TRUTH IS THE ONLY GOAL in probing the Panama Papers
THE AUTHORITIES MUST BE THOROUGH AND TRANSPARENT IN IDENTIFYING WHO HAS DONE WRONG AND WHO HAS NOT
The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) has adopted what might be described as a diplomatic stance towards the so-called Panama Papers, which contain the names of 780 Thais among the wealthy individuals and private firms around the world parking their money in a tax haven out of reach of their governments. But the agency cannot afford to be lenient in examining who is avoiding payment of taxes and why. It must do so without prejudice, but it must keep foremost in mind that its duty is to be suspicious.
The chief of the AMLO has been cautious in saying further investigation is required to determine if any of the Thais listed by the Panamanian firm violated laws against laundering money. This is reasonable, since laundered money is defined as originating from illicit sources. The Panama Papers include money from legitimate businesses, not just illegal drug or gambling income. The AMLO will have to proceed carefully even as it meets its mandate to be vigilant and tough with wrongdoers.
Whereas Wikileaks shed light on political and military scandals, the leak of a huge trove of documents from the Panamanian corporate-service provider Mossack Fonseca reveals massive financial irregularities. And, given that this is just one company in one of a multitude of tax havens around the world, we are clearly seeing only the tip of the iceberg. Investigative journalists and fiscal regulators have undertaken an enormous yet absolutely essential assignment in sifting through the list and determining what is fair practice and what is fraud. A slew of national political leaders have already fallen on their swords and countless business magnates are squirming, some of them with strong political connections.
The AMLO and other agencies involved in cash dealings in Thailand face a daunting set of dilemmas. In their investigations they are bound to encounter instances of monetary transfers that are unethical and yet not quite illegal, others that are legal or ethical in some countries but not in Thailand, and still others where legality and illegality will be difficult to distinguish between.
In any event, the authorities have the responsibility to bring the wrongdoers to justice and to publicly clear those who have done no wrong so they can be free of any social stigma. This will require digging to the bottom of every case and being fully transparent about their findings. What the agencies discover must become part of the public record so that examples are made of the crooks and the taint of suspicion is removed from the innocent. If the results of their investigations remain in any way murky, the criminals will be emboldened and the rest making reasonable use of offshore tax havens will be inadvertently harmed.
Tax havens have existed as logical alternatives for wealthy people and big corporations for so long, in typically smaller nations and territories that have little defence against international crackdowns, because their foreign clients wield political or economic clout. As happened with Wikileaks, expect the Panama Papers leak to now face a backlash from the powerful and their political lackeys. Claims that individual and corporate privacy is being violated might be enough to silence the uproar, and the real crime would remain hidden from the view of the masses, the honest taxpayers left to shoulder an unfair share of the burden.
The AMLO and its counterparts around the world face a noble task in curbing a practice that drains national coffers and could cause irreparable damage in more vulnerable nations like Thailand. If vast amounts of money are removed from circulation and stashed abroad, corruption flourishes, and the more widespread it becomes, the harder it is to eradicate, since the government risks opening a huge can of worms every time it goes after a single violator.
We have seen in recent times what happened to the likes of Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning.
Those who leaked the Panama Papers now join the list of whistleblowers branded in some quarters as thieves, liars and traitors. Such reactionary terms only serve to distract investigators from their publicly mandated mission, which is to pursue and propagate the truth.
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