Panama Papers leak reveals global network of corruption and tax avoidance

The leaked documents reveal details on 140 politicians including the President of Argentina, Iceland’s Prime Minister and the King of Saudi Arabia

The biggest leak in journalist history, called the Panama Papers, has revealed a global network of corruption and tax avoidance, and includes many rich and famous people.

An anonymous source reportedly provided information to Suddeutsche Zeitung, an investigative newspaper in Germany, which then shared the information with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Forbes reports.

The investigation involved ICIJ and 100 reporting partners around the world that begun publishing a series of articles on Sunday based on the Panama Papers.

The documents involved the leak of 11.5 million files including emails, invoices and bank records. The leak comes from Mossack Fonseca, a law firm in Panama that is reportedly one of the world’s biggest creators of shell companies.

According to ICIJ, the files cover a period over almost 40 years, from 1977 to December 2015, and include details on 214,000 offshore entities with links to 140 politicians including the President of Argentina, Iceland’s Prime Minister and the King of Saudi Arabia.

Moreover the leaked documents reveal details on at least 33 people and companies blacklisted by U.S., including Mexican drug lords and terrorist organizations, while the ICIJ report states that it includes information on movie star Jackie Chan , football player Lionel Messi, relatives of Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister David Cameron and former UEFA president Michel Platini.