Offshore Leaks Record

Ukraine · Panama Papers

Petro Poroshenko: offshore leaks and what happened next

Investigated, no charges No charge or official finding against Poroshenko arising from the Panama Papers was found in the sources reviewed, and no outcome of the 2016 State Fiscal Service check or of the reported BVI information request was reported.2,3,4,5

Being named in a leak is not evidence of wrongdoing, and owning an offshore company can be legal. Each record sets out what was reported, the person's response, and what official action, if any, followed.

What was reported

ICIJ reported that during Russia's 2014 incursion in Ukraine's Donbas region, Poroshenko's representatives sought a utility bill to complete paperwork for a British Virgin Islands holding company, with related companies set up in Cyprus and the Netherlands. Pravo.ru, citing the reporting, said the BVI company Prime Asset Partners Ltd was registered in August 2014 and was not listed in his declarations.1,2

Response

A spokesperson said the company's creation had nothing to do with political and military events in Ukraine, and his financial advisers said the companies had no assets and were part of a restructuring to sell his confectionery business, ICIJ reported. His legal adviser said the shares had no nominal value and so were not declared, Pravo.ru reported.1,2

What happened afterwards

  1. No action reported, National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU)NABU said it would not investigate because a sitting president is outside its jurisdiction, Pravo.ru reported.2
  2. Investigation opened, State Fiscal Service of UkraineRoman Nasirov, head of the State Fiscal Service, said he had instructed the service to verify information that Poroshenko set up a British Virgin Islands company in 2014, Kyiv Post reported. The Moscow Times reported the service would examine offshore companies not in his 2014 and 2015 declarations. No outcome was reported in the sources reviewed.3,4
  3. Information request (as reported), Financial Investigation Agency of the British Virgin IslandsIFC Review reported in June 2018 that later leaked Mossack Fonseca documents showed the agency asked the firm in April 2016 for information on Prime Asset Partners as part of a money laundering investigation. The agency did not comment. Poroshenko's lawyers said that as far as they knew BVI agencies had taken no action on the company and sent no requests. No outcome was reported.5

Sources

  1. ICIJ, Giant Leak of Offshore Financial Records Exposes Global Array of Crime and Corruption (3 April 2016)
  2. Pravo.ru, Антикоррупционное бюро Украины отказалось расследовать офшоры Порошенко (4 April 2016)
  3. The Moscow Times, Investigation launched into Ukraine's Poroshenko after Panama leak (5 April 2016)
  4. Kyiv Post, State Fiscal Service to verify info on Poroshenko's offshore companies (5 April 2016)
  5. IFC Review, 'New' Panama Papers documents show Poroshenko's offshore firm targeted in money laundering case (June 2018)