What are the Paradise Papers?
The Paradise Papers are a collection of leaked documents which allegedly reveal how politicians, celebrities, tech companies and other millionaires use off-shore tax havens.
The leak compromises 13.4 million files measuring 1.4TB – the second largest-ever data leak after the Panama Papers.
About half of the documents (6.8 million) relate to offshore legal service provider Appleby and corporate services provider Estera – which was part of Appleby until last year.
Another six million documents come from 19 corporate registries, mostly located in the Caribbean.
The papers were obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which also sourced last year’s Panama Papers leak.
The newspaper shared the leak with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Almost 100 media groups investigated the papers, including BBC Panorama and the Guardian.
Who is named in the Paradise Papers?
Among the most explosive claims is that the Queen’s private estate has invested about £10 million in offshore arrangements.
The Duchy of Lancaster, which provides the monarch with an independent income, reportedly held funds in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda between 2004 and 2005.
A small amount was invested in rent-to-own retailer BrightHouse, which has been accused of irresponsible lending.
The Duchy told the BBC that the holding now equated to £3,208.
A spokesman for the estate said: “We operate a number of investments and a few of these are with overseas funds.
“All of our investments are fully audited and legitimate.”
Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was found to have a business interest in Navigator Holdings, which earns millions transporting oil and gas for Russian company Sibur.
Two major Sibur shareholders are currently under US sanctions, although the company itself is not. Another shareholder is President Vladimir Putin’s son, Kirill Shamalov, who is not under sanction.
A US Government spokesman told BBC Panorama: “Secretary Ross recuses himself from any matters focused on transoceanic shipping vessels and works closely with Commerce Department ethics officials to ensure the highest ethical standard.”
Twitter and Facebook allegedly received substantial investments from two Russian state institutions.
The investments were reportedly made through Russian tech magnate Yuri Milner, who also holds a stake in a company owned by Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Lord Ashcroft, a major Tory donor, has been accused of ignoring rules around offshore trusts.
The BBC claims that the peer gave assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the Punta Gorda Trust in Bermuda in 2000, and sometimes made decisions about the investment without consulting trust officials.
But in order for a trust to operate as a tax break, decisions have to be taken by trustees independently of the owner.
A series of emails seen by the BBC suggest that Lord Ashcroft was willing to ignore these rules, actions which could see the trust challenged by HMRC.
The papers also reveal that Lord Ashcroft remained a nom-domicile and avoided paying tax to the UK treasury despite attempts by Parliament to convince him to become a permanent UK resident when he entered the Lords in 2000.
Becoming a permanent resident would have forced Lord Ashcroft to pay full British tax.
Can I access the Paradise Papers?
The Paradise Papers have not been made available to the public in full.
However, the ICIJ has created an interactive guide to the politicians and world leaders named in the papers, available here.