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Jan 28, 2022 9 tweets 6 min read Read on X
NEW: The #PandoraPapers uncover more than 1,600 works of art secretly traded through tax havens — exacerbating the opacity of what’s been called the ‘largest, legal unregulated industry.’ 🧵bit.ly/34m7AQA
From Picassos to Warhols to collections worth millions, the #PandoraPapers show how art has become an increasingly popular store of value in the offshore world, where the ultimate ownership of pieces is often hidden from authorities and the public. bit.ly/34m7AQA
The #PandoraPapers also reveal that iconic pieces by street artist Banksy, whose artwork is known for its anti-capitalist message, have been swept up into a parallel financial system that supports and contributes to global inequality. bit.ly/34m7AQA
London broker and former car racer Maurizio Fabris used an offshore trust to buy more than a dozen Banksy pieces — and later sell three while he and his business associates came under criminal investigation in Italy for alleged tax fraud. #PandoraPapers bit.ly/34m7AQA
A 2017 verdict against Fabris and business associates, which found them guilty of evading about $6.6 million in Italian taxes, was overturned on appeal. Fabris denies wrongdoing. bit.ly/34m7AQA
In much of the world, including the U.S., art dealers have long not been subject to know-your-customer rules meant to stop money laundering and financial crime.

The ease with which art can be traded can attract criminals, experts say. bit.ly/34m7AQA
Over the last three decades, the global art market has boomed, evolving from a niche sector for the elite into an estimated $50 billion industry that operates with uneven anti-money laundering oversight. bit.ly/34m7AQA

A 2020 @HSGAC report said:
The EU targeted art dealers and auctioneers in a 2018 anti-money laundering directive.

The U.S., with its $21 billion art trade — the world’s largest — doesn't require art dealers and traders to vet clients and report suspicious transactions. bit.ly/34m7AQA
ICIJ has investigated financial secrecy in the art and antiquities trade in the #PanamaPapers, #FinCENFiles, #PandoraPapers and more.

📧 Subscribe to our free e-newsletter to follow along with our reporting. icij.org/newsletter/

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More from @ICIJorg

Aug 2
Since the 1950s, Israel Bonds, which sells bonds to fund Israel’s government, has evolved, increasingly courting banks and other institutional investors.

In recent years, U.S. states and municipalities have sunk billions into Israeli bonds. buff.ly/3SwnUUM
Thousands of records obtained by ICIJ reveal Israel Bonds’ tight relationship with U.S. institutional investors, and how some officials who buy Israeli bonds have had access to gala dinners, cocktail celebrations, and private meetings with Israeli leaders.buff.ly/3SwnUUM
A spokesperson for Israel Bonds told ICIJ that the bonds are safe investments with steady returns, and described the group’s sales strategy as “just like any other business.” But ethics experts say such dealings are not always so straightforward.

buff.ly/3SwnUUM
A quote by Richard W. Painter, a law professor who was a chief White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration, reads “These types of practices, the mixing up of the personal and official, seem to go well beyond what’s seen as acceptable.”
Read 6 tweets
May 14
Interpol has asked governments worldwide to find and provisionally arrest Isabel dos Santos, yet the former Angolan billionaire isn't hiding. Instead, she often posts about her lavish lifestyle at a Dubai residence.

The country has remained her safe haven.buff.ly/3ykHpIP
Newly leaked Dubai property data reviewed by ICIJ for #DubaiUnlocked reveal that dos Santos and her mother, Tatiana “Kukanova” Regan, co-own an apartment in a building called Sadaf, Arabic for “seashell,” overlooking Dubai Marina and the Persian Gulf. buff.ly/3ykHpIP
The eldest daughter of Angola’s former president, dos Santos came under scrutiny by authorities on three continents after ICIJ’s #LuandaLeaks revealed how lucrative deals obtained under her father’s rule helped her become Africa’s richest woman. buff.ly/3UY5DBE
Read 5 tweets
May 12
Did you miss the launch of our #SwaziSecrets investigation?

Catch up with the stories our partners worked on in this thread!
@amaBhungane, @AJEnglish, @FinUncovered, @OpenSecretsZA, @jeune_afrique, @TheAfricaReport, @MakandayMedia, @PremiumTimesng buff.ly/4dBIMTK
@amaBhungane @AJEnglish @FinUncovered @OpenSecretsZA @jeune_afrique @TheAfricaReport @MakandayMedia @PremiumTimesng buff.ly/4dwsA61
@amaBhungane @AJEnglish @FinUncovered @OpenSecretsZA @jeune_afrique @TheAfricaReport @MakandayMedia @PremiumTimesng buff.ly/3UWbd6r
Read 11 tweets
Mar 26
A member of the Qatari royal family invested about $50 million in Newsmax, bolstering the conservative outlet at a time when Qatar was facing diplomatic pressure and seeking U.S. allies.

buff.ly/3ITH5mh
A photo of Donald Trump besides a photo of Christopher Ruddy. The headline reads, “Qatari royal invested about $50 million in pro-Trump network Newsmax.”
Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani, a former Qatari government official and the owner of a London-based investment fund, Heritage Advisors, invested in Newsmax in 2019 and 2020.

The investment has not been previously reported. buff.ly/3ITH5mh
The documents were obtained by ICIJ from a trove of roughly 100,000 leaked files from Genesis Trust, a Cayman Islands-based financial services provider now called Highvern.

Newsmax and Heritage Advisors confirmed the investment. buff.ly/3ITH5mh
Read 8 tweets
Dec 28, 2023
ICIJ's 2023 investigations stretched around the world, exposing greenwashing in the global sustainability industry, labor trafficking in the Middle East, and the sprawling financial networks that have powered the Putin regime.

Let's take a look back: bit.ly/479C9DM
Image
ICIJ-led investigation #CyprusConfidential revealed how the EU member state has served as a hideaway for Russian wealth, with Cypriot firms moving vast sums for oligarchs, including after Russia’s 2022 Ukraine invasion.

bit.ly/488EzUo
An illustration depicting a dome characteristic of Russian Orthodox churches balancing precariously on a Greek-style column. The headline reads, “Cyprus ignores Russian atrocities, Western sanctions to shield vast wealth of Putin allies.”
Two wealthy Haitians sanctioned by Canada owned or had other links to almost 20 companies and trusts created in some of the world’s most secretive tax havens, according to documents from the #PandoraPapers.

bit.ly/3TAPf9Z
Composite image of scanned passports and two men carrying a coffin. The headline reads, “How US lawyers and bankers aided powerful Haitian tycoons now sanctioned over corruption by Canada.”
Read 7 tweets
Nov 17, 2023
1/8 #CyprusConfidential reveals the pivotal role the Mediterranean island plays in helping oligarchs move and hide their wealth. Here are six billionaires identified in the 3.6 million document leak: bit.ly/40GMmpy
2/8 #CyprusConfidential details how, just days before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, more than $1.7 billion worth of shares from Russian steel giant Evraz were transferred from former Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich’s BVI-based company to himself. Image
3/8 ICIJ’s partners for #CyprusConfidential also report that Abramovich wielded significantly more influence in European professional football than was previously known: bit.ly/3sDwmIa
Read 8 tweets

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