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"You don't need to go to Panama. You can go to Deleware"
Gerald Celente
Putin Denounces "Panama Papers" As U.S. Plot To Destabilize Russia
Zero Hedge,
7
April, 2016
The
last few days days have been rife with speculation about the
motivation, if any, behind the release of the Panama Papers, with the
most prominent example coming from Wikileaks two days ago on Twitter
which accused the
journalist consortium behind the leak, the ICIJ, of being
a "Washington
DC based Ford, Soros funded soft-power tax-dodge which has a
WikiLeaks problem" and
adding that "PanamaPapers
Putin attack was produced by OCCRP which targets Russia & former
USSR and was funded by USAID & Soros."
WikiLeaks
Washington DC based Ford, Soros funded soft-power tax-dodge "ICIJ" has a WikiLeaks problem #PanamaPapers
As
we further suggested, the fact that none
other than Rothschild,
which is trying to corner the US-based "tax haven" sector,
stands to benefit from the collapse of the Panama offshoring industry
(as international clients who demand to maintain their anonymous
status are forced to move to the US), may lead to further questions
about a potential conflict of interest behind said release.
But
while these and many other questions will remain unanswered,
including why the ICIJ is cherrypicking which names to release
especially as pertains to US clients of the Panamanian law firm,
earlier today Russian president Putin made his first public
announcement on the topic of the Panama Papers.
Acording
to AP, Putin
denied having any links to offshore accounts and described the Panama
Papers document leaks scandal as "part
of a U.S.-led plot to weaken Russia."
Putin described the allegations as part of the U.S.-led
disinformation campaign waged against Russia in order to weaken its
government. "They
are trying to destabilize us from within in order to make us more
compliant," he
said.
President
Vladimir Putin attends the Russian Popular Front's third media
forum,
Truth and Justice, featuring independent regional and local media. April 7, 2016
Truth and Justice, featuring independent regional and local media. April 7, 2016
"So
here we've got some friend of the Russian president, he has done
something, probably there is an aspect of corruption to it... But
what aspect [exactly]? Well, there is none,"
Putin said on Thursday, addressing a media forum in St. Petersburg.
He also pointed out that he himself had not been mentioned in the
leaked documents.
"You
are all journalists here and you know what an informational product
is... They've plowed through offshore [funds]. [Putin] is not there,
there is nothing to talk about. But the task has been assigned! So
what have they done? They've created an informational product by
having found some acquaintances and friends,"
the president told the media forum.
According
to Putin, the Panama Papers episode is yet another attempt to
destabilize Russia from within, and
make it "more agreeable."
"The
easiest way to do so is to induce some mistrust to authorities within
the society,"
Putin said, adding that the creators of the leak aimed at the unity
of the multiethnic Russian people.
The
Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists said the documents it obtained indicated that Russian
cellist Sergei Roldugin acted as a front man for a network of Putin
loyalists, and, perhaps, the president himself.
Putin
defended Rolgudin, describing him as a philanthropist who spent his
own funds to buy rare musical instruments for Russian state
collections. Speaking at a media forum in St. Petersburg, Putin said
Western media pushed the claims of his involvement in offshore
businesses even though his name didn't feature in any of the
documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm.
Putin
said Roldugin, a longtime friend, did nothing wrong. He said he was
proud of Roldugin, adding that the musician spent his personal money
to advance cultural projects. Roldugin used the money he earned as a
minority shareholder of a Russian company to buy rare musical
instruments abroad and hand them over to the Russian state.
"I
am proud of people like Sergey Pavlovich [Roldugin]... and am proud
to have him among my friends," Putin
said, adding that claims that the cellist has billions are nonsense.
"Almost all money that he has earnt he spent on buying music
instruments abroad, which he then brought to Russia" and gave
them to state institutions, Putin said.
"Without
publicizing himself, he also has worked to organize concerts, promote
Russian culture abroad and effectively paid his own money for that,"
Putin added. "The more people like him we have, the better. And
I'm proud to have friends like him."
Putin
contended that Washington has fanned allegations of Russian official
corruption in order to weaken Moscow as the U.S. has become concerned
about Russia's growing economic and military might.
"The
events in Syria have demonstrated Russia's capability to solve
problems far away from its borders," he
said, adding that Moscow has achieved its goal "to strengthen
the Syrian statehood, its legitimate government bodies."
He
also touched on the topic of Ukraine, which yesterday suffered a
major diplomatic loss after a Dutch referendum voted against an
accession agreement meant to bring Ukraine and Europe closer
together. Some of Russia's counterparts on the international arena
"got used to a monopoly" there "and don't want to
consider others," he said, having also quoted some opinions on
why relations with the West have worsened.
"Our
position on the situation in the south-east of Ukraine, as well as
smaller scale things, such as [Russia's] refusal to extradite
[Edward] Snowden have become irritants in our relations," Putin
said.
Meanwhile,
Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, who was explicitly
named in the ICIJ leaks, had to be defended by Rothschild. As the FT
writes,
Rothschild Trust, a branch of Rothschild Wealth Management &
Trust, on Thursday confirmed
signing what it described as a transparent trust arrangement
agreement to manage the assets of Petro Poroshenko, "an
oligarch with business interests spanning from chocolates to
television who was elected president of Ukraine following the
2013-2014 Maidan revolution."
The
emailed statement follows reports and claims of possible impropriety
by Mr Poroshenko in setting up a British Virgin Islands-registered
company, writes Roman Olearchyk in Kiev. Documents leaked from
Panama’s law firm Mossack Fonseca revealed Mr Poroshenko’s
registration of a BVI-registered offshore company.
In
an emailed statement seemingly aimed to dispel concerns, the
Zurich-based company said:
As a matter of principle, we never comment on individuals or client relationships, but on this occasion we have been authorized by our client to confirm that Rothschild Trust has been appointed by Mr Poroshenko as trustee of a blind trust to hold his shares in Roshen. This follows over 12 months of extensive preparation, and the relevant trust deed was signed on 14th January 2016. The trust has been modelled on international standards for politicians requiring trusts to hold their assets while they are in office.
Despite
his name explicitly appearing in the ICIJ files, Poroshenko has
gotten zero media attention across western countries. We wonder if
Rothschild will pen comparable "explanation letters" for
other oligarchs or pundits who tend to have a pro-Western bent?
Putin Denounces "Panama Papers" As U.S. Plot To Destabilize Russia
The
US may use the revelations in the Panama Papers to widen its
blacklisting sanctions on Russian citizens and companies, according
to the Bloomberg news agency. RT’s Gayane Chichakyan has the story
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