Radical Party Demands Poroshenko Interrupts Japan Visit Over Offshore Leaks

Ukraine’s Radical Party head Oleh Lyashko on Monday called on President Petro Poroshenko to interrupt his official visit to Japan, and appear in the parliament to provide his explanations over his alleged involvement into schemes linked to Mossack Fonseca, a Panama firm selling offshore companies.

KIEV (Sputnik) — On Sunday, the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung exposed alleged involvement of a number of former and current world leaders, including Ukraine's president, in tax havens schemes using the information obtained in a data leak by the firm.

"We demand Poroshenko, which is on his way to Japan, to turn his plane around and come to the Ukrainian parliament, give an account of corrupt practices and begin the real fight against corruption," Lyashko told 112 Ukraine broadcaster.

The alleged documents obtained by the German newspaper reportedly provide information on politicians, as well as celebrities and others who allegedly laundered billions of dollars and evaded taxes with the help of shell firms abroad.

Mossack Fonseca responded by refusing to validate the information contained in the leaks and accused reporters of gaining unauthorized access to its proprietary documents. It warned that using unlawfully-obtained data was a crime that it would not hesitate to punish by legal means.