Explore Tax Havens
The world's largest offshore leaks
Welcome to explore the world's largest financial data leaks. This search service gives you direct access to information on over 900,000 individuals and companies revealed in the historic Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Pandora Papers and Swiss Leaks.
This service is designed for everyone -- journalists, researchers, and ordinary citizens who want to understand how tax haven arrangements work and who uses them.
How to use the search
You can search the database by people's or companies' names. Select the search type according to your needs and enter a search term in the field.
Read more: Search type descriptions
Full-text search searches all fields in the database -- names, addresses and connections. This is the broadest search method and works best when you are not exactly sure what you are looking for. You can use Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT.
Name search targets only the names of people and companies. Use this when you know exactly whose or which company's information you are looking for.
Fuzzy search also finds close spelling variants. This is useful when searching for foreign names (e.g., Jarvinen/Jaervinen).
Tips:
- Try different spellings -- Scandinavian characters may not always display correctly
- Try searching by first and last name separately
- For company names, try without the company type (Ltd, Inc, Corp)
What the databases contain
This search service combines six major data leaks that have revealed offshore arrangements around the world. In total, the database contains over 2.3 million entries of people, companies and their connections.
Read more: Detailed descriptions of data sources
The largest data leak in history. Revealed 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The leak contains information on 214,000 offshore companies and their 238,000 owners.
Consists of data from the Bermuda-based law firm Appleby and corporate registries of several tax haven states. Over 13 million documents and offshore connections of approximately 358,000 people.
The most extensive offshore leak ever published, containing nearly 12 million documents from 14 different service providers. Revealed hidden offshore holdings of over 330 politicians and officials.
Based on data leaked by former HSBC Switzerland employee Hervé Falciani. The material contains information on over 100,000 clients.
The first major offshore leak published by ICIJ. Contained information on 105,000 companies in the British Virgin Islands and Cook Islands.
Revealed data from the Bahamas corporate registry on 175,000 companies and their directors.
What is a tax haven and why is this data being investigated?
Tax havens are states or territories that offer low or zero taxes, strict bank secrecy, and easy company formation without revealing the real owner. Offshore companies are used for both legal and illegal purposes -- therefore, simply appearing in these databases does not tell the whole story.
Read more: How tax havens work and their significance
Tax havens emerged when small nations competed for international capital by offering favorable tax benefits and secrecy. Typical tax havens include the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Cayman Islands, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
In a typical arrangement, a shell company is established in a tax haven state. The company has no real business operations -- instead, money is channeled through it or assets are owned through it. The real owner often uses nominee directors.
Offshore companies are used for many legal purposes: organizing international business, protecting assets from political risks, and estate planning. Problems arise when structures are used for tax evasion, money laundering, or hiding corrupt funds.
According to OECD estimates, $7.6 trillion is hidden in tax havens -- a sum that, if taxed, would generate hundreds of billions annually for public services.
Important: What a search result means -- and what it does not
A name match in this database is not an accusation nor proof of a crime. Owning or being connected to an offshore company can be completely legal. Each case is individual and requires further investigation before drawing conclusions.
Read more: Detailed explanation of interpretations
The vast majority of those appearing in these databases had completely legal reasons for their offshore arrangements: international business, living abroad, holding structures for investments, or privacy protection.
- Failure to report to authorities
- Unexplained wealth
- Conflicts of interest in decision-making positions
- Active concealment
Ask: Is there an explanatory reason for the offshore connection? Has the arrangement been reported? Is there a conflict of interest? Responsible interpretation requires forming an overall picture from multiple sources.
Notable cases: What the leaks have led to
These data leaks have led to concrete consequences: government collapses, criminal convictions, billions in recovered taxes, and significant legal reforms.
Nordea and Panama Papers
The largest Nordic bank Nordea helped wealthy clients set up nearly 400 shell companies. This resulted in over $35 million in fines and billions in compliance investments.
Read more
In August 2024, the New York financial regulator imposed a $35 million fine. Danish prosecutors filed charges for $3.7 billion in suspicious transactions.
Iceland's Prime Minister resignation
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson resigned within 48 hours of the Panama Papers publication -- the first head of government to lose office as a result of these leaks.
Read more
Gunnlaugsson and his wife owned Wintris Inc. The problem was failure to disclose and selling ownership to his wife for $1 the day before a new law took effect.
HSBC fines (Swiss Leaks)
Swiss Leaks led to over $1.1 billion in fines for HSBC. The leak revealed systematic tax evasion assistance to over 100,000 clients.
Read more
Hervé Falciani leaked the data in 2006-2007. Fines: France €352M, Belgium €329M, USA $192M. Falciani was sentenced to 5 years in Switzerland but lives freely in France.
Global impact of the leaks in numbers
ICIJ's offshore leaks have led to historic consequences: over $1.8 billion in recovered taxes, investigations in over 82 countries, and significant legal reforms.
Read more: Detailed impacts
Recovered taxes: Sweden $237M, Denmark $237M, Germany $183M, Australia $138M, Spain $175M+
Political consequences: 2 prime minister resignations, over 150 politicians investigated
Legal reforms: EU's 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, USA's Corporate Transparency Act
Market impact: Listed companies linked to Panama Papers lost a combined $135 billion in value
Data usage and disclaimer
This search service provides access to the Offshore Leaks database published by ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists). The original data is published under the Open Database License (ODbL) and Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licenses.
- • Appearing in the database is not an accusation nor proof of a crime
- • The data is based on leaked documents
- • Name spellings may contain errors
- • Interpretation of the data is the user's own responsibility
More information: ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database