U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has business ties to a shipping firm linked to Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, according to a vast leak of financial documents that also revealed Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II’s investments in tax havens.
It was also revealed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s top fundraiser and senior advisor Stephen Bronfman, heir to the Seagram fortune, moved some $60 million to offshore tax havens with ex-Senator Leo Kolber.
The findings have emerged as part of the Paradise Papers released by the U.S.-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which was behind the Panama Papers made public last year.
Conflicts of interest?
There is no suggestion that Mr. Ross, Mr. Bronfman or the Queen’s private estate acted illegally.
But Mr. Ross’s ties to Russian entities raise questions over potential conflicts of interest, and whether they undermine Washington’s sanctions on Moscow.
On Monday, Russian politicians played down the leaks, saying the deals mentioned were legal and not politically motivated.
The revelations about Mr. Bronfman could spell trouble for Mr. Trudeau, who was elected two years ago riding on the coattails of promises to reduce economic inequality and tax avoidance.
In the case of Queen Elizabeth’s private estate, critics may question whether it is appropriate for the British head of state to invest in offshore tax havens.
Mr. Ross, a billionaire investor, holds a 31% stake in Navigator Holdings through a complex web of offshore investments detailed in the documents examined by nearly 100 news organisations as part of an international collaboration.
The 79-year-old reduced his stake when he took public office, according to public filings.
Navigator Holdings runs a lucrative partnership with Russian energy giant Sibur, which is partially owned by Mr. Putin’s son-in-law Kirill Shamalov.
“Secretary Ross was not involved with Navigator’s decision to engage in business with Sibur, a publicly traded company, which was not under sanction at the time and is not currently,” said James Rockas, a Commerce Department spokesman.
The documents also show around £10 million ($13 million) of the Queen’s private money was placed in funds held in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, as first reported in Britain by the BBC and The Guardian.