Pandora's box

The Greek myth of Pandora's box seems to have come true with a vengeance by the revelations gleaned by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists from a fresh set of leaked documents exposing the secret fortunes of prominent individuals across the globe. This investigation, dubbed 'Pandora Papers', is the latest in a series of mass International Consortium of Investigative Journalists leaks of financial documents that started with LuxLeaks in 2014, followed by the Panama Papers, Paradise Papers and FinCen. About 35 current and former leaders and heads of state and government are featured in the leaked documents. They include Jordan's King Abdullah II, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and others. The modus operandi for secreting funds in tax havens is to set up offshore companies that can then be used to hide wealth obtained through dubious or corrupt means and aid money laundering and global tax avoidance.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists found personal or family links between almost 1,000 companies in offshore tax havens and 336 high-level politicians, public officials, ministers, ambassadors and retired military officers amongst others. More than two-thirds of the companies were set up in the British Virgin Islands. An offshore British Virgin Islands company pays zero income tax, no capital gains tax, gift tax, inheritance tax, sales tax or value added tax (VAT). The British Virgin Islands function under British common law. These 'arrangements' propel Britain to top of the list of tax safe havens, where offshore companies can be registered and function without any questions being asked.

Like the Panama Papers that named, among others, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (and led to his disqualification in the case, albeit because of an unconnected and undeclared iqama - work permit - for the Gulf), the Pandora Papers potentially could prove explosive for Pakistan's elite. They include the names of about 700 individuals from Pakistan allegedly holding millions of dollars in such offshore companies' accounts. Strictly speaking, setting up an offshore company (or trust) is not illegal. However, the crunch comes when it is revealed whether such companies have been declared by their owners in their returns or not.

This list of 700 Pakistanis reads like a Who's Who of the country's elite. It ranges from current Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin to Minister for Water Resources Moonis Elahi, former federal minister Faisal Vawda, former special adviser for finance and revenue Waqar Masood Khan's son, the family of Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiyar, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) leader Abdul Aleem Khan, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Sharjeel Memon, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ishaq Dar's son, some retired high ranking military officers, businessmen, owners of media houses, etc., i.e., a very representative sample of our rich and powerful elite.

Some of these named worthies have attempted mea culpas to justify the setting up of such offshore companies, others have argued the companies are now dead, still others that they have been declared in countries where tax laws apply to their owners. Prime Minister Imran Khan has pledged to take action if any wrongdoing is established after investigation. One report has it that the Pandora Papers reveal two offshore companies registered with the Prime Minister's residential address in Lahore: 2 Zaman Park. Government spokespeople have dismissed this by arguing there are two properties half a kilometre apart with the same address! Curiouser and curiouser. The government is reportedly contemplating either a judicial investigation by the Supreme Court or a special commission headed by a retired superior courts judge to delve into this complicated and wide ranging matter and establish the veracity or otherwise of the International Commission of Investigative Journalists' findings.

Whatever the outcome of such a commission of inquiry or judicial investigation, and experience of past such efforts does not inspire confidence in a credible and transparent result, the Pandora Papers reveal the structure of global arrangements to favour the rich so that they can hide their wealth and escape taxes. Capitalism theoretically runs according to laws. But if you have laws that facilitate the secretion of wealth without questions being asked or taxes to be paid, that claim is morally weakened, at the very least. The revelations of the Pandora Papers, like similar exercises in the past listed above, have further blown the lid off this shady enterprise. But it is highly unlikely the rich and powerful global elite that is its main (if not only) customer, will permit such a lucrative and convenient loophole to be plugged.

As the small sample list of the Pakistanis named in the Pandora Papers indicates, all are naked in this hamaam, politicians from all sides of the political divide, serving or retired members of the civilian and military elite, and some Johnny-come-latelies who have managed to hitch a ride on this bandwagon of loot and plunder. Does Pakistan as a state, judging from our history, have the political will and wherewithal to challenge and bring to book those of the elite charged with dubious wealth hoarding abroad in safe havens?

A rhetorical question, if ever there was one. So far, all we have seen and been subjected to are partisan witch-hunts in the name of anti-corruption accountability, first by one, then the other side of the mainstream political divide. There is little if any evidence that this practice is poised on the cusp of a change. The rich and powerful need not lose any sleep over the Pandora Papers. Like their predecessors, it would come as no surprise if they too, after much huffing and puffing all round, fizzle out in a damp whimper.

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Copyright Business Recorder, 2021