The Panama Papers revealed 12 national leaders were among 143 politicians, their families and close associates from around the world known to have been using offshore tax havens. Some of them put their money into offshore accounts such as in Labuan, which is also an offshore financial centre and tax haven. This means that anyone will be able to find out who owns and controls British companies, even if they are owned by an offshore company or trust. There are also studies that show terrorist financing, money laundering and corruption are among the by-products of offshore secrecy. In Malaysia, the Commercial Crime Department of the Royal Malaysia Police reported “any criminal activity that generates significant profit creates a need for money laundering.

Source: New Strait Times May 25, 2018 21:56 UTC