The Communist Con Trick

One of the greatest con tricks in history was that Russia and China were communist countries. It is doubtful if any one is naive enough to make that claim about Russia today and surely it is impossible to make that claim for China on learning of this news. China's elite, including the brother-in-law of President Xi Jinping, have used secretive offshore companies that helped hide wealth in tax havens, including the British Virgin Islands and Samoa, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in Washington, D.C. 'The group, whose website is now blocked in China, worked with reporters from Europe, North America, and Asia, sifting through leaked files from two offshore funds, Singapore-based Portcullis TrustNet and Commonwealth Trust Limited in the British Virgin Islands. The documents, which are part of a larger cache of 2.5 million files obtained by ICIJ and analyzed with its media partners, provide information on nearly 22,000 offshore clients with addresses in Hong Kong and mainland China.' (Bloomberg Businessweek, 22 January) RD