Pandora Papers Say US Law Firm McKenzie Helped Create Modern Offshore System

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Top US law firm Baker McKenzie is among those who stand behind the existing offshore system, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) said in a report.

On Sunday, the ICIJ published a new leak on the alleged financial secrets of over 35 current and former world leaders, as well as more than 330 politicians and officials from across the globe.

"The Pandora Papers investigation also highlights how Baker McKenzie, the largest law firm in the US, helped create the modern offshore system and continues to be a mainstay of this shadow economy," the ICIJ said.

The ICIJ went on to name Ukrainian billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky among the firm's clients.

"The people that the firm has done work for includes Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, who US authorities allege laundered $5.5 billion through a tangle of shell companies, purchasing factories and commercial properties across the U.S. heartland," the group said.

Another prominent name on McKenzie clients' list is fugitive financier Jho Low, who is "accused by authorities in multiple countries of masterminding the embezzlement of more than $4.5 billion from a Malaysian economic development fund known as 1MDB."

The ICIJ has described the just-published expose of illicit financial activities as the most expansive yet, noting that the investigation involved more than 600 journalists from 117 countries as well as over 11.9 million leaked files "covering every corner of the globe."