Ads by Google Ads by Google

Samoa named as one of the offshore tax havens for Chinese elite

BEIJING (AP) -- A report by a U.S.-based journalism group has linked relatives of China's president and other business and political leaders to offshore tax havens that is says \helped shroud the communist elite's wealth.\ The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists said its report Wednesday was based on leaked documents showing the identities of nearly 22,000 owners of companies and trusts in the British Virgin Islands, Samoa and other offshore centers. Such offshore companies are legal and often are used by Chinese companies to control subsidiaries abroad. But the ICIJ said owners also include President Xi Jinping's brother-in-law and former Premier Wen Jiabao's son and son-in-law. The report might fuel complaints about the wealth of China's communist elite at a time when Xi's government is carrying out a crackdown on corruption.