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The New Zealand angles range from boring to ridiculous. Local company officers named in the database appeared to be largely lawyers and accountants working for small firms, mostly as directors for trust companies alongside counterparts from jurisdictions like Switzerland. New Zealand rich-listers also make an appearance, although their use of offshore structures will be news to no one.
Many of the files concerns Latin American clients, lending weight to reports Mossack Fonseca had launched an Auckland office to drive the well-heeled there into using New Zealand trusts and structures.
While the vast majority of clients from that continent will prove benign, investigations this morning have turned up at least two cases where those facing claims of corruption or money-laundering in their home countries were found to have offshore vehicles set up here by Mossack Fonseca that cover the period of their alleged offending.
These cases will require significant work to reach a publishable standard, particularly given the database released today includes only the most basic of details, often not enough to even confirm the identities of those apparently involved. Other media outlets, including Radio New Zealand and TVNZ have for more than week had access to a larger cache featuring internal correspondence and supporting documentation.
But for now, we'll have to console ourselves with some low-hanging fruit. The appearance of the late Alan Hubbard's investment in a Brazilian mining venture, and rogue company agent and Elvis impersonator Darryl Jensen's role providing a business address for a key figure in the Unaoil bribery scandal, represents the early pickings of a difficult harvest.
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