The leak of over 13 million documents related to offshore accounts has revealed secrets of politicians worldwide, including new links between the Trump administration and Russia.
A trove of more than 13 million documents was leaked on Sunday, the contents of which implicate top officials and associates of President Donald Trump, as well as foreign politicians, with shady business relationships tied to offshore financial accounts.
The documents, referred to as the “Paradise Papers,” were leaked to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung—the same publication that obtained the so-called Panama Papers—and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The ICIJ led a global effort of 96 media organizations aimed at poring through the documents and reporting on their contents.
Among those implicated in the leaks is Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who according to the documents concealed his ties to a Russian energy company that is partly owned by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law. Through offshore investments, Ross held a stake in Navigator Holdings, which had a close relationship with the Russian firm. Ross did not disclose that connection during his confirmation process on Capitol Hill.
Top White House adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is also implicated. The documents reveal that Kremlin-connected interests invested in social media giants Facebook and Twitter through one of Kushner’s business associates. Russian tech leader Yuri Milner, who funneled the money to Facebook and Twitter, has a stake in a company partly owned by Kushner.
Kushner said in July that he told the Senate Intelligence Committee in a closed-door meeting that he never “relied on Russian funds to finance my business activities in the private sector.” Representatives for Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Mark Warner (D-VA), the chairman and vice chairman of the committee, did not immediately return requests for comment.
The top adviser is already ensnared in the Russia investigations due to his meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer. Kushner attended the meeting alongside Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort, who was indicted by the special counsel last week as part of his lobbying work for pro-Russian interests in Ukraine.
