Panama leaks allegedly finger House of Dancing Water Impressario

The Belgian theatre director, known for his work on Cirque du Soleil and the local House of Dancing Water production, was one of the names revealed in what is being billed as the world’s biggest document leak, according to Belgian publication Le Soir. Dragone’s name was one of many to come to light after millions of confidential documents from a Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, were anonymously made available to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 100 media outlets worldwide.
Franco Dragone had previously been indicted by Belgian authorities for fiscal illegalities such as tax evasion and money laundering.
In the case of Dragone, the leaks allegedly state that the theatre director used an offshore enterprise – Lina International – to finance the production of the Macau-based House of Dancing Water show, the biggest aquatic production in the world. In addition, they claim that these finances were also used to hire the services of choreographer Giulano Peparini for the project.
The aquatic-based show reportedly cost up to US$250 million (MOP1.99 billion) according to CNN and was developed by Dragone at his headquarters in La Louvière, Belgium over a period of 19 months. The project was plagued by delays in the construction of the 2,000-seat theatre, which took five years to build.
In response to inquiries by Business Daily, Melco Crown Entertainment said they have “no comment on market speculation” and that “Mr. Dragone and his related companies have NO involvement in the financing or funding of the show at all.”
Ponto Final newspaper also reported that the Macau Trademark Association, a non-profit membership association of trademark owners, trademark agents and professionals, is also allegedly linked to the Panama law firm.
Fingers point to China
The leaks also point to offshore companies linked to the families of Chinese President Xi Jinping and other powerful current and former Chinese leaders, according to news agency Reuters. Of the eight prominent Chinese officials the leaks claim are linked to offshore deals through associates are President Xi Jinping, former Premier Li Peng, former senior party leader Jia Qinglin, all current or former Politburo Standing Committee members, and the now-imprisoned former Chongqing City Party Chief Bo Xilai.
Also implied is Deng Jiagui – brother-in-law of the head of China’s Communist Party, Xi Jinping. Deng is a real estate development mogul who became a prominent figure after marrying Qi Qiaoqiao, the older sister of the Chinese President. According to the journalist’s consortium that exposed the leaks an investigative report by Bloomberg News in 2012 revealed that Deng and his wife had amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate, shareholdings and other assets.
Other leaked documents also mention the name of Li Xiaolin, daughter of Li Peng, the former Chinese Prime Minister between 1987 and 1990. Li was, together with her husband, a major shareholder in a Lichtenstein foundation controlled by a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, while her father was chief of state.
The Global Times, a newspaper published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, suggested in an editorial on Tuesday that Western media, backed by Washington, used such leaks to attack political targets in non-Western countries while minimising coverage of Western leaders.
The Hong Kong connection
The leaks have also revealed that more than 22,000 clients from China and Hong Kong were involved in the ‘offshore’ scheme.
Hong Kong tops the list of countries where intermediaries for the firm from whence the documents came operate, with over 2,200 intermediaries operating in the HKSAR, according to the ICJI. Second in line is Switzerland, followed by the United Kingdom. Banks, law firms, accountants, and related firms in the Hong Kong region were the most active, with 37,675 offshore companies.
Deng Jiagui himself allegedly owns two offshore companies registered by Hong Kong based WBC Secretaries Limited, according to Next Web. Also implicated is famous martial arts movie star Jackie Chan for reputedly holding at least six companies through Mossack Fonseca, according to the ICIJ.
The firm continues to deny they had any involvement and that the information leaked in the documents does not involve their clients. “We are a company with almost 40 years in the national market and the international market and we have never been found guilty of absolutely anything,” said Ramon Fonseca, co-founder of Mossack Fonseca. “All those names that show up there, including the football players, including the mafia types, all of those are not our clients. They are clients of bank intermediaries, that bought one of our incorporated companies, and sold it, and those people used it for who knows what,” he claimed.
Prominent tax evasion
The leaks have linked more than 140 important figures and relatives of world politicians to tax havens, including heads of state such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The documents point to a money trail of more than US$2 billion leading back to Putin via friends and associates, including Putin’s best friend Sergey Roldugin, who controls assets to the tune of US$100 million, the Independent reported.
United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron was also alleged to be involved after his deceased father Ian Cameron was mentioned to have used the Panama company’s services to shield his investment fund.
In Iceland a political storm has surged after the country’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson – who ran on a platform of sniffing out tax avoiders who use secret offshore companies after the 2008 banking crisis – was revealed by the leaks to have set up a company with his wife in 2007 in the British Virgin Islands through the Panama law firm. Gunnlaugsson is now facing calls for resignation and national protests.
Prominent figures from the entertainment and sports industry were not above the scandal, with Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and his brother and business manager Agustin Almodóvar both fingered for opening offshore accounts in the early 90’s. Barcelona football superstar Lionel Messi was also mentioned in the documents, for using an offshore company to evade taxes.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) is a Washington-based network of reporters around the world who encourage anonymous leaks by whistleblowers. The consortium investigated 11.5 million documents spanning more than 40 years, revealing that financial group Mossak Fonseca, based in Panama, has set up more than 240,000 offshore companies for wealthy individuals and groups. The law firm allegedly provided the placement of fortunes in fiscal paradises for world celebrities, politicians and global players, allegedly facilitating money laundering, tax evasion and sanction avoidance.