

Secret Files Expose Offshore’s Global Impact - kitsune_
http://www.icij.org/offshore/secret-files-expose-offshores-global-impact

======
dredmorbius
Coral cache may be helpful: [http://www.icij.org.nyud.net/offshore/secret-
files-expose-of...](http://www.icij.org.nyud.net/offshore/secret-files-expose-
offshores-global-impact)

This is really huge. Offshore accounts are thought to total up to $32
trillion. The Guardian / ICIJ archive accounts for only a portion of this,
though I suspect the BVI are attractive to many for their stability
(association with Britain provides its advantages).

On the technical side, I'd be interested in what tools are being used to
analyze the archive. A related Guardian article notes:

"Unlike the smaller cache of US cables and war logs passed in 2010 to
WikiLeaks, the offshore data was not structured or clean, but an unsorted
collation of internal memos and instructions, official documents, emails,
large and small databases and spreadsheets, scanned passports and accounting
ledgers.

"Analysing the immense quantity of information required "free text retrieval"
software, which can work with huge volumes of unsorted data. Such high-end
systems have been sold for more than a decade to intelligence agencies, law
firms and commercial corporations. Journalism is just catching up."

[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/04/offshore-secrets-
da...](http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/04/offshore-secrets-data-emails-
icij)

Anyone have any specifics on this "free text retrieval" software, its
capabilities, and how it compares with, say, standard Linux/Unix text search
and processing tools?

~~~
kleinmatic
They provide good detail about the software they used.

"The major software tools used for the Offshore Project were NUIX of Sydney,
Australia, and dtSearch of Bethesda, Md. NUIX Pty Ltd provided ICIJ with a
limited number of licenses to use its fully featured high-end e-discovery
software, free of charge. The listed cost for the NUIX software was higher
than a non-profit organization like the ICIJ could afford, if the software had
not been donated."

Securiing their communications proved more difficult than free-text search,
however:

"The project team’s attempts to use encrypted e-mail systems such as PGP
(“Pretty Good Privacy”) were abandoned because of complexity and unreliability
that slowed down information sharing."

~~~
dredmorbius
Ah. My read of the PGP comment was that the offshore-banking individuals /
organizations had tried to use PGP but bailed. Seems that your interpretation
it was the _investigative team_ that tried but failed is the actual case.

Interesting. Sadly, far too common. I've been using PGP for well over a
decade, know a small handful of people (outside of technical mailing lists)
who have and can access their keys, and have actually been chewed out by some
of these for sending encrypted mail.

------
nateabele
I love how the article spins it such that offshoring is only for sinister,
evil people. The reality is that most people use offshoring as a hedge against
insolvent governments, and depending on their industry, the very real threat
of criminal prosecution for benign activity.[0]

The moral question isn't 'how can this be prevented?', but 'how can it be made
more accessible for the average person?'. I see huge startup opportunities
right now around helping people cheaply and easily diversify internationally.

[0] [http://maxkeiser.com/2013/01/17/a-broken-justice-system-
most...](http://maxkeiser.com/2013/01/17/a-broken-justice-system-most-
americans-commit-about-three-felonies-a-day/)

~~~
liber8
Speaking strictly for Americans, this simply isn't true. There are very, very,
very few benefits to keeping your money offshore. Tax fraud is benefit #1.
"Asset protection" (which generally means you're hiding money from your spouse
or business partners) is benefit #2. Unless you actually own property in the
country where you keep your money, or do real business there, those are
basically the only benefits. There are also massive costs: (1) the literal
costs that the foreign nation (and bank) will charge you to hold your money;
(2) the risk that the money will actually be available when you want to access
it; (3) the risk that the foreign government and bank will cooperate with the
U.S. government when it comes knocking (this risk has greatly increased since
the passage of MLAT and other recent treaties).

I could definitely see how citizens of other countries could legitimately use
such accounts to get around immoral laws in their home countries. Whether this
makes up "most people" who use offshore accounts, as you claim, is beyond my
knowledge.

I would bet that a great percentage of the volume of money moving through
these offshore havens are indeed a hedge against insolvent governments: the
governors' own. There's a reason these island nations are where despots like
Gaddafi, Mugabe, Marcos, Bashir, Afwerki, Mbasogo, Mubarak, Kagame, and
others, and their extended families, park their money.

~~~
nateabele
> Speaking strictly for Americans, this simply isn't true.

You are mistaken. Allow me to enlighten you:

\- <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102>

\- <http://www.progress.org/fold13.htm>

\- <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsIGtSRDy54>

Not to mention the rhetoric inherent in statements like "it's patriotic to pay
taxes", or the implicit assumption in policies like tax withholding, that
government owns the product of your labor, and 'grants' you a portion of it.

No, history shows us that broke governments are dangerous governments, and if
you don't believe that the US is going broke, you are blind and helpless.

~~~
jgalt212
Yowsa. You need go hole up in the mountains with your survival gear, guns,
gold bullion and collection of Glenn Beck books.

~~~
nateabele
Way to add something constructive to the discussion.

------
drucken
I wonder where they got this information trove from?

Also, I highly recommend the book _Treasure Islands_ by Nicholas Shaxson
([http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Islands-Uncovering-
Offshore-B...](http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Islands-Uncovering-Offshore-
Banking/dp/0230105017/)) to understand the enormity of the problem and its
historical context (yes, the growth in activity is easily traced).

~~~
dredmorbius
[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/04/offshore-secrets-
da...](http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/apr/04/offshore-secrets-data-emails-
icij)

A related article at The Guardian provides more details. Specifically: "The
ICIJ's exploration of offshore secrets began when a computer hard drive packed
with corporate data arrived in the post. Gerard Ryle, ICIJ's director,
obtained the small black box as a result of his three-year investigation of
Australia's Firepower scandal, a case involving offshore havens and corporate
fraud."

As for the Firepower Scandal:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firepower_International>

"Firepower International was advertised as a Hong Kong-based company owned and
operated by Global Fuel Technologies Ltd, specializing in technology
purporting to reduce the fuel consumption and environmental impact of petrol-
operated vehicles.[1] There were other offices in Sydney, China, Rhodes,
Athens and Papua New Guinea, according to the now-defunct official company
website. But "in reality it was a handful of people in an industrial estate in
Perth", who were conducting a complex of fraudulent operations.[2] The
original entity—Firepower Operations Pty Ltd—was a $1 company, first
registered in December 2004, owned by Firepower Holdings Group Ltd, a company
with an address in the British Virgin Islands.[3]"

Oh what a wicked web we weave ...

------
r4vik
Nice try Guardian: [http://order-order.com/2013/04/04/a-tip-off-for-the-
guardian...](http://order-order.com/2013/04/04/a-tip-off-for-the-guardian-
investigations-team/)

~~~
tomwalker
The hypocrisy is so common. I just read on that site that the French
politician leading the tax avoidance crack down resigned as he had 600,000
euros in an off short account!

------
xradionut
Currently the ICIJ web site is buckling from the traffic, but the article and
the various summaries elsewhere make for interesting reads.

I can't say I'm not surprised about these revelations, there have been other
leaks, articles and essays discussing the problem, but not with the specific
details. I'd love to get the full set of documents and run it against specific
individuals/corporations in my area, but it would probably confirm what I
already suspect.

------
manishsharan
Is this scoop an unintentional advertisement for Swiss banking ? I did a text
search for India , Sharad Pawar , Gandhi and Yadav --- nothing showed up. But
the rich in India always favor Swiss banking for their illicit wealth.

~~~
ajays
They also like Mauritius.

------
drucken
ICIJ have a nice and useful ( _cough_ ) "Interactive: Stash Your Cash" too
(<http://www.icij.org/offshore/interactive-stash-your-cash>)

~~~
leot
Wow. Phoney lawsuit: brilliant.

(not condoning this behavior in any way)

------
drinchev
Why they haven't released that data for public download on the Internet?

~~~
kitcar
Because they are private banking records - some of the account info released
is from private citizens doing nothing illegal (offshore banking is explicitly
legal in many countries)

One way to look at it is: how would you like it if it was discovered that a
drug lord was using the same bank as you to launder money, and therefore your
bank account balances and recent transfers were released to the public, even
though you had nothing to do with the drug lord other than storing your money
at the same bank?

~~~
trust-me
I see no problem at all with my bank account balances being published on the
Internet. In Norway everybody's total balance is published by the government.
I really find irrational some ordinary people desire to keep stuff like net
worth, salary, etc. secret.

~~~
kelvin0
This is not an irrational fear, nor a cultural one. It's mostly tied with
local laws and rules. For example, the US being such a hotbed for class
actions and frivolous law suits, I can imagine that some wealthy individuals
would rather keep their balance from lawsuit 'trolls' ... But that is just my
opinion

~~~
trust-me
Sure, for the wealthy there are reasons, but not for the 99%.

~~~
cliffu
Let me get this straight, because I don't want to misread you. What you are
saying here is the wealthy deserve separate protection under the law and
anyone in the 99% should have their records published because they don't
"need" privacy?

~~~
trust-me
Nope, where did I say that anything about making new laws? It want matter much
anyway as the really rich people and privately hold companies don't keep the
majority of their money in own bank accounts.

