Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been named as director of an offshore gold prospecting company, a possibly damaging revelation in the middle of a tight election campaign.
The revelations were made in the Australian Financial Review newspaper, citing the leaked documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, known as the Panama Papers. The report said Turnbull, a former investment banker and a self-made multi-millionaire, was a director until 1995 of a British Virgin Islands company set up by Mossack Fonseca in the 1990s. Opposition Labor Party demanded Turnbull explain his association with the company set up to develop a multi-billion dollar gold mining project in Siberia. "We have … a prime minister who now seems to have some very sharp questions to answer," the party's deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek, said.
Turnbull "should provide a full and frank explanation of his involvement in this company [that] was established in a tax haven," said Penny Wong, a Labor parliamentarian. Turnbull said there was no impropriety in the project. "There is nothing new there. The company concerned was a wholly owned subsidiary of a publicly listed Australian company," he told reporters in Melbourne. "Had it made any profits, which it did not, regrettably, it certainly would have paid tax in Australia," he said. "Obviously you haven't studied the accounts of the company concerned."
"The paper itself acknowledges there was no wrongdoing," Arthur Sinodinos, a cabinet secretary, told local ABC radio. Law firm Mossack Fonseca has seen the revelation of details of thousands of the offshore accounts and companies it set up for clients, who include several globally prominent leaders and their family members.
Keep up to date with what’s happening in Turkey,
it’s region and the world.
You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.