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As global powers continue to seek out ways to pressure and isolate the Putin regime after its invasion of Ukraine, targeting the financial interests of oligarchs and other Russian elites has proven a challenge.
That’s because their wealth is often stored or sheltered through the offshore system. And Russian powerbrokers are now using shadowy shell companies and tax havens to dodge sanctions and further secure their assets.
But in some high-profile cases that emerged in the last week, the Pandora Papers has the receipts for their offshore entanglements.
First up is the controversy over Burger King’s operations in Russia. While other fast-food chains have pulled out of the country, Burger King has said it doesn’t have authority to do the same because its shops are fully franchised in Russia.
But that’s not the whole story. ICIJ reporter Scilla Alecci found that Burger King’s parent company has quietly kept a stake in its Russia operations through an offshore joint venture. After ICIJ asked Burger King questions about it, the fast-food giant publicly acknowledged the stake and said it’s trying to sell it.
The Pandora Papers also shed light on a $1.4 billion countermove by one of Russia’s richest tycoons, Alexei Mordashov.
When Mordashov was recently sanctioned, he transferred most of his ownership stake in the tourism conglomerate TUI to a mysterious shell company in the British Virgin Islands.
That investment is now controlled by a woman identified in secret records as the mother of Mordashov’s children, ICIJ’s Scilla Alecci found in the Pandora Papers. German authorities are currently reviewing the case.
These are some of the financial secrets ICIJ is continuing to investigate in the Russia Archive. Stay tuned for more (and send us tips if you have them)!
OLIGARCH INDEX
What has ICIJ uncovered about the hidden wealth of Russian elites close to Vladimir Putin? Here’s a master list of our reporting on prominent figures currently being targeted with sanctions and more.
‘WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?’
Top Ericsson officials were grilled by shareholders about disclosure failures revealed in the Ericsson List investigation on the telecom giant’s misconduct in Iraq.
TOP LAWYER OUT
Ericsson has replaced its chief legal counsel weeks after the Ericsson List investigation revealed its misconduct in Iraq, and the telecom giant was accused by the U.S. Justice Department of breaching its $1 billion corruption settlement.
‘PEOPLE HATE YOU’
We speak to pioneering journalist Namini Wijedasa about getting her start as one of the few women to cover Sri Lanka’s brutal civil war, the dangers she’s faced doing high-profile investigations, and more in the latest episode of the Meet the Investigators podcast.
OVERSEAS PRESS CLUB AWARD
OPC judges called the Pandora Papers a “tour de force … showing how money and power operate in the 21st century” in awarding ICIJ the Malcolm Forbes Award for best international business reporting. !
Thanks for reading!
Asraa Mustufa
ICIJ's digital editor
P.S. If you've enjoyed our coverage this week, remember to tell your friends and family and share our work on social media. Send them an email now!
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