Malcolm Turnbull unfazed after being named in Panama Papers scandal

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull attends a meeting at a hotel in Shanghai, China, April 14, 2016. Reuters/Aly Song

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been named in the Panama Papers scandal, but he insists he has done nothing wrong. The Australian leader is listed as a former director of Star Technology Services Ltd, which was incorporated by the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Former NSW Premier Neville Wran is also registered as Turnbull’s partner in the company, which was a British Virgin Islands subsidiary of Star Mining NL. Both joined the board of Star Mining in October 1993, and then became the directors of Star Technology five weeks later, the Australian Financial Review reports.

Turnbull did not see anything wrong with his involvement, though, telling reporters in Melbourne on Thursday that “There is nothing new here.”

“The company concerned was a wholly owned subsidiary of a publicly listed Australian company,” he said, adding that the company would have paid taxes in Australia had it made any profits.

“It did not. Regrettably, it certainly would have paid tax in Australia.”

A spokesman for Turnbull said that while Star Technology was incorporated by Mossack Fonseca but not administered by it. Turnbull and Wran resigned from Star Mining on Sep. 1, 1995, and stepped down from Star Technology on Sep. 25.

Mossack Fonseca is the Panama law firm at the centre of the scandal. Thousands of its data have been anonymously released to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which in turn exposed the first batch to the public last month. The Australian Tax Office began the investigation of more than 800 Australian clients of the law firm following the Panama Papers leak.

On Tuesday, the Panama Papers database was made available online, therefore giving public access to the offshore companies and individuals handled by Mossack Fonseca.

Several high profile personalities, including world leaders and celebrities, have been named in the Panama Papers scandal as well. British Prime Minister David Cameron’s late father, Donald Cameron, was accused of dodging paying taxes in the UK by investing in offshore companies.

The leaked files also revealed offshore companies linked to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s family, as well as associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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