On Mon, Apr 4, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published a new investigative report based on documents from a law firm in the tax haven of Panama. The so-called documents are now popularly referred to as the “Panama Papers.”
“The leaked internal files contained information on 214,488 offshore entities connected to people in more than 200 countries and territories,” reports Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The report noted: “Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos and her three sons — Ferdinand Richard Michael Manotoc, Fernando Martin ‘Borgy’ Manotoc, and Matthew Joseph Manotoc (now a lawyer, passed the bar in 2014) — were among those on the list of people linked to offshore financial dealings.”
Aside from Marcos and her sons, Sen. JV Ejercito, a son of ousted President Joseph Estrada, was also on the list of the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database.
The ICIJ explained, though, that it “do[es] not intend to suggest or imply that any persons, companies or other entities included in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly.”
The ICIJ’s definition of an offshore is “a company, trust or fund created in a low-tax, offshore jurisdiction.” A master client is “often an intermediary or go-between who helps a client set up an offshore entity.”
The Inquirer said their correspondents have not yet been able to get Gov. Marcos’ reaction to the ICIJ report.
The report further explained: “That Marcos and her children were on the list raised anew questions about the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses. The family is said to have amassed at least US$5 billion during the 21-year Marcos rule, including 14 years under martial law.”
