The Panama Papers
There will probably be a lot of revelations about the people who hold offshore accounts in the coming days. The first to go down has been Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson. The following is information from the New York Times and CNN. A replacement has been named Sigidur Ingi Johannsson. Gunnlauggsson may be down but it is unclear whether he has been counted out.
The economy of the British Virgin Islands is largely based on such secrecy, with just over half of all government revenues coming from incorporation fees. More than 950,000 offshore companies have been incorporated there.
Gunnlaugsson and his wife, Anna Sigurlaug Palsdottir, purchased Wintris from Mossack Fonseca in 2007, according to the journalism group, which conducted a yearlong investigation in cooperation with more than 100 news organizations.
The journalism organization alleged the shell company was used to invest millions of dollars in inherited money, and that Gunnlaugsson did not disclose, as required by parliamentary rules, that he co-owned Wintris when he entered parliament in April 2009.
But in a statement attributed to Gunnlaugsson and Palsdottir published on his website March 27, he denied having breached the rules, saying that only companies with "commercial activity" had to be reported, while Wintris was simply a holding company for his wife's assets.
He had "therefore followed the rules for declarations of interests ever since he took a seat in parliament in 2009, regardless of how you look at this case," the statement read.
On the last day of 2009, Gunnlaugsson sold his half of the company -- headquartered on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands -- to Palsdottir for $1, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported, citing the leaked documents.
In a statement later provided to the journalism group, his office said that, as a holding company for his wife's assets, Wintris brought no tax advantages and had been created to avoid conflicts of interest in Iceland.
"It's been clear since before I began participating in politics that my wife had a considerable amount of money," he wrote in a post on his website Monday.
"Some people find that in itself very negative. I can't do much about that because I'm neither going to divorce my wife nor demand that she relinquish her family inheritance."
Collapsed banks
The journalism group reported that among Wintris' more notable holdings were bonds of three major Icelandic banks that collapsed in 2008. It said it was not clear how Gunnlaugsson's political activities could have affected the bonds' value.
Gunnlaugsson said in his statement on his website that his wife had never benefited from his political activities -- "quite the contrary."
"My political participation and the policies I have fought for have resulted in her wealth being decreased," he wrote.
CNN's Inga Thordar, Jethro Mullen, Bharati Naik, Vasco Cotovio, Laura Perez Maestro, Catherine E. Shoichet and David Williams contributed to this report.
The folks in Iceland have spoken and it appears they want Sigi out, he is stepping down, but it is unclear whether he is leaving the political life behind.
The economy of the British Virgin Islands is largely based on such secrecy, with just over half of all government revenues coming from incorporation fees. More than 950,000 offshore companies have been incorporated there.
Gunnlaugsson and his wife, Anna Sigurlaug Palsdottir, purchased Wintris from Mossack Fonseca in 2007, according to the journalism group, which conducted a yearlong investigation in cooperation with more than 100 news organizations.
The journalism organization alleged the shell company was used to invest millions of dollars in inherited money, and that Gunnlaugsson did not disclose, as required by parliamentary rules, that he co-owned Wintris when he entered parliament in April 2009.
But in a statement attributed to Gunnlaugsson and Palsdottir published on his website March 27, he denied having breached the rules, saying that only companies with "commercial activity" had to be reported, while Wintris was simply a holding company for his wife's assets.
He had "therefore followed the rules for declarations of interests ever since he took a seat in parliament in 2009, regardless of how you look at this case," the statement read.
On the last day of 2009, Gunnlaugsson sold his half of the company -- headquartered on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands -- to Palsdottir for $1, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported, citing the leaked documents.
In a statement later provided to the journalism group, his office said that, as a holding company for his wife's assets, Wintris brought no tax advantages and had been created to avoid conflicts of interest in Iceland.
"It's been clear since before I began participating in politics that my wife had a considerable amount of money," he wrote in a post on his website Monday.
"Some people find that in itself very negative. I can't do much about that because I'm neither going to divorce my wife nor demand that she relinquish her family inheritance."
Collapsed banks
The journalism group reported that among Wintris' more notable holdings were bonds of three major Icelandic banks that collapsed in 2008. It said it was not clear how Gunnlaugsson's political activities could have affected the bonds' value.
Gunnlaugsson said in his statement on his website that his wife had never benefited from his political activities -- "quite the contrary."
"My political participation and the policies I have fought for have resulted in her wealth being decreased," he wrote.
CNN's Inga Thordar, Jethro Mullen, Bharati Naik, Vasco Cotovio, Laura Perez Maestro, Catherine E. Shoichet and David Williams contributed to this report.
The folks in Iceland have spoken and it appears they want Sigi out, he is stepping down, but it is unclear whether he is leaving the political life behind.
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