Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Expert: Big Number of Isle of Man Offshore Bank Clients are Politicians

Expert: Big Number of Isle of Man Offshore Bank Clients are Politicians

Politically influential people made up a significant portion of the clients at an offshore bank in the Isle of Man, according to a Brookings Institute researcher who analyzed data from a breach published by Distributed Denial of Secrets.
Economist Matthew Collin, used the data to draw conclusions about the types of people seeking offshore financial services and how well current methods of measuring wealth stored in tax havens are working.

“These politically-exposed clients not only hold greater amounts of wealth than the average offshore client, but they are also more likely to have an address in a tax haven and are more likely to receive money into their accounts from accounts in other tax havens, all signs that significantly raise the risk that these clients have access to higher levels of wealth and are more willing to engage in activity that obscures their ownership of it,” Collin said in his paper “What lies beneath: evidence from leaked account data on how elites use offshore banking.”

Collin linked some of these political elites to countries with low rankings in corruption metrics, like the Corruption Perception Index. He said more measurably corrupt nations have a higher likelihood of politically-exposed persons with offshore accounts.

The paper looked at data leaked from the Cayman National Bank and Trust Isle of Man (CNBIOM) from 2008 to 2019. While applying this data in a larger sense to answer questions about offshore banking, Collin emphasized that the figures he provided are estimates.

Some of the politically connected clients of CNBOM appeared in OCCRP investigations. For example, the former head of Armenian customs Armen Avetisyan used the shell company, Golden Group Limited to open an account with CNBIOM in 2012.

After years of suspicious activity and being investigated for money laundering in Armenia, Golden Group Limited was considered an “unacceptable risk” in July 2018.

Also on the client list was the family of Eldar Mahmudhov, a former national security minister of Azerbaijan, whose entire family had suspicious accounts with CNBIOM linked to multiple shell companies with tens of millions in deposits over one year.

OCCRP reported on the former politician’s fall from grace with the Azerbaijani government and the massive amounts of wealth his family acquired during his tenure in public office.

Based on the data, Collin also concluded that the number of offshore clients using shell companies to hold their wealth poses an obstacle to monitoring the flow of money into these tax havens.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×