Felix Ng gave a seminar to Chartered Accountants of Australia & New Zealand

Following the IBA Transnational Crime Conference in Panama City in May 2016, our partner Felix Ng gave a luncheon seminar to the Chartered Accountants of Australia & New Zealand on “the myth of Panama Papers – what it is and what it is not” at Club Lusitano, Hong Kong. The seminar was attended by over 70 professionals, and Felix was assisted by our paralegal Christina Ma.

The presentation started with the story of an anonymous whistleblower “John Doe” who leaked documents to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, followed by the explosive disclosure of over 11.5 million documents by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on 3rd April and 9th May 2016 respectively.

One of Felix’s arguments was that “Panama Papers” is a gross misnomer and that there is nothing much “Panamanian” about them. Interestingly, Hong Kong is the most frequently named jurisdiction in what we should otherwise call “Mossack Fonseca Papers”.

Felix further discussed the significance of this massive disclosure compared to that of Edward Snowden in 2013 and Julian Assange of Wikileak in 2010, and shared the latest stories of its impact on Iceland, Spain, the United Kingdom, China, Ukraine, Russia and Hong Kong.

Felix argued that the “Panama Papers” could be a wake up call for professionals all over the world. He explored the recent international legal developments, including the anti-tax evasion and anti-money laundering regime in Hong Kong, the forthcoming Court of Final Appeal decision on HKSAR v Yeung Ka-sing Carson, the BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act 2015, creation of a central register of beneficial ownership under the 4th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive, and the OECD’s efforts in setting international standards for automatic exchange of tax information.

For details of the seminar, please click here

For a copy of the presentation, please click here

Please click here for the web link of Chartered Accountants of Australia & New Zealand