Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Billionaires flee havens as trillions are pursued offshore...

Billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, Russia’s 14th-richest person, and his wife, Elena Rybolovleva, have been brawling for almost five years in at least seven countries over his $9.5 billion fortune.

In a divorce complaint originated in Geneva in 2008, Rybolovleva accused her husband of using a “multitude of third- parties” to create a network of offshore holding companies and trusts to place assets -- including about $500 million in art, $36 million in jewelry and an $80 million yacht -- beyond her reach.

She has brought legal action against the 48-year-old Rybolovlev in the British Virgin Islands, England, Wales, the U.S., Cyprus, Singapore and Switzerland, and is seeking $6 billion.

The suits provide a window into the offshore structures and secrecy jurisdictions the world’s richest people use to manage, preserve and conceal their assets. According to Tax Justice Network, a U.K.-based organization that campaigns for transparency in the financial system, wealthy individuals were hiding as much as $32 trillion offshore at the end of 2010. Fewer than 100,000 people own $9.8 trillion of offshore assets, according to research compiled by former McKinsey & Co. economist James Henry. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. French ministers disclose personal wealth for first time...
  2. Austria: Britain is a haven for money laundering and tax evasion...
  3. Switzerland awash with money laundering cases...
  4. Apple hides almost $1bn a week from US tax man...
  5. Singapore, wealth over the edge...
  6. Super-rich Rabbit Hole: Wealthy stash $21 trillion in offshore havens...

No comments:

Post a Comment