A number of high-profile celebrities have been mentioned in newly leaked documents about how the word's riches hiding their wealth in order to evade taxes.
- Oct 5, 2021
AceShowbiz - Shakira, Elton John, and Ringo Starr are among the big names featured in the leak of tax shelter documents, known as the Pandora Papers.
The trio joins former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, singer Julio Iglesias, and German model Claudia Schiffer, among the high-profile people named in the data dump of private financial dealings, which expose offshore investments, among other tax avoidance measures.
The leak was published by several news outlets, including The Guardian and The Washington Post, over the weekend.
Tax authorities in Australia and the U.K. have confirmed they will be investigating the documents, released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in an effort to seek out any potential tax law violation.
Nothing in the paperwork suggests any of the celebrities or world leaders named have broken any laws.
The U.K.'s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has confirmed his department is reviewing the leaked information, telling Sky News, "We will look through those to see if there is anything we can learn."
Shakira's attorney has been quick to respond to the leak, telling the ICIJ his client denies any wrongdoing, and insists she has declared her companies in the Bahamas, claiming they do not provide tax advantages. Representatives for Schiffer also claim the fashion star pays her taxes in the U.K., where she is based, according to Billboard.
Shakira is already facing a possible tax fraud case in Spain after lawmakers recommended she stand trial over allegations she failed to pay $16.84 million (£12.4 million) in tax on income earned between 2012 and 2014.
The Pandora Papers leak comes five years after ICIJ reporters dredged up the Panama Papers in 2016, which inspired Steven Soderbergh's Netflix film "The Laundromat", starring Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas as Mossack Fonseca co-founders Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca. A data dump from their law firm, based in Panama, was responsible for that leak.
