ISLAMABAD – After leaks of Mossack Fonseca that were published in Panama Papers in April, here come the Bahama leaks which reveal details of more than 175,000 offshore companies out of which 69 are reportedly owned by Pakistanis.
The cache of documents from the island nation’s corporate registry provides names of directors and some owners of more than 175,000 Bahamian companies, trusts and foundations registered between 1990 and early 2016.
The new cache of leaked documents was received by the German newspaper ‘Süddeutsche Zeitung’ and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The leaked documents also revealed incorporation details of 69 companies owned by Pakistani citizens, including businessmen and politicians.
Among those named in the Bahamas leaks include Jamaat-e-Islami former senator Professor Khurshid Ahmed, Gibran Khan, the son of Mohammad Naseer Khan, a former minister in dictator Musharraf s government, Mohsin Abu Bakar Sheikhani, a construction business owner from Karachi, Obaid Altaf Khanani, son of Altaf Khanani and Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif s wife, Tehmina Durrani’s mother Samina Durrani.
It should be mentioned here that a former commissioner of European Union, Neelie Kroes served as the director of a company in Bahamas called Mint Holdings Ltd from July 2000 to October 2009.
The company was registered in April 2000 and is currently active.
The documents have also let out details of 539 intermediary agents that serve as bridges between Bahamian authorities and clients. Mossack Fonseca, the law firm in Panama, infamous for Panama leaks is also named as the mediating agent among 539 total entities.
