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Paradise Papers: Wilbur Ross says 'nothing improper' about Russia links


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Donald Trump's commerce secretary says there is "nothing improper" about his business links to Russian figures who are currently under US sanctions.

Wilbur Ross was accused of misleading senators after leaked documents showed his interests in a firm in which some shareholders have ties to the Kremlin.

He told the BBC that the US had not sanctioned the company, Sibur, so "there's nothing wrong with that".

Mr Ross also denied he had failed to disclose the information.

Earlier, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal called the revelations of the Kremlin links "inexcusable".

 

They come as part of a huge leak of financial documents, dubbed the Paradise Papers, revealing how the powerful and ultra-wealthy, including the Queen's private estate, secretly invest vast amounts of cash in offshore tax havens.

 

What did Wilbur Ross do, according to the leaks?

The leaks show he has investments in shipping firm Navigator Holdings, which earns millions a year transporting oil and gas for Sibur. Two major Sibur shareholders have been sanctioned by the US:

  • Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko, who has at least 12 companies connected to him
  • The Russian natural gas company, Novatek, belonging to Leonid Mikhelson

Another key Sibur shareholder is President Vladimir Putin's son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov, who holds a 3.9% stake in the firm. While he is not subject to sanctions, his father, Nikolai, is.

Graphic showing Wilbur Ross: The Russian connection? Presentational white space

Mr Ross has not disputed the revelations, telling the BBC: "There's nothing whatsoever improper about Navigator having a relationship with Sibur."

"If our government decided to sanction them, that would be a different story," he continued.

He said he had disclosed the business links to the office of government ethics, and denied misleading the confirmation hearing committee when he took office.

He said he had never met any of the figures concerned.

The US imposed some sanctions after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Others were imposed last year for alleged interference in the US presidential election.

The commerce department earlier said Mr Ross had "been generally supportive of the administration's sanctions of Russian and other entities".

What's the problem then?

Prior to being confirmed in office as treasury secretary, Wilbur Ross did not reveal to Congress the full details of his company holdings.

According to the leaks, he retains a financial interest in Navigator Holdings via a number of companies in the Cayman Islands, some of which he did disclose at the time of his confirmation.

However, under the disclosure rules he did not have to declare his interest in Navigator Holdings.

 

But questions will be raised about Mr Ross's potential conflicts of interest and whether his ties undermine US sanctions against Russia.

"Our committee was misled, the American people were misled by the concealment of those companies," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told NBC News after the revelations came to light.

Mr Blumenthal has called for an investigation into the treasury secretary's links to President Putin's son-in-law.

The leaks come as an investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian connections to Donald Trump's 2016 campaign team continues.

Mr Trump's presidency has been dogged by allegations that Russians colluded to try to influence the outcome of the election. He has called the allegations "fake news".

How close is Ross to Trump?

They have known each other for more than a quarter of a century. Mr Ross played a key part in a pre-packaged bankruptcy deal - an agreement between a company and its creditors - for Mr Trump's Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, in the 1990s.

 

He stepped in to represent the angry bondholders but liked Donald Trump's style.

Mr Ross, according to Trump biographer David Cay Johnston, was the key negotiator preventing Donald Trump from "being swept into the dustbin of history because he saw the value in the Trump name".

"If it hadn't been for Wilbur Ross, Donald Trump would not be in the White House."

How close is Ross to Navigator Holdings?

WL Ross & Co, which was founded by Wilbur Ross, appears to have maintained a close relationship with the shipping company.

On the night that he was nominated as commerce secretary, Mr Ross was congratulated on his promotion by the senior management of Navigator Holdings at a New York restaurant, Bloomberg reports.

Mr Ross reportedly told the CEO of Navigator: "Your interest is aligned to mine. The US economy will grow, and Navigator will be a beneficiary."

Another key Navigator customer has been PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company. It was targeted by US sanctions this year.

Presentational grey line

Timeline: Wilbur Ross's links with Sibur

November 2012: Navigator sign charter deal with Sibur. Mr Ross becomes Navigator board member

March - November 2014: He remains a board member as the US sanctions Russia for annexing Crimea

November 2014: Mr Ross leaves Navigator's board with Ross group partner Wendy Teramoto taking his place until 2017

2015: Navigator increases business with Sibur, with energy firm accounting for 9.1% of its total revenues (compared to 5.3% in 2014)

2016: Figures show Sibur remains among Navigator's top five clients, predominantly exporting Russian gas to Europe and potentially providing significant income to sanctioned Putin allies

2017: Navigator doubles the fleet it uses on Sibur exports to four

What else do the Paradise Papers reveal?

Paradise Papers explainer box
  • About £10m ($13m) of the Queen's private money was invested into offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. Read more here
  • A key aide of Canada's PM has been linked to offshore schemes that may have cost the nation millions of dollars in taxes, threatening to embarrass Justin Trudeau, who has campaigned to shut tax havens. Read more here
  • A former UK Conservative party deputy chairman and a significant donor, Lord Ashcroft, may have ignored rules around how his offshore investments were managed. Read more here
  • How questions were raised about the funding of a major shareholding in Everton FC. Read more here
  • An oligarch with close links to the Kremlin, Alisher Usmanov, may have secretly taken ownership of a company responsible for anti-money laundering checks on Russian cash. Read more here
Presentational grey line

What are the Paradise papers?

They are a huge batch of leaked documents mostly from offshore law firm Appleby, along with corporate registries in 19 tax jurisdictions, which reveal the financial dealings of politicians, celebrities, corporate giants and business leaders.

The 13.4 million records were passed to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Panorama has led research for the BBC as part of a global investigation involving nearly 100 other media organisations, including the Guardian, in 67 countries. The BBC does not know the identity of the source.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm thinking these businessmen are going to wish they stayed out of politics

B/A

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So what is the issue.....I invested in Navigator Holdings Stock in 2010..........does this make me a Russian Spy?.........covert commie?......

 

BTW.......stock has doubled in 7 years......not great, but not bad.......

 

Ross isn't getting rich on this one.........and you won't ever get a list of others invested in a company before you decide to jump in......

 

Another pure BS, MSM made up, fake news witch hunt........and yes, that's how I really feel!!!

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7 minutes ago, coorslite21 said:

So what is the issue.....I invested in Navigator Holdings Stock in 2010..........does this make me a Russian Spy?.........covert commie?......

 

BTW.......stock has doubled in 7 years......not great, but not bad.......

 

Ross isn't getting rich on this one.........and you won't ever get a list of others invested in a company before you decide to jump in......

 

Another pure BS, MSM made up, fake news witch hunt........and yes, that's how I really feel!!!

 

Do you have an off-shore tax haven?

 

About £10m ($13m) of the Queen's private money was invested into offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. Read more here

  • A key aide of Canada's PM has been linked to offshore schemes that may have cost the nation millions of dollars in taxes, threatening to embarrass Justin Trudeau, who has campaigned to shut tax havens. Read more here
  • A former UK Conservative party deputy chairman and a significant donor, Lord Ashcroft, may have ignored rules around how his offshore investments were managed. Read more here
  • How questions were raised about the funding of a major shareholding in Everton FC. Read more here
  • An oligarch with close links to the Kremlin, Alisher Usmanov, may have secretly taken ownership of a company responsible for anti-money laundering checks on Russian cash. Read more here

Presentational grey line

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2 hours ago, bostonangler said:

 

Do you have an off-shore tax haven?

 

About £10m ($13m) of the Queen's private money was invested into offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. Read more here

  • A key aide of Canada's PM has been linked to offshore schemes that may have cost the nation millions of dollars in taxes, threatening to embarrass Justin Trudeau, who has campaigned to shut tax havens. Read more here
  • A former UK Conservative party deputy chairman and a significant donor, Lord Ashcroft, may have ignored rules around how his offshore investments were managed. Read more here
  • How questions were raised about the funding of a major shareholding in Everton FC. Read more here
  • An oligarch with close links to the Kremlin, Alisher Usmanov, may have secretly taken ownership of a company responsible for anti-money laundering checks on Russian cash. Read more here

Presentational grey line

 

If I am involved in any off shore businesses would not be available information to you.  What they have found in these Paradise Papers is many instances where tax reduction is being used in a legal manner.  

 

The article you posted is another Russia, Russia, Russia......hit piece by the MSM.......if they want to take Ross down there are many other avenues they can pursue.

 

The Tax rates in the US are the highest in the world.......who in their right mind wouldn't want to reduce that tax liability if they could do it legally.  

 

Trump realizes this and thus part of the first tax reform since the early 80's includes a reduction in the Corp tax structure.

 

Offshore, doesn't equal illegal............Offshore is intelligent business......

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/paradise-papers-apple-found-new-tax-haven-after-us-senate-tax-crackdown-2017-11/?IR=T

 

Edited by coorslite21
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3 minutes ago, coorslite21 said:

Offshore, doesn't equal illegal............Offshore is intelligent business......

 

It may be legal. but it isn't patriotic... Hiding your money from your country should be illegal, and if you think the proposed tax reform will ever pass (which it won't) means these people will reinvest in America you are dreaming... This story shows they don't put their money back in America. Have you seen the amount of money Apple has stashed off-shore? There should be a huge tax on their products. Go to Japan and try to buy a Cadillac. See the tax they impose. If you buy an import in Japan they charge an extra $12,000 tax. You can buy that Cadillac but you are going to pay for it. In America we keep getting screwed. This is why NAFTA and these other trade deals suck they are designed to screw us. So if you have your money off-shore why don't you pack your stuff and move where you keep your money. You love America only to a point. A selfish point, like so many others.

 

Go hide your money. But when you call the police or an ambulance and they don't show up, don't complain. When you are riding down the street and you tear up your car on a giant pothole don't whine about it. When your house catches on fire, don't call the fire department, put it out yourself. Go hide your money in the piles of trash you will have because the city didn't come and take it away. People who whine about taxes are the same ones who whine when their public services fail... What a joke!!!  Without taxes there would be no infrastructure. People who hide their money off shore may be doing it legally, but who do you think gets those laws written? The average voter? Nope it is the corporations.

Personally, I don't think you have money off-shore. I think you are just a poor working guy like most of us and are just trying to be a big shot. I don't think you are a member of the elitist club and if you knocked on their gate the security guard would shoo you away like an insect.

 

Just my humble opinion.

 

B/A 

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How patriotic is it to let the government take 50% of your hard earned money and waste it on things you don't use or need?

If it was used wisely they would not need as much. Putting money offshore and paying the tax on it as it comes back sounds very fair.

Now people that hide money with the intent of NOT paying any taxes should be the target of these investigations and prosecutions.

If people stay within the confines of the law(loop holes to some) I see no issues. Change the law then. 

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1 hour ago, bostonangler said:

Personally, I don't think you have money off-shore. I think you are just a poor working guy like most of us and are just trying to be a big shot. I don't think you are a member of the elitist club and if you knocked on their gate the security guard would shoo you away like an insect.

BA....I wished you hadn't attacked Coorslite that way, he has been a positive contributor for quite some time.  JMO! :pirateship:

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58 minutes ago, nstoolman1 said:

Now people that hide money with the intent of NOT paying any taxes should be the target of these investigations and prosecutions.

 

That was exactly my point... Remember Mitt Romney... He made his millions creating tax shelters than ran for president. Thank God he didn't win, we'd be the only ones paying taxes.

 

53 minutes ago, boosterbglee said:

BA....I wished you hadn't attacked Coorslite that way, he has been a positive contributor for quite some time.  JMO! :pirateship:

 

Boosterbglee... I apologize and you are correct. I like Coors, but he got my goat with it's okay to avoid taxes with off-shore accounts. My point of posting the story wasn't simply that our administration's cabinet member Wilbur Ross was hiding income, it was a story of the elite. The queen, and other leaders who love the benefits of infrastructure, but don't want to pay for it. Heck the Queen of England may be the biggest welfare recipient in history!!!

 

coors I do apologize for getting angry and striking out... My bad.

 

B/A

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Sure.....you really need to not get so worked up....I will add that paying higher taxes does not equate to being a Patriot....as to your personal thoughts....I am very happy living in my cardboard Box under the bridge posting by using my Obama phone. ....Your thoughts on patriots, and higher taxes, clearly indicate what your political views are, and helped me understand you better....Once when we posted I asked you what your Boston Angler name meant .....  And you explained you were always looking for an angle on things ......You might expand that thought process to trying to find an angle on paying lower taxes.....Just a thought for the future ?

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Coorslite - you're a stand-up guy!   And always on point.  I personally object to paying higher taxes than I have to just so the "elite" in Washington can spend more on trivial things (or their pet projects).   I'll do anything possible to avoid paying more taxes than I have to - and will do it legally.    Following the laws of the US has nothing to do with patriotism.   Nothing at all!    

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4 hours ago, coorslite21 said:

Sure.....you really need to not get so worked up....I will add that paying higher taxes does not equate to being a Patriot....as to your personal thoughts....I am very happy living in my cardboard Box under the bridge posting by using my Obama phone. ....Your thoughts on patriots, and higher taxes, clearly indicate what your political views are, and helped me understand you better....Once when we posted I asked you what your Boston Angler name meant .....  And you explained you were always looking for an angle on things ......You might expand that thought process to trying to find an angle on paying lower taxes.....Just a thought for the future ?

 

Thanks and well stated coors. To me, it is always prudent for one to avoid as many taxes as possible. The true "patriot" demands government to

account for its financial abuses and holds its leaders accountable for their actions, especially the manner in which society has been looted literally for 

decades. Unfortunately, party politics often get in the way of that.

 

Thanks coors, have a good night :)

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a little more from Simon Black....

 

==================================

 


Roughly two thousand years ago, the government of ancient Rome was facing a serious problem. 

The tributium capitus, or poll tax, they had imposed across their provinces was becoming unpopular. 

And there was a growing minority of Roman subjects who felt they were being forced to pay an overly burdensome and disproportionately high tax bill. 

Things got so bad that there were small revolts, especially in one of Rome’s critical eastern provinces where many simply refused to pay. 

Eventually the authorities were able to round up the leader of the movement-- a youthful, charismatic local artisan who was brought before the provincial prefecture. 

After reviewing the evidence, though, the prefecture found that the leader had actually done nothing illegal… and according to ancient texts, announced to the public: 

“I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. . .” 

But the crowd was out for blood. They thought the resistance leader was arrogant and disrespectful of their values. And they wanted him put down for good. 

Plus, the central government in Rome wanted to send a strong message to strike fear in those subverting their authority and not paying tax. 

So in the end the prefecture bowed to pressure, and the resistance leader was sentenced to death. 

His name was Jesus Christ. 

Two thousand years later, people are out for blood again. 

Over the weekend, we witnessed the release of the “Paradise Papers.” This was another gigantic leak of financial records (similar to last year’s “Panama Papers”) which shows how clients of a Bermuda law firm have legally used foreign corporate and trust structures for privacy and tax mitigation. 

Among the names unearthed so far are Madonna, U2’s Bono, actress Keira Knightley, Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton, Queen Elizabeth II, and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. 

And the public is outraged. 

The basis of this outrage is that rich and powerful people are ‘hiding’ trillions of dollars in offshore tax havens like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. 

Journalists estimate the size of this offshore treasure trove to be between $10 trillion and $32 trillion. 

Yet there’s absolutely no rational basis to support these assertions whatsoever. 

Consider that the ENTIRE banking system in Switzerland holds just $1.5 trillion in customer deposits. 

In the Cayman Islands, non-resident customers hold less than $100 billion in deposits. 

Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, has only $60 billion from non-resident depositors. 

Bermuda, at the center of the most recent data leak, has an entire banking system worth just $19.2 billion. 

And despite all the whining about Ireland as an offshore tax haven (despite a corporate rate of 12.5%), the country’s entire banking system has less than $200 billion. 

Point is-- even if you assume that literally ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the deposits in these countries are tied to tax evasion (which is obviously ridiculous), it doesn’t come anywhere close to the estimates the media keep reciting. 

But no one ever questions the premise. 

Everyone seems to believe in this myth that there’s tens of trillions of dollars hidden away evading taxes, even though all the data shows that this assertion is baseless. 

Another basis of the public’s outrage is a belief that the clients of this Bermuda law firm were able to reduce their tax bills in ways that are only available to the ‘rich and powerful’. 

Again, this is complete nonsense. 

First off, EVERYONE has ways they reduce their tax bills. 

People do this all the time… whether it’s shopping at a duty-free store or out-of-state to avoid sales tax, or perhaps holding an investment just a little bit longer before selling (in order to pay long-term capital gains, instead of the higher rate for short-term gains). 

And these are all perfectly legal. 

But for some reason when a rich guy does perfectly legal things to reduce his/her tax bill, the public is outraged. 

Second, you don’t have to be rich or powerful or famous to set up a structure overseas. 

Establishing a foreign company often costs less than $1,000-- hardly a billionaire’s price tag. 

Most importantly, the public is outraged even though everything these rich folks are doing is completely legal.

 

The articles I’ve been reading about the Paradise Papers begrudgingly state that it’s completely legal to establish a foreign company to pay less tax. 

And it is. Rational people take whatever reasonable, legal steps they can to reduce what they owe. 

But people don’t like it. They feel that it’s ‘unfair’ for wealthy people to be able to slash their tax bills. 

Yet according to individual income tax statistics published by the Internal Revenue Service, the top 3% of taxpayers in the United States pay more tax than everyone else in the country combined.   

That’s already a pretty disproportionate ratio. Yet these angry socialists want top taxpayers to pay even more. 

They seem to feel entitled to other people’s property and to put their hands in other people’s pockets. 

It makes me wonder-- how much more would be enough? When does it stop? 

If the public has a say over what someone else can legally do with his/her private property, perhaps we’re all entitled to sleep in Wilbur Ross’s house, or to take Bono’s Lamborghini out for a drive. 

Again, the amazing thing here is that taking steps to reduce your taxes is completely legal. 

What’s NOT legal is stealing private financial records from a law firm… which is exactly what a bunch of journalists did in order to publish the Paradise Papers. 

But that criminality is not part of the discussion. And no public figure will dare call them out over it. 

The only acceptable thing to say anymore is rich people = bad. Everyone else = good. 

This is class warfare, plain and simple. People are out for blood once again. And it’s only the beginning.

  

To your freedom,

 

Simon Black

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