The secret deals and hidden assets of some of the world’s richest and most powerful people have been revealed in the biggest trove of leaked offshore data in history.

Branded the Pandora papers, the cache includes 11.9m files from companies hired by wealthy clients to create offshore structures and trusts in tax havens such as Panama, Dubai, Monaco, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.

Boris Johnson has insisted that all donations to the Conservative party are vetted in accordance with rules. The leak revealed that Mohammed Amersi, a donor to his leadership campaign was involved in one of Europe’s biggest corruption scandals. Labour called on the Conservatives to return Amersi’s donations.



Rishi Sunak says it not a source of shame that London has a reputation as the tax avoidance capital of the world. He promised that the UK tax authorities would review what can be learned from the leak.



The Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš has said he has done nothing illegal or wrong, after the leak revealed he used a convoluted offshore structure to buy a £13m in the south of France. He claimed the leak was designed to “denigrate” him before elections this week.



Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, promised that his government will investigate all those mentioned in the leak. Moonis Elahi, a prominent minister in Khan’s government, contacted an offshore provider in Singapore about investing $33.7m, the leak reveals.



The Australian Taxation Office says it will investigate any links to Australians that emerge from the leak. About 400 Australian names are contained in the papers.



Jordan’s King Abdullah II claimed the leak was defamatory after it revealed he disguised his ownership of properties via a series of offshore firms. In a statement he said reports about leak “included inaccuracies and distorted and exaggerated the facts”.



The Tony Blair Institute has accused the Guardian of deliberately misrepresenting the purchase of Cherie Blair’s office premises. It says the Blairs have always paid their taxes in full and have never used offshore avoidance schemes of any kind.

They expose the secret offshore affairs of 35 world leaders, including current and former presidents, prime ministers and heads of state. They also shine a light on the secret finances of more than 300 other public officials such as government ministers, judges, mayors and military generals in more than 90 countries.

 

The files include disclosures about major donors to the Conservative party, raising difficult questions for Boris Johnson as his party meets for its annual conference.

More than 100 billionaires feature in the leaked data, as well as celebrities, rock stars and business leaders. Many use shell companies to hold luxury items such as property and yachts, as well as incognito bank accounts. There is even art ranging from looted Cambodian antiquities to paintings by Picasso and murals by Banksy.

The Pandora papers reveal the inner workings of what is a shadow financial world, providing a rare window into the hidden operations of a global offshore economy that enables some of the world’s richest people to hide their wealth and in some cases pay little or no tax.

Kremlin dismisses 'unsubstantiated claims'

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday dismissed the Pandora Papers as “unsubstantiated claims” and said that no hidden wealth was found in Putin’s inner circle.

The Kremlin also said that the Pandora Papers financial leaks expose the United States as the world’s largest offshore haven.

“What catches the eye is which country is the world’s largest lagoon. This, of course, is the US,” Peskov said at a daily press briefing.

Putin, whom the US suspects of having a secret fortune, does not appear in the files by name. But numerous close associates do, including his best friend from childhood – the late Petr Kolbin – whom critics have called a “wallet” for Putin’s own wealth, and a woman the Russian leader was allegedly once romantically involved with.