Panama leak: Vladimir Putin aides among those named

One of the biggest document leaks in history snared world leaders, celebrities and sports stars in a snowballing worldwide scandal on Monday over their secretive offshore financial dealings.

A year-long worldwide media investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents, leaked from a Panama-based law firm with offices in 35 countries, exposed a tangle of confidential financial dealings by the elite, from aides of Russian President Vladimir Putin to relatives of Chinese President Xi Jinping, sports celebrities and screen stars.

Mr Putin, who is not himself named in the documents, “secretly shuffled as much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies”, according to the ICIJ.

Reacting to the reports, a furious Kremlin said it was a plot to destabilise Russia after a massive leak of confidential documents fingered President Vladimir Putin's close associates along with other world leaders in allegations of shady offshore financial dealings. \"Putin, Russia, our country, our stability and the upcoming elections are the main target, specifically to destabilise the situation,\" Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who himself figures in the leaked documents, told journalists in Moscow.

Mr Peskov said the allegations contained nothing new, lacked details and were based on speculation.

\"We know this so-called journalist community,\" he added. \"There are a lot of journalists whose main profession is unlikely to be journalism: a lot of former officials from the (US) Department of State, the CIA and other special services.\"

The huge leak of documents recalls Wikileaks’ exploits of 2010.

Offshore financial dealings are not illegal in themselves but may be abused to hide assets from tax authorities, launder the proceeds of criminal activities or conceal misappropriated or politically inconvenient wealth.