wealthiest

One year after the Panama Papers unveiled how some of the world’s public officials and wealthy people used shell companies for fraud and tax evasion, journalists this week published the Paradise Papers with similar findings. The 13.4 million documents expose more than 120 politicians, wealthy individuals, and international businesses that evade taxes under the cover of international shell companies in locations like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung obtained the leaked documents and shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a network of more than 380 journalists in 67 countries. The documents come from offshore law firm Appleby, corporate services provider Estera, and about 19 other corporate registries.

Offshore investments are mostly legal but provide cover for tax evasion and criminal activity. Eric LeCompte, executive director of development group Jubilee USA, said the documents show governments around the world lose more than $500 billion a year to tax avoidance.

“Unfortunately many of these tax avoidance schemes are legal, and we need stronger international laws to prevent this activity,” LeCompte said.

The investigation includes the names of 13 advisers, donors, and Cabinet members of the Trump administration. Wilbur Ross, President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, used a chain of companies in the Cayman Islands to maintain a financial stake in the Navigator shipping company. Navigator carries out business with Russian and Venezuelan officials, some of whom the United States sanctions. The documents also revealed that Queen Elizabeth II invested millions of pounds from her private estate in a Cayman Islands fund, and Stephen Bronfman, chief fundraiser and senior adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was involved in moving millions of dollars offshore.

ICIJ said the records show Glencore, a global mining and agricultural company, diverted millions of dollars through Bermuda and other tax havens. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Glencore provided a $45 million loan to a company controlled by Israeli businessman Daniel Gentler as he helped Glencore strike a deal for the Katanga copper mine with government officials. Glencore responded that the loan agreement was “made on commercial terms,” with standard provisions in place. The investigation revealed other businesses such as Apple, Uber, and Nike moved their companies to tax havens to avoid paying higher tax rates.

In a statement, Appleby said it has no evidence of wrongdoing, adding the investigation is “unfounded and based on lack of understanding of the legitimate and lawful structures used in the offshore sector.”

But the report stirred some action. Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner responsible for taxation, called for swift action against tax evasion, including a blacklist on tax havens. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called for investigations into Ross, claiming he lied to the Senate Commerce Committee during confirmation hearings in January. Ross’ spokesman told the ICIJ he “recuses himself from any matters focused on transoceanic shipping vessels, but has been generally supportive of the administration’s sanctions of Russian and Venezuelan entities.”

Refugees in Papua New Guinea continue standoff

For four years, Australia paid its nearest neighbor, Papua New Guinea, and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru to host asylum seekers who tried to reach Australia by boat. But their plight recently drew international attention when about 600 men remained at a refugee camp under deplorable conditions after officials shut it down.

Authorities closed the camp on Thursday after ruling it illegal, and ordered the asylum seekers to relocate to three nearby facilities. But some 600 men refused to leave the camp on Manus Island, which formerly served as a navy base, saying they feared for their safety after facing threats from locals. Papua New Guinea shut off water and electricity to the camp and left the facility unguarded. The Sydney-based Refugee Action Coalition said the men dug a well to drink water and remained without medical attention. Other refugees reported some locals armed with machetes looted the facility. A United Nations representative who inspected the new camps said at least two of the three facilities were not ready for the refugees.

Some 440 of the asylum seekers are confirmed to be legitimate refugees, but Australia and Papua New Guinea continue to argue over who has responsibility for them. The United States resettled 54 of the refugees in recent weeks and plans to take on an additional 1,200. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern offered to assist 150 of the refugees, but Australia declined the offer.

The UN refugee agency last week called on Australia to “stop a humanitarian emergency unfolding” and work with Papua New Guinea to fix the unstable situation. —O.O.

Indian Christians accused of kidnapping, forced conversion

A court allowed seven Christian children in India to return to their families a week after Hindu radicals falsely accused their chaperones of kidnapping them to forcibly convert them. It was the third situation of its kind in Madhya Pradesh state since May.

The children and adults were traveling to Mumbai for a Christian event when extremists intervened, beat them, and accused the caretakers of kidnapping, The Indian Express reported. Forced conversion is a crime in the state. Police took the Christians into custody.

Parents provided baptism certificates proving the children were Christians already, and the state’s high court authorized their return. Two female chaperones remain accused and jailed, UCA News reported. Several Christians accused of the same crimes in a nearby town in May were released on bail but await prosecution, according to International Christian Concern (ICC).

ICC’s William Stark said the accusations not only cause direct harm but also are “definitely having a chilling effect on the church itself” because many Christians are afraid even to attend church.

Complaints aren’t only being directed at Christians when they travel. An India-based attorney who works with Alliance Defending Freedom told UCA News that Hindus falsely accused Christians in Madhya Pradesh of forcibly converting people at least 27 times this year. —Julia A. Seymour

International authors ask China to release wife of deceased activist

More than 50 international authors wrote an open letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping, appealing to him to release Liu Xia, wife of the late Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo. Liu has been under house arrest since 2010, when her husband won the Nobel Peace Prize for democratic and human rights activism. She was last seen publicly on July 15 at the memorial service for her husband, who died of liver cancer in police custody earlier this year. On Aug. 23, she appeared in a YouTube video and asked for “time to mourn.” But many activists questioned whether she was coerced into speaking. The letter, which included the signatures of authors Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Margaret Atwood, and Philip Roth, said friends who spoke to the poet reported she was battling depression and heart problems. They called on Xi to “lift all remaining restrictions against Liu Xia and to ensure her freedom of speech, her freedom to meet with others, and her freedom to travel.” —O.O.

South Sudan’s hunger crisis worsens

Ongoing conflict in South Sudan left 1.25 million people facing starvation—double the number from the same time last year, the United Nations and other aid groups said in a joint report released Monday. The aid groups warned the country could once again enter famine next year. The latest Food Security Phase Classification report revealed that conflict and hyperinflation are driving the hunger crisis. Fighting groups have faced accusations of blocking food access as a war tactic. The prices of staple foods such as maize and wheat flour have increased by about 280 percent from the same time last year. “Widespread and extreme food consumption gaps … should make us extremely concerned about the worst-case scenario of famine in many locations across South Sudan in 2018,” said Katie Rickard, country coordinator for REACH, a humanitarian research initiative that provided data for the report. —O.O.

Nigerian kidnappers kill British hostage, free three others

The British government on Monday said kidnappers in Nigeria killed one U.K. missionary and released three others. Kidnappers abducted the four missionaries from Nigeria’s southern Delta state on Oct. 13. The abductees worked with the U.K.-based nonprofit organization New Foundations and delivered aid to members of the surrounding villages. The U.K. Foreign Office said Alanna Carson and David Donovan and his wife Shirley returned to their families, but Ian Squire “was tragically killed.” Squire, a 56-year-old optician, worked with New Foundations to train local people to carry out sight tests and dispense prescription glasses. In a joint statement, the families of the rescued hostages thanked the British High Commission and Nigerian authorities for negotiating their release: “Our thoughts are now with the family and friends of Ian as we come to terms with his sad death.” —O.O.

American charged with subversion in Zimbabwe

Weeks after appointing a minister of cybersecurity, Zimbabwe charged an American citizen with attempting to undermine the president’s authority. Officials on Friday morning arrested Martha O’Donovan from her home in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. Court documents said police observed tweets from O’Donovan in which she referred to the country’s 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe as a “sick and selfish man.” O’Donovan works for a political satire news organization called Magamba Television. She faces charges of subversion and undermining the president’s authority. The court ordered her to remain in jail until her next hearing on Nov. 15. The charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The government increased its control over social media after activists last year used Twitter to stage the country’s biggest anti-government demonstrations in a decade. —O.O.