Former Sri Lankan minister named in Pandora Papers

 

Image from BBC

Hundreds of world leaders, powerful politicians, billionaires, celebrities, religious leaders and drug dealers have been hiding their investments in mansions, exclusive beachfront property, yachts and other assets for the past quarter-century, according to a review of nearly 12 million files obtained from 14 firms located around the world. 

The report released Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries. 

It’s being dubbed the “Pandora Papers” because the findings shed light on the previously hidden dealings of the elite and the corrupt, and how they have used offshore accounts to shield assets collectively worth trillions of dollars. 

Former Sri Lanka Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa’s name has also been mentioned in the Panama Papers. Former minister Nirupama Rajapaksa and her husband Nadesan, as documented by the Pandora Papers, are the actual economic beneficiaries of an offshore company, managed by a Singapore trust firm, used to purchase luxury residences in London and Sydney, Australia. The anonymous real estate safe is still active in 201 9, when the available documents stop, it states. 

A former Member of Parliament, Nirupama served as deputy minister of water supply and drainage from 2010 to 2015.The more than 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of the secret accounts include Jordan’s King Abdullah II, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso, and associates of both Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Source : Adaderana.lk