Tax-Haven Seekers From Senayan

The Panama Papers, which are creating shock waves around the world, have implicated some current government officials in Indonesia. The papers mention Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) Chairman Harry Azhar Azis as being a director of Sheng Yue International Ltd., a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. Is it true that he founded a company in that tax haven? On Tuesday last week, Harry answered the question with a single word, "No."

Even though Harry has denied it, the facts speak otherwise. His name came up among the 11.5 million documents that leaked from the Mossack Fonseca law firm. An investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists exposed the activity of this law firm, which is to help people set up companies in tax havens. Harry was mentioned in a correspondence between Sheng Yue International and Novia Lu, a staff member at Mossack Fonseca.

April 12, 2016