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Luxembourg has made steps towards greater transparency. But it’s still a prime destination for dirty money worldwide.
Here's how the tiny nation became a center of corporate secrecy, who has benefited, and how our #OpenLux investigation pried it open. https://www.occrp.org/en/openlux/shedding-light-on-big-secrets-in-tiny-luxembourg
Here's how the tiny nation became a center of corporate secrecy, who has benefited, and how our #OpenLux investigation pried it open. https://www.occrp.org/en/openlux/shedding-light-on-big-secrets-in-tiny-luxembourg
2) Most "offshore" zones, like Panama or the British Virgin Islands, specialize in one particular facet of secretive financial services. But Luxembourg does it all, acting as "a kind of Swiss army knife" for elites around the world, economics professor @gabriel_zucman told OCCRP.
3) Corrupt officials, criminals, and shady businessmen from around the world have all taken advantage. So much Russian capital has found its way to Luxembourg — and back again — that the tiny European state is now one of the country’s biggest foreign "investors."
4) Things started to change in 2019, when Luxembourg became one of the first European countries to establish a public register of "ultimate beneficial owners."
Our FAQ explains what this means and why these databases are a key anti-corruption tool. https://www.occrp.org/en/openlux/frequently-asked-questions
Our FAQ explains what this means and why these databases are a key anti-corruption tool. https://www.occrp.org/en/openlux/frequently-asked-questions
5) But there are problems with the data Luxembourg has collected. For one, barely more than half of the country’s companies have listed a beneficial owner one year after the register was created.
Then there’s the issue of searchability.
Then there’s the issue of searchability.
6) Luxembourg’s register is only searchable by company name, not by ultimate owner. This forces journalists to sift through a sea of shell companies with innocuous sounding names.
But @Lemondefr scraped the database, obtaining millions of documents that they shared with OCCRP.
But @Lemondefr scraped the database, obtaining millions of documents that they shared with OCCRP.
7) The names we found were striking. Alongside billionaires, actors, and star sportsmen were compromised officials, leaders of criminal groups, and associates of prominent politicians.
8) An arms dealer, a Russian mob boss, a palm oil tycoon, and several members of the ‘Ndrangheta mafia.
These are just some of the notable UBOs we found in Luxembourg. See what else our reporters uncovered: https://www.occrp.org/en/openlux/
These are just some of the notable UBOs we found in Luxembourg. See what else our reporters uncovered: https://www.occrp.org/en/openlux/
