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Newstapa President Kim Yong-jin (right) speaks about the first list of South Korean implicated in the Panama papers

On Apr. 4, news website Newstapa reported that Roh Jae-heon, 51, son of former president Roh Tae-woo, had created three paper companies in the British Virgin Islands, a favorite haven for tax evasion.

This is the conclusion of an analysis of 1,150 internal documents leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that the online newspaper had carried out in conjunction with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists since September of last year.

Newstapa reported that Roh set up three companies in the Virgin Islands on May 18, 2012, called One Asia International, GCI Asia and Luxes International.

“The three companies were all typical paper companies that only issued one share of stock worth one US dollar,” Newstapa said. “We have yet to ascertain the flow of money, but considering that Roh Jae-heon was at risk of having to make his assets public in divorce proceedings, these companies appear to be linked to an attempt to conceal Roh Tae-woo’s slush fund.”

“I set them up to run a business of my own, but I didn’t use the companies to do anything,” Roh Jae-heon told Newstapa.

Roh resigned as director of the three companies on May 24, 2013.

Newstapa said that it had found 195 names of Koreans who had listed South Korean addresses in the leaked documents and that it was planning to publish a list after confirming their identity.

Thus far, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has reported that 12 current and former heads of state from various countries, 61 of their relatives, 128 high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats and 29 businesspeople who are on Forbes’ list of the world’s 500 richest people are implicated in tax evasion, money laundering and concealment of illicit gains.

One of these figures is Russian President Vladimir Putin, though his name is not directly mentioned in the documents. The documents show that Putin carried out secret transactions involving US$2 billion through his close associates and Bank Rossiya, a Russian bank.

They also confirm that Iceland Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson secretly set up a paper company with his wife and that the younger brother of the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping set up two companies in the British Virgin Islands.

Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi and his father were in possession of a paper company.

Actor Jackie Chan was also in possession of at least six companies that were managed by Mossack Fonseca.

By Kim Hyo-jin and Jeon Jeong-yoon, staff reporters

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]