The network of journalists, which published the so-called «Panama Papers», has a number of financial supporters, among them the Swiss government, research by finews.ch revealed.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and German broadsheet «Sueddeutsche Zeitung» have been instrumental in the publishing of the so-called «Panama Papers», revealing how the rich and powerful are hiding their assets with the help of Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama. Dozens of media outlets in the West, but also in Eastern Europe, have participated in the network.

The international program called «Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project – OCCRP» however has barely been mentioned, even though it played an important role alongside ICIJ. Wikileaks claims the Maryland-based OCCRP in reality had the lead and was orchestrating the reporting.

 

Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Programme

Of particular interest for Switzerland are the donors sponsoring OCCRP. One of them is the Swiss government, albeit indirectly through the Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Programme. The program is being financed by Switzerland to the tune of 180 million Swiss francs, according to research by finews.ch. The Swiss foreign ministry confirmed its cooperation with the OCCRP.

It may sound a little funny that Swiss development aid paid out in connection with the expansion of the European Union is being used to reveal tax evasion in offshore markets. Money that to a significant degree has been in touch with Swiss accounts along its way to Panama.

The two other sponsors of OCCRP alongside Switzerland make the story a little less funny though. They are the Open Society Institute and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – both of them U.S. sponsors.

U.S. and Swiss Money

The Open Society Institute is by financed by hedge-fund billionaire George Soros. USAID is the development organization of the U.S. government, evicted from Russia in 2012 because it allegedly tried to influence the elections. The aid agency faced similar claims in the Ukraine.

In short, the «Panama Papers» have been financed by Swiss and U.S. taxpayers as well as a billionaire fighting for an open and democratic society. Ironically, both Switzerland and the U.S. are the countries whose banks moved the most money to offshore accounts in Panama.

Panama incidentally is less important as an offshore destination than Switzerland, and less important than the U.S., the recipient of massive amounts of offshore money in recent years. Delaware, Nevada and Wyoming today are top recipients of offshore cash.

The Swiss foreign ministry explained that the program it finances in Romania sponsors the Journalism Development Network, which is indirectly operated by OCCRP. Switzerland is paying 828,000 francs to this program for the years 2014 to 2017.

First Target: Putin

The ICIJ network is also financed by U.S. sponsors. Soros, the Rockefeller Family Fund, Carnegie Endowment, as well as the Ford and the Kellogg Foundations are mentioned as donors. Wikileak suggests that the integrity of the network is being called in question by these donors. True or not, the first report based on the «Panama Papers» attacked Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

Other prominent targets include Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan and Petro Poroshenko, president of the Ukraine. The Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson cut a lone figure among the Eastern Europeans, a fact that seems explicable looking at the prominent U.S. sponsors.

Russia was quick to point the finger and claim that this was an orchestrated attack. It won't have helped Switzerland's role as a neutral state that the foreign ministry was a donor – even if the administration points out that the financing was indirect.