The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists – Pandora Papers Russia – Now Published

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is proud to bring you our latest investigation:

Pandora Papers Russia

Sanctions, seizures, corporate withdrawals, shuttered offices, suspended accounts, blacklists and more — in the weeks since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Western authorities and businesses have gotten serious about cracking down and cutting ties with the moneyed network of oligarchs and state-controlled companies that have backed Vladimir Putin’s rise to power.

As Russia’s military strikes Ukrainian cities, the world is seeing an unprecedented global effort to lay siege to the Russian economy.

But, as years of ICIJ investigations have shown, legions of Russia’s ruling elites have steadily been safeguarding their fortunes elsewhere. And they’ve had an entire industry of white-collar professionals helping to hide their wealth, out of sight and out of reach from international authorities.

In a new chapter of ICIJ’s reporting on the largest-ever leak of offshore records, Pandora Papers Russia marks our latest effort to shine light on a global shadow economy that helps corruption thrive — exposing not just high-profile clients, their luxury properties, yachts, jets and more, but also systemic failures and the enablers who profit from protecting the wealth of people and companies who have something to hide. And we’re putting the power of this information in the hands of the public with a new data release.

Pandora Papers Russia

ICIJ reveals more than 800 Russians behind secret companies in the Offshore Leaks Database

Today, ICIJ is publishing data from Alpha Consulting Ltd, an offshore service provider that serves mostly Russian clients and one of the 14 firms that make up the Pandora Papers leak. This is part of our ongoing effort to make structured data from the Pandora Papers available to the public by adding it to the Offshore Leaks Database.

The Alpha data exposes new details about companies tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies and Russian political figures who shelter assets behind opaque businesses that can be used to escape global sanctions. Russian figures you can now find in the database include Putin’s former communications minister, an imprisoned cryptocurrency specialist, and a high-ranking regional politician. The new data also links offshore companies to other firms and individuals from more than 100 countries and territories.

If you’re interested in seeing a demo on exploring Pandora Papers data, ICIJ’s data and research editor Emilia Díaz-Struck, data engineer Miguel Fiandor and our friends at Linkurious and Neo4j will be taking part in a webinar called, “The Pandora Papers: Exposing Financial Crime with Graph Technology” on Tuesday, April 12, hosted by Neo4j with sessions timed for North AmericaAsia Pacific and Europe.

Together, the data release and investigations being published today by ICIJ and its partners offer vital new information on the covert financial activities of Putin’s allies, their enablers, and the systems that serve their interests.

Want to talk directly with our reporters about the offshore secrets of Russian elites? ICIJ Insiders are invited to an exclusive virtual chat on April 27 to answer your questions about Pandora Papers Russia. Not an insider? Donate any amount to join our membership program, access the event, and support collaborative investigative journalism with the power to change the world.

Thank you for reading!

Asraa Mustufa
ICIJ’s digital editor