Offshore Leaks Record

United States ยท Paradise Papers

Wilbur Ross: offshore leaks and what happened next

No official action reported No investigation, charge or adverse official finding concerning Ross's Navigator holdings was reported in the sources reviewed.1,2

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 Ross kept a financial stake in the shipping company Navigator Holdings while serving as Commerce Secretary, and that Navigator earned tens of millions of dollars a year from a Russian energy company owned by people sanctioned for close ties to Vladimir Putin.1

Response

The Commerce Department said Ross works closely with its ethics officials, and a spokesman said in November 2017 that he had divested most of his interest in Navigator and would soon be fully divested, ICIJ reported.1,2

What happened afterwards

  1. No action reported, Office of Inspector General, US Department of Commerce (request only)Six Democratic senators asked the Commerce Department Inspector General to examine whether Ross complied with the divestment and recusal terms of his ethics agreement. ICIJ did not report whether an investigation was opened.2
  2. No action reported, US Office of Government EthicsICIJ, citing Forbes, reported that disclosure forms posted by the Office of Government Ethics showed Ross had taken a short position in Navigator stock on 31 October 2017. A Commerce spokesman told ICIJ the Office of Government Ethics had certified that the transactions complied with federal ethics requirements.1

Sources

  1. ICIJ, Ross shorted Russian-linked shipping company ahead of Paradise Papers (18 June 2018)
  2. ICIJ, Senators call for investigation as Ross confirms plan to sell stake in Russia-linked company (14 November 2017)