pandora papers banking leak opens pandoras box of offshore accounts of more than 400 australians

Mar 11, 2025 - 19:06
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pandora papers banking leak opens pandoras box of offshore accounts of more than 400 australians

The Australian Taxation Office says it will investigate any links to Australians that emerge from the Pandora papers, the biggest ever leak of offshore data.

About 400 Australian names are contained in the papers, a cache of 11.9m files from companies hired by wealthy clients to create offshore structures and trusts in tax havens such as Panama, Dubai, Monaco, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands and Samoa.

The data was obtained by the Independent Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with media outlets, including the Guardian.

It includes 35 current and former world leaders and more than 300 other public officials.

Quick Guide

What are the Pandora papers?

Australians who appear in the data include senior figures from the finance and property industries. The Guardian has chosen not to identify them.

The ATO’s deputy commissioner Will Day said there were “a range of legitimate reasons that someone may have for an offshore bank account or structure”.

“We know most Australians do the right thing,” he said.

“However, there are some who attempt to hide their ownership interests or financial misdoings through offshore arrangements.”

Day said the ATO would use its international information-sharing networks to investigate the gargantuan data set.

“We are well-connected locally and globally in our efforts to fight financial crime,” he said.

“We will certainly look at this data set and compare it with the data we already have to identify any potential connections.

“We have some of the best auditors, investigators, analysts and data scientists in the world who work together to sort the good from the bad, ensuring no stone is left unturned.”

3:13What are the Pandora papers? – video explainer

He said the secrets of anyone who tried to cheat the system were no longer safe and they could expect “serious consequences” for their actions.

“No complicated money trail is too difficult for us to unravel,” he said.

The Pandora papers are the latest, and largest, of a series of major leaks of financial data that have convulsed the offshore world since 2013.

Previous leaks include the Panama papers in 2016 and the Paradise papers in 2017.

Day said the ATO did not rely on leaks to do its job.

“We detect, investigate and deal with offshore tax evasion year-round,” he said.