Investigative reports

Kremlin Blasts Panama Papers As Putinophobic ‘Attack’ On Russia Orchestrated By CIA

As far as Russia is concerned, the leak of the so-called Panama Papers is personal. The Kremlin has attacked the reporting of documents detailing offshore companies held by world leaders — which were leaked from a Panamanian law firm — as directed by foreign intelligence services and designed to destabilize the political situation inside Russia.

The documents from law firm Mossack Fonseca released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) Sunday allegedly show that close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin channeled $2 billion through a series of shell companies.

“It’s obvious the main aim of this dump is our president in the context of parliamentary elections and, in the longer term, presidential elections... It’s obvious the barbs of this attack are directed against our country and, personally, against our president,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, the RBC news website reported.

“The degree of Putinophobia has reached such a level that you’re just not allowed to say good things about Russia or about Russia’s successes. The bad things — that you have to talk about,” Peskov said.