Remember the Panama Papers? It was a massive 2015 document leak that exposed a system in which offshore companies enable crime and corruption. The Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation that followed, led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), was a collaboration among more than 100 newsrooms across the world. It led to a flurry of resignations and indictments and took down leaders in Iceland and Pakistan.
This week, Reveal journalists teamed up with ICIJ for a new bombshell: The Paradise Papers.
This time around, the action is centered on more than 13 million confidential files leaked to Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the ICIJ's global team of more than 300 journalists. Many of the confidential documents, emails and voicemails come from Appleby, a Bermuda-based law firm. The leaks shed light on how corporate giants move their cash from one offshore tax haven to another.
The Paradise Papers also open questions about Trump's Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross' financial ties to Russian companies.
And they disclose how Facebook and Twitter received backing from Kremlin-controlled Russian banks. This comes at a time when the two tech giants are facing scrutiny by the US Justice Department and Congress.
This global collaboration involves a team of journalists from 67 countries. Reveal is the first US public radio show and podcast to tell the story through audio. Don't miss this episode, and stay tuned for a series of partners' text stories on our site in the coming days.
- Learn more or listen again to this week's episode.
Illustration by Rocco Fazzari/ICIJ