(Newswire.net — April 8, 2016) — President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, said the Panama Papers are part of a Western effort to weaken Russia, the Independent reported.
Although none of the Papers disclosed are directly connected to the Russian president, they did in fact hit leaders from all around the world. President Putin believes that this is a tactic of the west to harm his presidency and undermine the Russian government by inducing mass protests, such as those in Iceland that forced Iceland’s Prime minister to resign.
Speaking in St Petersburg, the President accused western media of publishing the claims of his involvement in offshore businesses even though his name did not appear in any of the documents leaked.
Mr Putin claims the allegations are part of a US-led disinformation campaign against the Russian government, the Independence reported.
In a long list of the world’s most influential people, Mr Putin’s name was not mentioned. However, some of the Russian President’s closest allies allegedly have offshore accounts, allowing them to dodge taxes in Russia, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists stated.
Following the Panama Papers leak, the media claims that some of Mr Putin’s closest associates have moved millions of dollars through offshore companies in a series of covert deals. The Kremlin blames “Putinophobia” for those claims.
In his first public statement on the Panama Papers, the Russian President said one of his closest friends, cellist Sergei Roldugin, who owns offshore assets, has done nothing wrong.
Although it is not illegal for a company or an individual to open an account in one of the tax-free countries, the idea that some of the Russian government’s strongest financial supporters actually bypass laws on taxes may cast a shadow of corruption in progress, which Mr Putin strongly disputes.
The Panama Papers represent over 11 million documents containing information on 215,000 offshore entities connected to individuals in more than 200 countries and territories, leaked from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca. The leak is considered the largest in the history of investigate journalism.