Graham lives in Victoria. He collects art. He loves sweet wine, especially Italian wine. He also collects Japanese fountain pens.
Therefore, he is a person who loves expensive things. But it also connects with people from all over the world, the richest, the most important clients, and also some of the most influential people in the community.
The leak reveals that Graeme Briggs has amassed $ 62 million in assets, including more than $ 10 million in real estate, $ 4-million, and $ 400,000 in fine wine.
One of the ways in which the Pandora Papers appear in the text is the fact that this coastal country is secretly appealing, urging governments to allow seaside land to be developed. As a result, Graham played a key role in turning Samoa into a tax haven.
The island nation of Samoa is dotted with seas between New Zealand and Hawaii. Graeme Briggs was one of the first to see the power in Samoa two decades ago.
He boasted of being an expert in government on maritime finance. He built an Asiaciti office in the nation's capital, just down the road from the governor.
TO'OTO'OLEAAVA DR FANAAFI AIONO: He was one of the first to bring that kind of business here to Samoa. And I understand that he had a voice in advising on the first law.
I've met him once. I met him on one of Samoa's updates following the Asia Pacific Group's illegal money-laundering operation.
In one of their reviews of Samoa back in 2014, it was when I first met Mr. Graeme Briggs. He looks very human. She is not very tall.
Short, curly hair. Gray. Aussie. It may not look like a global financial hub, but there are tens of thousands of international companies based here -one in three residents.
Genesis was ... I think it was trying to find other sources of income that were legal and legitimate in a small nation on an island with very limited natural resources.
That is its source. It is a tax hotspot that has been criticized for its lack of transparency and has been badly selected by the European Union since 2017.
In the good old days, when it looked like the Wild West, figuratively, there were no laws around it, so, it was easy to set up a company, and, as such, the risk of malfunctions and unattainable use was probably high in the early years of the industry.
ANTHONY WATSON: It is a tax haven, which does not impose a tax on the high income of the people in that area.
And it was very popular with the people of Australia because before we had a state that taxed people on their foreign income was acquired by a foreign business.
Therefore, if I enter a foreign company in Samoa, and that foreign company receives money outside of Samoa, it is tax-free in Samoa AND is not taxed in Australia.
So the benefit of having a tax center in between. For those who look at these kinds of arrangements, they are either smart or eager to find love, or harmless.
I think the victims where the people do not pay taxes are the daily Australians, the millions of taxpayers who do the right thing, advertise their money, pay their employees, and compete fairly with other businesses.
Leaked documents indicate that Asiaciti has kept the list confidential of its most vulnerable clients, known as PEPs.
JOHN CHEVIS: Therefore, PEP is an adjective of People Who Are Politically Exposed, and refers to people who held senior positions in government.
They can be politicians, heads of state-owned enterprises, or heads of government departments. And they may be outsiders or locals.
The reason they are released is considered a serious risk
it is because the people in those positions have previously used them by giving them the opportunity to commit crimes of corruption.
The documents reveal hundreds of millions of dollars for Asiaciti customers affiliated with the Sydney property market.
Two luxurious flats in this city tower were purchased by a Sri Lankan man, Thirukumar Nadesan, whose wife is a member of the Rajapaksa Family. He is currently facing allegations of corruption.
The ownership of these flats was hidden through a shell company registered in Samoa and owned by Asiaciti.
PETER WHISH-WILSON: Australia is seen as an easy place to park your money if you are a criminal if you are corrupt when you want to withdraw money.
Many Australians out there, many smokers trying to buy their first home will compete in a less expensive market by fighting billions or rich overseas, some of whom are involved in corruption.
In one of the most private marine settings owned by Asiaciti, Singapore-based company Bright Ruby Resources paid nearly $ 300 million for the towers of two Sydney's CBD offices and bought the famous Sydney Hilton Hotel in 2015 for $ 442 million.
Leaked documents reveal six layers of companies and trustees between Bright Ruby and its last owner, Chinese billionaire Du Shuanghua - one of Asia's most vulnerable customers.
PETER CAI: He became a celebrity in 2008 when he became the richest man in China according to Hurun's list, similar to our AFR Rich list.
There was a story about, you know, he fought to be the richest man in China.
He, I think, persuaded the editor to change that because in China it is not always a good idea to be a millionaire because a lot of things often happen to them after they have come out on top in a rich list.
The controversy has plagued Du Shuanghua since he admitted in a closed court in China in 2010 that he had bribed a Rio Tinto official for millions of dollars.
He admitted paying one of Rio Tinto's employees about nine million dollars in bribes to get the metal. Were you surprised when he admitted that he paid bribes but was not prosecuted?
Somehow, I think ... you can almost see it as one of these American legal dramas - you know, you will ... admitted to being a great witness to how you might have been given to the prosecutor's soldiers in that particular situation.
Four Rio Tinto workers, including Stern Hu of Australia, have been sentenced to years in prison. Du was not punished and continued to make billions.
Leaked documents show that Du Shuanghua's history of bribery was recorded in Asiaciti files and his political affiliations with the China Communist Party.
That makes him a political figure by definition, with anti-money laundering standards.
I am not surprised that someone like Mr. Du can buy the Hilton Hotel with a building that probably hides the fact that he is behind it.
You have this kind of Russian doll order were opaque and marine structures are used to hide identity. It is also very difficult for an Australian bank,
for example, to disassemble a patent building when it does not have items such as a profitable register to show who the last people are sitting behind these corporate cars...continue
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