Panama Papers: Main Target is Putin

By Sajjad Shaukat for VT

A massive leak of secret documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, which were released on April 3, this year by the International Consortium of Invistigative Journalists (ICIJ) and German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung allegedly show prominent world leaders, politicians and celebrities who hided millions in secret offshore tax shelters and used offshore accounts to evade tax laws. Some 214,000 offshore entities are connected to the leak documents and people in more than 200 countries and territories. Some countries have announced investigation, while in some countries, the opposition parties and the people are conducting protests in relation to the revelations of corruption, money laundering, and financial secrecy in relation to their nations.

Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundar Davio Gunnlaugsson and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk resigned in wake of protests and political pressure inside their countries regarding the revelations of the so-called Panama Papers. However, without any evidence, verdict by any court and completion of investigation about tax-evasion or secret offshore business, they resigned to save their country from political crisis. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yatsenyuk himself statef that he was resigning to save the country from political crisis, as the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was named in the so-called Panama Papers scandal.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is facing increasing calls to resign in wake of public protests after he admitted that he profited from his father’s offshore trust.

As regards Russia, the leaked files said that Russian cellist Sergei Roldugin was a front man for a network of Putin who moved some $2 billion through offshore networks.

President Putin dismissed these false allegations, noted that “none of the accusations were aimed at him directly, because he was not named in the papers, even if the international coverage has focused on him.”

A close friend who was named in the leaked Papers, Roldugin was at the center of a scheme to hide money from Russian state banks which had no connections with Putin.

While, the truth is that Roldugin used the money, he earned as a minority shareholder of a Russian company to buy rare musical instruments abroad and hand them over to the Russian state, as Putin said. Without publicizing himself, he also has worked to organize concerts to promote Russian culture abroad and effectively paid his own money for that, the more people like him we have, the better. And “I’m proud to have friends like him”, Putin remarked.

Russian President Putin described the accusations as part of the US-led disinformation campaign waged against Russia in order to weaken its government. He elaborated, “They are trying to destabilize us from within in order to make us more compliant…Russia deprives the West of its monopoly on economic and military power, which irks the West…attempts are made to weaken us from…what is the easiest way of doing this? It is to spread distrust for the ruling authorities and the bodies of power within society and to set people against each other.”

Putin added, WikiLeaks had described the leaked Panamanian documents as an American-funded plot…we now know from WikiLeaks that officials and state agencies in the United States are behind all this.”

Although Panama Papers have motioned the names of various renowned rulers to indicate impartiality in collecting the secret data, yet its main target is Russian President Putin which needs appropriate analysis.

Renowned scholars of international relations, Lord Castlereagh, Quincy Wright, Hans J. Morgenthau and Kenneth Waltz agree by remarking, “Checking the unusual dominance and hegemony of the world by a single power is very essential for the survival of other states which live in anarchic situation where there is no international agency to impose international law and to provide security…the concept of balance of power rests with the basic assumption that excessive power in the system is a threat to the existence of other units and that the most antidote to power is power.”

It is notable that after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, power-vacuum was created in the world. Waltz and other thinkers expected “unipolarity to give way quickly to multipolarity as other major powers of Europe and Asia would move individually and collectively to balance the preponderant power of the United States.”

Unfortunately, other major nuclear powers or any prospective alliance did not challenge America’s hegemony in accordance with the system of balance of power. In that backdrop, the US emerged as the sole superpower in the unipolar world. In consultation with his Zionist-advisers, American former President Bush, (The Senior) replaced the old bipolar order with the New World Order, with the US acting as a kind of global policeman to protect the political and economic interests of Israel and the American Jews who are owners of many big cartels—multinational corporations, oil companies, banks etc., including print and electronic media of the US in particular and the world in general. Thus, by dominating American internal policies, Zionist Jews mould country’s foreign policy for their own interests, devoted to Israel.

In the unipolar world, even the United Nations became an instrument of the US policy to establish American hegemony in the world. The Third World and a majority of Muslim countries ware compelled to realign their domestic policies according to Washington’s dictates. In order to obtain the hidden agenda of Jews, the US imposed its sudden terms of globalization such as free markets, privatization and de-nationalization etc. on the ill-prepared developing countries, which left behind shattered nations and a global financial crisis. It further widened the gape between the poor and the rich countries or G-7 countries. The corporations and international financial institutions like IMF and World Bank which are indirectly controlled by Zionist Jews have continued to drive the project of globalization through the sole superpower.

However, system of balance power is so essential for the world that even alliances and counter-alliances are made to check the dominance of a single state. But, after 9/11, no such alliance was made. Even, almost all the major Western countries including NATO states also joined the global war on terror, when American President George W. Bush warned, “either you are with us or with terrorists.”

Besides, in the name of war on terror, the US and NATO attacked Afghanistan and then without mandate of the UN Security Council, American-Anglo forces invaded Iraq. Like the militants’ brutal tactics, US-led forces also employed state terrorism by special military operations, extra-judicial assassinations and heavy aerial bombardment, which killed several innocent persons especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. And suspected Muslims were also kept in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Graib and other cells, established in some Islamic countries and small European states where personnel of the CIA, the FBI, and the military employed various methods of torture like physical violence and even murder.

Notably, President Barack Obama who had stated during his first election that he would rectify the blunders, committed by his predecessor in the name of war on terror—continued the same in their worst form to secure the illegitimate interests of Israel. Obama-led Administration went on with various techniques of ruthless terror and extrajudicial killings of the innocent persons through illegitimate drone attacks—assisting undemocratic forces, toppling the elected government in Egypt, and like Iraq, creation of more collapsed states such as Libya, Yemen and Syria which opened the doors for Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

If the double game of President Bush franchised Al-Qaeda on global level, President Obama’s dual policy franchised both Al-Qaeda and ISIS as part of the anti-Muslim campaign and left no stone unturned in advancing the agenda of the Zionists, Israeli lobbies and the neoconservatives in the pretext of global war on terror. Secretly, Obama authorized CIA to create ISIS. His perennial covert support to the Israeli atrocities on the Palestinians, silence over the supply (Smuggling) of oil by ISIS to some European countries whose governments have also not taken action against those companies which are exporting oil from the ISIS-controlled regions of Iraq, including CIA-assisted Al-Qaeda (Al-Nusra Front) and ISIS militants to topple the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime might be cited as instance. Thus, the Middle East was deliberately thrown in worst form of terrorism and civil wars.

In this connection, due to his unmatched leadership qualities, President Vladimir Putin first of all stabilized Russian Federation economically. Then, he started checking the hegemony of America in the unipolar world.

In this respect, in 2013, the US Secretary of State John Kerry accused Syrian President Assad of using chemical weapons in relation to the Syrian civil war. In order to protect the interests of Israel, in the pretext, America was determined to attack Syria like the invasion of Iraq where no weapons of mass destructions were discovered. But, Putin warned western powers against any airstrike. For face-saving, John Kerry withdrew from American stand, as he could not prove it. In fact, CIA-Mossad-supported rebels which have been fighting to oust President Assad’s government had used chemical weapons in Syria.

In 2014, the US-led West imposed sanctions against Russia by accusing Russia of intervention in Ukraine regarding the Crimean crisis. But, Russian President Putin who won over his adversaries owing to his successful diplomacy responded with his country’s sanctions against a number of countries, including a total ban on food imports from the EU, US etc. But, sanctions on Russia badly failed, becoming counterproductive for the West.

In this context, Gilbert Doctorow who is the European Coordinator, American Committee for East-West Accord, Ltd., wrote in January 15, 2016, “The sanctions have been totally useless in changing Russian foreign and military policy in the directions desired by the U.S…they have caused very little damage to the Russian economy, but much harm to immediate European and American economic interests…ultimately will undermine U.S. global hegemony, thereby compromising America’s future.”

It is mentionable after the September 30, 2015, unexpected developments such as Russian successful airstrikes on ISIS targets in the northern Syria and Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, its coalition with Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon-based Hezbollah in support of Syrian President Assad, US Defense Department’s announcement to abandon the goal of training the Syrian rebels, retreat of the CIA-supported rebels and mercenaries after their failure to topple the Assad government, proving links of Al-Qaeda (Al-Nusra Front) and ISIS with America and Israeli—the first Vienna meeting where the US Secretary of State John Kerry agreed to keep the Syrian president in power, opposite to American policy of regime-change, not to allow ISIS militants group to reign in Syria, demoralization of the ISIS terrorists and the rebels who are on flee, after the Russia-led coalition reoccupied several territories in Iraq and Syria clearly proved supremacy of military power of Moscow over the US and Western powers (NATO) which were fighting useless war to secure the illegitimate interests of Israel. Thus, Putin also exposed the sinister designs of the US-led West.

While, in wake of some recent developments like UNO-backed ceasefire in Syria, brokered by the major powers including Russia and the US, Russian President Putin gave a surprise by announcing to withdraw most of the forces from Syria, after strengthening the Assad regime whose army has also retaken some territories, especially Palmyra city from ISIS and rebels. Although Putin’s decision was hailed by Obama, UNO and some European leaders, yet they were irritated by Putin’s tactical move.

It is of particular attention that Russia famous TV channel, RT and VT have shown proof of deliberate smuggling of oil by ISIS to some European countries with official backing of Turkey, and supply of weapons by the US-led entities to the ISIS militants.

Nevertheless, after 14 years of the protracted war against terrorism, a perennial wave of terror attacks on the US and NATO installations and their military personnel by the Taliban in Afghanistan, including those by Al-Qaeda and ISIS on Christians and Muslims in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Nigeria etc. and elsewhere in the world—sectarian violence and some terror-attacks inside America and Europe deteriorated the global war on terror. Thus, President Obama caused political and economic instability in the world, jeopardizing the American global interests.

Besides, a number of external and internal developments like huge cost of war on terror, financial crisis, and other-related problems which affected American public also enveloped other Western countries.

Particularly, in wake of the presidential election-campaign, American tax-payers have also been criticizing the government of Democrats and CIA for America’s (NATO) longest war in Afghanistan, facing defeatism, useless proxy wars under the cover of global war on terror and US heavy cost of war which caused serious financial crisis, adding to the dilemmas of ordinary Americans.

Therefore, it was the right hour for the Mossack Fonseca to release the so-called Panama Papers, especially to distort the good image of the President Vladimir Putin who has exposed the fake global war on terror and the New World Order agents. Putin rightly contended in relation to the Panama leaks that “Washington has fanned allegations of Russian official corruption in order to weaken Moscow as the U.S. has become concerned about Russia’s growing economic and military might.”

In this regard, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov denies wife owned offshore companies. Dismissing self-fabricated disclosures contained in the Panama Papers about Russia as “Putinphobia,” Peskov said that journalists investigating the Russian president’s financial affairs had “found out little new…was designed to destabilize the situation in Russia ahead of elections.” He added that the journalistic consortium behind the Panama Papers included “many former state department and CIA employees, as well as those of other intelligence services.”

While, Mossack Fonseca keeps Americans at arm’s length, and have raised the question as to why there are not Americans in the Panama documents. And as to why secret activities of the firm and the journalists did not came to the notice of FBI and CIA whose personnel are equipped with the best technology and facilities to spy over the entire world.

As matter of fact, Putin who unmasked the real face of America and it Western allies is the real target of the Panama files. Therefore, even the leading think-tanks and world’s renowned media houses which are directly and indirectly controlled by the Zionists and Jews have been compelled to indicate truth by pointing out the other side of the coin so as to save their reputation and commercial interests, knowing that otherwise, social media or internet will point out the reality.

In this context, on April 7, 2016, Clifford G. Gaddy, A senior fellow of Foreign Policy, Centre on the United States and Europe wrote on the website of Brooking Institute, under the caption, “Are the Russians actually behind the Panama Papers?”, “The Panama Papers—does this strike anyone else as a very fishy story? It’s like something out of a cheap spy movie…most reports might obscure a much bigger and more twisted story…despite the headlines, there is no evidence of Putin’s direct involvement—not in any company involved in the leak..there are documents showing that some of his friends have moved up to two billion dollars” through these Panama-based shell companies. But nothing in the Panama Papers reveals anything new about Putin. In recent years…circles in the West sought to use the media to respond to what they described as Russia’s hybrid warfare especially information war…they identified corruption as an issue where Putin was quite vulnerable. It’s worth looking at the Panama Papers in that context: Journalists are targeting Putin far out of proportion to the evidence they present…this information will not harm Putin at all—instead, the leaked data will lead to scandals throughout the West, where corruption does matter—a point I’ll discuss. On net, the Russians win…the potential for using such a leak for political purposes is immense. If “we” (in the United States or the West) released these documents, the motive would apparently be to embarrass Putin. This is part of the fantasy that we can defeat Putin in an information war. If that was the motive, the result is pathetic: No real damage is being done to Putin, but there is collateral damage to U.S. allies…the Panama Paper stories run off Putin like water off a duck’s back. But they have a negative impact on Western stability. So, done right, the last thing anyone would suspect is that the Panama Papers are a Russian operation.”

Even BBC pointed out on April 7, 2016, “None of the money that seems to have flowed from Russia into tax havens belongs to President Putin…while much of the focus has been into the dealings of dictators and corrupt regimes around the world, it seems that Panama is not above helping good old-fashioned robbers…Mossack Fonseca helped launder the millions stolen during the notorious Beink’s Mat gold bullion robbery in of 1983, when three and a half tones of gold disappeared.”

Similarly, The Guardian wrote on April 10, 2016, “In 1903 the US bullied Colombia into giving up the province that became Panama. The plan was to create a nation to serve the interests of Wall Street…the Panamanian state was originally created to function on behalf of the rich and self-seeking of this world–or rather their antecedent in America…Panama was created by the United States for purely selfish commercial reasons, right on that historical hinge between the imminent demise of Britain as the great global empire, and the rise of the new American imperium…Roosevelt acted at the behest of various banking groups, among them JP Morgan & Co, which was appointed as the country’s fiscal agent…the reason, of course control the canal across the Panamanian isthmus that would open in 1914 to connect the world’s two great oceans, and the commerce that sailed them…the canal treaty forbade Colombian troops from landing to suppress it, lest they disturb the free transit of goods…JP Morgan led the American banks in gradually turning Panama into a financial centre–and a haven for tax evasion and money laundering…Panama began to register foreign ships to carry fuel for the Standard Oil company in order for the corporation to avoid US tax liabilities…in 1983, however, the system backfired slightly: General Manuel Noriega took power. For years, he had been a beneficiary of, and functionary for, the CIA, but he came to realize that Panama’s wealth was even better suited to an alliance with the Medellín narco-trafficking cartel of Pablo Escobar. In 1989, therefore, the US returned militarily, as it had eight decades previously, an–as Silverstein puts i–returned to power the old banking elites, heirs of the JP Morgan legacy…[Regarding the money, collected through tax-evasion or corruption] Awan names major American banks that still dominate Wall Street…we do it in probably a smaller way, but every bank does it…Panama is one of the world’s sleaziest tax havens, it is just part of a bigger global system.”

It is noteworthy that the news about the Panama Papers was in the English-language Global Times, a state-run tabloid. The Western media has taken control of the interpretation each time—there has been such a document dump, and the US has demonstrated particular influence in it. Information that is negative to the US can always be minimized, while exposure of non-Western leaders, such as Putin, can get extra spin.

Nonetheless, in order to show impartial approach, and to fulfill formality, the released documents of the Mossack Fonseca have mentioned some 600 Israeli companies and 850 Israeli shareholders which serve to conceal ownership of assets. But, no key rulers or key politician was indicated in the papers. While, it also mentioned an Iranian state oil company, Petropars, which was blacklisted by the US. The firm was registered in the British Virgin Islands. The Panamanian law firm also serviced another Iranian outfit called Petrocom. Leaked emails suggested that its ultimate owner was Iranian former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In fact, Amadinejad was true leader who openly and straightforwardly supported the cause of Muslims and Palestinians by exposing sinister designs of the US and Zionist Jews.

To display its neutrality so that people believe in the Panama documents, the pro-American king of Saudi Arabia, and the president of Ukraine and the family of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were also targeted, while the cousin and brothers of Syrian President Assad were said to have a string of offshore companies with Mossack Fonseca.

If we look at those who leaked the information, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and who are their funders, we get a clearer picture. Funders include Ford Foundation, Carnegie Endowment, Rockefeller Family Fund, Open Society Foundation (George Soros) All Jewish billionaires and same groups funding color revolutions around the world aimed at destabilizing and regime change. Anti-Putin sentiment has reached boiling point in the West, and that to a large degree makes it next to impossible to talk about Russia in a positive manner.

Returning to our central discussion, Panama Papers are a CIA-supported conspiracy against Russia and its main target is Putin who has become a hero by exposing the hidden aims of the regimes in America and Israel which have thrown the world into greater instability to complete the Zionist-agenda of global dominance, and which are even affecting the Muslims, Christians and peace-loving Jews, and are even backfiring on the loyalist Americans.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

Email: sajjad_logic_pak@hotmail.com

Sajjad Shaukat

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is the author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations and can be reached at sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

www.pakistantoday.com.pk/author/sajjad-shaukat/