Thread by @OCCRP

NEW INVESTIGATION: What do an Iranian state oil company, a fake Gambian bank, and the Italian mob have in common? Ties to a company called Formations House, hidden behind the doors of one of London’s most exclusive addresses. #29Leaks 1/
occrp.org/en/29leaks/

For years, the handsome Edwardian townhouse at 29 Harley Street was a front for a vast back-office operation run out of Karachi, Pakistan, which claims to have created some 400,000 companies for clients around the globe. 2/

Now, a cache of the company’s internal records obtained by @DDoSecrets and shared with media outlets around the world provides unprecedented insight into its global reach, criminal activities of some clients, and plans for a web of offshore zones. 3/

These clients included a businessman already under financial sanctions in India, another who was in the midst of an ongoing trial for business fraud when he reached out to Formations House, and a past president of the Swedish Hells Angels. 4/

Though agents like Formations House are required to follow strict rules to prevent criminals from infiltrating the company services system, there is little incentive to actually do so, leaving the global financial system vulnerable to fraud, money laundering, and corruption. 5/

#29Leaks spans 10 years, during which time the founder of Formations House was investigated for financial crime + the company was warned about its due diligence failures. But it continues to sell companies & authorities have done nothing to crack down on the industry. 6/

Starting today, OCCRP + media partners will publish the #29Leaks project to tell the stories of how some Formations House clients used shell companies to hide money and defraud individuals, companies & governments around the world. 7/ occrp.org/en/29leaks/

NEW: @madbmay's video explains how the company formation process works and why shady individuals around the world were able to hide their schemes behind a fancy London address.

NEW: “I thought it was a joke,” North Macedonia’s current PM says about his predecessor's plans to create an autonomous financial zone near Skopje—one that would have been hidden from local + intl. regulators and run by Formations House. 8/ #29Leaks occrp.org/en/29leaks/a-m…

NEW: Arun Panchariya was sanctioned in his native India for market manipulation and fined in Dubai for lying to financial regulators. And yet, he had no trouble creating and registering a bank with Formations House—or so he believed. #29Leaks occrp.org/en/29leaks/roa…

NEW: Matija Iskra was on trial for business fraud in Slovenia when Formations House set him up with a UK firm. Now Croatian prosecutors say he used the shell company in a luxury car tax-evasion scheme. @_ostro_ #29Leaks
occrp.org/en/29leaks/a-v…

Our partners are also beginning to unroll their #29Leaks projects today. In London, @TheTimes went undercover to investigate just how easy it is to set up a company with Formations House: thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/g…

In India, @EconomicTimes has published an overview of Formations House, the family behind it, and its manifold global links: economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internati…

In Sweden, @dagensnyheter reports that 100 Swedes were found in the cache: dn.se/nyheter/sverig…

They’ve also published a story on former Hells Angels President Thomas Möller’s links to Formations House: dn.se/nyheter/sverig…

In the US, @mcclatchy writes about how Formations House was used by an Iranian oil company hoping to wriggle free from the grip of US-led sanctions: mcclatchydc.com/news/investiga…

In Switzerland, @tdgch and @24heuresch report on how Pascal Jaussi’s Swiss Space Systems used a Formations House-linked bank to postpone the Swiss firm’s own bankruptcy: tdg.ch/suisse/banque-…

@bazonline and @BernerZeitung cover the story in German: bazonline.ch/wirtschaft/sch…

@tdgch @24heuresch @bazonline @BernerZeitung In Mexico, OCCRP's @liliasaul and @NJaccard investigate the Formations House companies set up by Israel Gallardo Sevilla, a politician affiliated with the National Action Party: @AristeguiOnline
m.aristeguinoticias.com/0412/mexico/de…

@tdgch @24heuresch @bazonline @BernerZeitung @liliasaul @NJaccard @AristeguiOnline In Germany, @SZ has a story on "Suisse Bank Ltd", one of 150 pseudo-banks founded by a German businessman in Gambia. #29Leaks sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/gam…

@tdgch @24heuresch @bazonline @BernerZeitung @liliasaul @NJaccard @AristeguiOnline @SZ In Pakistan, @UmarCheema1 at @thenews_intl reports on Formations House and the role of its secretive Karachi office.

thenews.com.pk/print/578792-u…

@tdgch @24heuresch @bazonline @BernerZeitung @liliasaul @NJaccard @AristeguiOnline @SZ @UmarCheema1 @thenews_intl In Hong Kong, @John_F_Power at @SCMPNews reports on the concerns HK-based Formations House companies raise about the city's "light-touch regulatory environment." #29Leaks

scmp.com/week-asia/econ…

ICYMI: OCCRP, @SCMPNews & @NBCNews investigated a HK-registered company run by Formations House's owner, which pitched offshore-style trade zones around Africa with “total anonymity” & “no visibility to U.S. or other international institutions.” #29Leaks occrp.org/en/29leaks/cam…

@SCMPNews @NBCNews In the US, @KevinGHall and @ShirshoD at @McClatchyDC have another #29Leaks investigation (published with @MiamiHerald) on how a DEA-busted Miami resident used Formations House in his global ventures.
mcclatchydc.com/news/investiga…