CBC: Panama Papers: How the release of the documents could lead to deadly political purges
Data reveals alleged links to family, friends of current and former dictators.
Embarrassment, prosecution, political instability and murder — all possible ramifications, say some observers, of the leak of millions of confidential documents revealing the hidden offshore assets of billionaires, top government officials, celebrities and athletes.
"I'd be stunned if insiders in the authoritarian governments that this has been leaked on are not caught up in purges and killed as a consequence of this information," said U.S. political scientist Ian Bremmer, head of the global political risk research firm Eurasia Group.
"Because when you're talking about stealing billions of dollars from the people and you're a dictator, that's the information that's most important to keep close at hand and that's what people are most willing to fight for."
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WNU Editor: This leak is important because it shows the money trail that many political leaders and the wealthy use in minimizing their tax burdens and/or hiding their wealth. And while having off-shore companies is nothing new (and perfectly legal in many countries) .... in some authoritarian countries this is not the case. As a result, it will not surprise me if in the days and weeks to come we start to see law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and God only knows what else .... all of them lining up and demanding complete access to all of these documents. The end result becomes even more predictable .... I can easily see how this information will then be used in certain countries to eliminate/purge/discredit opponents .... and in some cases put in jail ... or worse.