A key Australian financier named in the 'Pandora Papers' has acquired oceanside mansions in Australia's most exclusive postcodes, shelled out a fortune on his art and wine collections and even spent millions on rare luxury pens.
The lavish lifestyle of Graeme Briggs, 75, came to light when the staggering financial leak exposed the highly secretive world of offshore financing, where the globe's rich and powerful figures funnelled money through small island nations.
Asiaciti founder Graeme Briggs
Clients pay Briggs' Singapore-based Asiaciti huge sums of money to set up complex corporate structures and trusts in order to minimise their taxes and protect their vast wealth. The process isn't illegal but is often frowned upon by the public, tax-collectors and policymakers. More than 400 Australians were named in the 12 million documents from 14 financial services companies operating in tax havens including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Belize, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Switzerland.
Many of the Australians are clients of Asiaciti who have sophisticated networks set in Pacific Island nations, such as the Cook Islands and Samoa.
The documents were obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and studied by more than 650 reporters from the BBC's Panorama, The Guardian and more than 100 other news outlets.
Asiaciti criticised the investigation by the ICIJ media partners in a statement saying the company abides by all necessary regulations.
Mr Briggs has not been accused of any wrongdoing. The ambitious Australian businessman has amassed a $62million fortune and now lives the high life after somewhat humble beginnings.
Growing up in Echuca on the Victorian side of the Murray River, the son of a dairy farmer had a knack for numbers from a very early age. A fully qualified and practicing chartered accountant by the age of 23, at 30 he had established Asiaciti.
The outfit made a name for itself among the super-rich during the 1980s as it set up offices in small palm-tree laden paradises which had stringent confidentiality laws but less restrictive legislation when it came to international businesses and foreign capital.
Briggs had a passion for high-art and Italian vino and lays claim to a $400,000 wine cellar.
More bizarrely, he has spent more than $4million on rare Japanese fountain pens.
In the past, Asiaciti has drawn attention for some of its clients.
The documents uncover how Asiaciti managed to build its fortune by helping some high-risk clients along the way. They include Moldovan politician Vladimir Plahotniuc - who is a fugitive - Myanmar's agriculture minister Nyunt Tin - who resigned over corruption - and Nigerian politician Abubakar Atiku Bagudu - who laundered public funds.
In 2020, Asiaciti was fined US$793,000 after the organisation failed to introduce effective policies to prevent money laundering between 2007 and 2018.
The treasure trove of documents shows how 35 current and former world leaders - including associates of Vladimir Putin - used accounts in tax havens to accrue huge amounts of wealth and carry out transactions.
Russian President Mr Putin was linked to secret assets in Monaco, and an offshore company owned by his alleged lover purchased a $4 million apartment below the principality's casino.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair and Jordanian King Abdullah II are also among those included in the data drop.
The Pandora Papers go on to link several high-profile entertainment figures including singer Shakira, and supermodel Claudia Schiffer.
And of course, there are Malaysians in the list. Some may acknowledge and others will deny their activities. What troubles many are the ways in which the rich can “hide” their wealth under BVI companies and get away with it all – tax or no tax. In a depressing economic situation, this is not welcome news when many are struggling to survive. In fact, Malaysia ranks 5th among all countries for illicit capital flight. Global Financial Integrity (GFI)’s report estimated Malaysia lost up to about USD431 billion (RM1.8 trillion) in illicit outflows between 2005-2014. (It is around 6-10% of the value of trade).
How can we stop these leakages classified as mis-invoicing, errors and omissions, reverse investment and so forth? The Central Bank is very particular on remittance of a maid’s salary to Indonesia but not if the former Prime Minister and Minister of Finance is involved in shady shenanigans.
Reference:
Lush mansions, fine wine and a $4m PEN collection, Levi Parsons and Aidan Wondracz, Daily Mail Australia, 4 October 2021
Pandora Papers Leaked: Malaysia ranked 5th in the world for RM1.8 trillium outflow, https://thecoverage.my
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