Tax-haven leak will spur graft probes, analysts say
The massive haul of leaked financial information on offshore havens by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) will spur anti-corruption efforts in China and other nations, analysts say.
The massive haul of leaked financial information on offshore havens by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) will spur anti-corruption efforts in China and other nations, analysts say.
In one of the biggest information leaks in history, an investigation by the United States-based ICIJ has gathered more than two million documents naming businessmen and politicians with financial dealings through secretive firms in offshore havens such as the British Virgin Islands.
"It's very important to the Chinese. It's also very important to other jurisdictions," said John Bruce, director of Macau at Hill & Associates, a Hong Kong-based risk consultancy.
President Xi Jinping had recently underscored his intention to tackle corruption, Bruce said.
He added that the ICIJ's information would be of interest to governments of other countries such as France, where it had been disclosed that French President Francois Hollande's campaign treasurer, Jean-Jacques Augier, had a business partnership with Chinese businessman Xi Shu.
"That it was concealed is unfortunate," Bruce said. Hong Kong, with a "long history as a place that deals with offshore jurisdictions", was a channel through which a lot of mainland money flowed to offshore havens like the British Virgin Islands.
