Global Witness
Robert Palmer: The Panama Papers exposed a huge global problem. What's next?
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On April 3, 2016 we saw the largest data leak in history. The Panama Papers exposed rich and powerful people hiding vast amounts of money in offshore accounts. But what does it all mean? We called Robert Palmer of Global Witness to find out.
Robert Palmer - Campaign leader, Global Witness
Robert Palmer investigates how the financial system facilitates corruption and other crimes. Full bio
Robert Palmer investigates how the financial system facilitates corruption and other crimes. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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[On April 3, 2016 we saw
the largest data leak in history.]
the largest data leak in history.]
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[The Panama Papers exposed
rich and powerful people]
rich and powerful people]
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[hiding vast amounts of money
in offshore accounts.]
in offshore accounts.]
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[What does this mean?]
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[We called Robert Palmer
of Global Witness to explain.]
of Global Witness to explain.]
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This week, there have been
a whole slew and deluge of stories
a whole slew and deluge of stories
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coming out from the leak
of 11 million documents
of 11 million documents
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from a Panamanian-based law firm
called Mossack Fonseca.
called Mossack Fonseca.
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The release of these papers from Panama
lifts the veil on a tiny piece
lifts the veil on a tiny piece
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of the secretive offshore world.
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We get an insight into how clients
and banks and lawyers
and banks and lawyers
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go to companies like Mossack Fonseca
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and say, "OK, we want
an anonymous company,
an anonymous company,
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can you give us one?"
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So you actually get to see the emails,
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you get to see the exchanges of messages,
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you get to see the mechanics
of how this works,
of how this works,
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how this operates.
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Now, this has already started
to have pretty immediate repercussions.
to have pretty immediate repercussions.
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The Prime Minister
of Iceland has resigned.
of Iceland has resigned.
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We've also had news
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that an ally of the brutal
Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad
Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad
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has also got offshore companies.
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There's been allegations
of a $2 billion money trail
of a $2 billion money trail
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that leads back to President
Vladimir Putin of Russia
Vladimir Putin of Russia
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via his close childhood friend,
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who happens to be a top cellist.
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And there will be a lot
of rich individuals out there
of rich individuals out there
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and others who will be nervous
about the next set of stories
about the next set of stories
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and the next set of leaked documents.
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Now, this sounds like the plot
of a spy thriller
of a spy thriller
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or a John Grisham novel.
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It seems very distant
from you, me, ordinary people.
from you, me, ordinary people.
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Why should we care about this?
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But the truth is that if rich
and powerful individuals
and powerful individuals
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are able to keep their money offshore
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and not pay the taxes that they should,
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it means that there is less money
for vital public services
for vital public services
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like healthcare, education, roads.
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And that affects all of us.
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Now, for my organization Global Witness,
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this exposé has been phenomenal.
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We have the world's media
and political leaders
and political leaders
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talking about how individuals
can use offshore secrecy
can use offshore secrecy
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to hide and disguise their assets --
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something we have been talking about
and exposing for a decade.
and exposing for a decade.
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Now, I think a lot of people find
this entire world baffling and confusing,
this entire world baffling and confusing,
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and hard to understand how
this sort of offshore world works.
this sort of offshore world works.
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I like to think of it a bit
like a Russian doll.
like a Russian doll.
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So you can have one company
stacked inside another company,
stacked inside another company,
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stacked inside another company,
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making it almost impossible
to really understand
to really understand
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who is behind these structures.
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It can be very difficult
for law enforcement
for law enforcement
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or tax authorities,
journalists, civil society
journalists, civil society
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to really understand what's going on.
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I also think it's interesting
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that there's been less coverage
of this issue in the United States.
of this issue in the United States.
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And that's perhaps because
some prominent US people
some prominent US people
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just haven't figured
in this exposé, in this scandal.
in this exposé, in this scandal.
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Now, that's not because
there are no rich Americans
there are no rich Americans
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who are stashing their assets offshore.
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It's just because of the way
in which offshore works,
in which offshore works,
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Mossack Fonseca has fewer
American clients.
American clients.
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I think if we saw leaks
from the Cayman Islands
from the Cayman Islands
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or even from Delaware
or Wyoming or Nevada,
or Wyoming or Nevada,
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you would see many more cases
and examples linking back to Americans.
and examples linking back to Americans.
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In fact, in a number of US states
you need less information,
you need less information,
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you need to provide less
information to get a company
information to get a company
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than you do to get a library card.
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That sort of secrecy in America
has allowed employees of school districts
has allowed employees of school districts
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to rip off schoolchildren.
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It has allowed scammers
to rip off vulnerable investors.
to rip off vulnerable investors.
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This is the sort of behavior
that affects all of us.
that affects all of us.
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Now, at Global Witness,
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we wanted to see what this
actually looked like in practice.
actually looked like in practice.
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How does this actually work?
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So what we did
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is we sent in an undercover investigator
to 13 Manhattan law firms.
to 13 Manhattan law firms.
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Our investigator posed
as an African minister
as an African minister
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who wanted to move suspect funds
into the United States
into the United States
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to buy a house, a yacht, a jet.
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Now, what was truly shocking
was that all but one of those lawyers
was that all but one of those lawyers
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provided our investigator with suggestions
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on how to move those suspect funds.
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These were all preliminary meetings,
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and none of the lawyers
took us on as a client
took us on as a client
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and of course no money moved hands,
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but it really shows the problem
with the system.
with the system.
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It's also important
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to not just think about this
as individual cases.
as individual cases.
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This is not just about
an individual lawyer
an individual lawyer
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who's spoken to our undercover
investigator and provided suggestions.
investigator and provided suggestions.
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It's not just about
a particular senior politician
a particular senior politician
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who's been caught up in a scandal.
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This is about how a system works,
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that entrenches corruption,
tax evasion, poverty and instability.
tax evasion, poverty and instability.
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And in order to tackle this,
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we need to change the game.
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We need to change the rules of the game
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to make this sort of behavior harder.
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This may seem like doom and gloom,
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like there's nothing we can do about it,
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like nothing has ever changed,
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like there will always be rich
and powerful individuals.
and powerful individuals.
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But as a natural optimist,
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I do see that we are starting
to get some change.
to get some change.
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Over the last couple of years,
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we've seen a real push towards
greater transparency
greater transparency
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when it comes to company ownership.
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This issue was put on the political agenda
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by the UK Prime Minister David Cameron
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at a big G8 Summit that was held
in Northern Ireland in 2013.
in Northern Ireland in 2013.
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And since then, the European Union
is going to be creating
is going to be creating
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central registers at a national level
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of who really owns and controls
companies across Europe.
companies across Europe.
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One of the things that is sad is that,
actually, the US is lagging behind.
actually, the US is lagging behind.
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There's bipartisan legislation
that had been introduced
that had been introduced
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in the House and the Senate,
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but it isn't making as much progress
as we'd like to see.
as we'd like to see.
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So we'd really want to see
the Panama leaks,
the Panama leaks,
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this huge peek into the offshore world,
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be used as a way of opening up
in the US and around the world.
in the US and around the world.
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For us at Global Witness,
this is a moment for change.
this is a moment for change.
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We need ordinary people to get angry
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at the way in which people
can hide their identity
can hide their identity
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behind secret companies.
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We need business leaders
to stand up and say,
to stand up and say,
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"Secrecy like this is not
good for business."
good for business."
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We need political leaders
to recognize the problem,
to recognize the problem,
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and to commit to changing the law
to open up this sort of secrecy.
to open up this sort of secrecy.
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Together, we can end the secrecy
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that is currently allowing tax evasion,
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corruption, money laundering to flourish.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Robert Palmer - Campaign leader, Global WitnessRobert Palmer investigates how the financial system facilitates corruption and other crimes.
Why you should listen
Robert Palmer is the Banks and Corruption Campaign Leader for Global Witness, whose founder Charmian Gooch won the TED Prize in 2014. The Nobel-prize nominated organization is dedicated to breaking the links between natural resources, conflict and corruption.
Palmer has led a number of high profile investigations. These include exposing how corrupt Nigerian politicians used British high street banks to move bribe money; uncovering which global banks held $65 billion of Libyan government funds; and organizing an undercover sting to show how corrupt officials can move suspect funds into the U.S. with the help of New York lawyers.
Palmer is an expert in the global anti-money laundering framework and helps to develop practical policy solutions to improve its effectiveness. He helps to lead a global coalition of civil society groups campaigning for an end to the abuse of the financial system by corrupt officials. This has led to new transparency laws in the UK and EU to tackle anonymously owned companies.
Robert Palmer | Speaker | TED.com