With such as data number, it is not surprising that the scandal affects rich people all around the world, including a few Africans. Specifically, the names of Uhuru Kenyatta, Denis Sassou-Nguesso and Ali Bongo - active presidents of Kenya, Republic of Congo and Gabon, respectively - among others, have appeared, up to now, since the publication of the results is still on the way.

Uhuru Kenyatta, along with his mother and siblings, runs 13 tax shelter businesses worth more than $30 million, according to the investigation. Building up these opaque societies suggests illicit activities in a president who had recently said he wanted to leave as his heritage a fight against corruption and transparency. Instead, it is well known that Kenyatta and his family maintain businesses related to transportation, insurance, hotels and the media, among other sectors. 

The Kenyan president had in October the first bilateral meeting with the US Biden Administration at the White House, where he possibly had to swallow hard, as the organizers included the Pandora Papers on the to be discussed agenda. The meeting already incorporated regional issues such as the conflict in Tigray or the availability of vaccines in Africa. The introduction of journalistic disclosure was justified by "the need to bring greater transparency and accountability to national and international financial systems." After the publication, Kenyatta expressed his support to the investigation, saying that it would help improve "the financial transparency and openness we want for Kenya and for the whole world", but without going into details related to his own involvement.
Not only does Kenyatta appear

The Congolese Denis Sassou-Nguesso hid a diamond mining company in the British Virgin Islands. As The African Report by French group Jeune Afrique stands, most of the revelations are not very surprising. Many of the politicians mentioned were already suspected of hiding their fortunes abroad, and the case of Sassou-Nguesso, who has ruled his country continuously since 1997, is certainly no exception. Another common suspect on the Papers is the President of Gabon, Ali Bongo, who succeeded his father in office; his family has controlled the country for half a century and they had already been investigated for corruption.

Although having accounts or assets abroad is not in itself illegal, their existence in countries known as tax havens due to their low tax levels and secrecy suggest illicit motivations: tax evasion or money laundering from doubtful activities at the source. Some of the great richest people in certain African countries are in a position of avoiding the public accountability, which is why an interest in secrecy and protection against criminal investigations prevails, according to The African Report. Something to appreciate about these leaks is that the period analyzed covers several decades of deliberate evasions and omissions of information.

Other relevant African politicians mentioned in the journalistic investigation are Patrick Achi, Prime Minister of the Ivory Coast; Jim Muhwzi, Head of the Ugandan Ministry of Security; and Aires Ali, former prime minister of Mozambique. Most of them have opted for silence, although Achi has denied any wrongdoing and has promised to answer the accusations in detail. He is Ouattara's ally, whom some see as a possible successor, and he had carried out initiatives to punish fraud with public funds. 

It is still curious how the African rich hide their money abroad, but very few rich people from other places do so in African paradises, with some exceptions such as Seychelles or Mauritius. Perhaps African states do not offer the reliability that the bankers of Panama, British Virgin Islands or Bahamas do, although, as the leaks show, it is difficult for a secret to last forever.

Beyond Africa, a total of 35 rulers or former rulers have been implicated in the papers: 14 of them are from Latin America. Among the most relevant figures mentioned worldwide are the former British Prime Minister, Toni Blair; King Abudllah II of Jordan; the Czech Prime Minister, Andrej Babis; the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev and several public figures not linked to politics, such as the Colombian singer Shakira. 

In July of this year, 130 countries around the world signed an agreement to create a global minimum tax for multinationals, which was set at a minimum of 15%, as a way to collect taxes from companies where they make a profit, not only where their tax offices are located. Among the signatory countries, there are around twenty Africans, but some very significant ones such as Kenya or Nigeria did not sign. Other countries that refused to sign it are, precisely, tax havens because of their low tax rate.

See Lo que Pandora esconde