【新唐人2013年04月15日訊】一場史上最大的洩密風暴，正在令中國權貴和貪官們惶惶不可終日。一塊存儲量超過260G的電腦硬碟，被告密者送到了海外調查機構，其中包括大量中國頂級富豪向海外轉移資產、和不法交易的詳細資料，一旦公布，一些原本潛藏很深的中共貪官，將被按圖索驥曝光於眾。
據大陸財經媒體報導，調查性新聞記者國際聯盟（ICIJ），在對澳洲一項涉及離岸公司及欺詐醜聞的調查過程中，獲得由告密者提供的一個信息量超過260G的電腦硬碟，其中包括200多萬個郵件和50萬份資料，涉及12萬多個離岸公司或信託機構的秘密交易，而這些離岸公司的作用主要有兩個——轉移財產和逃稅。
北京理工大學經濟學教授胡星斗：「在國外辦離岸公司形式上是合法的，但是他們有可能實際上幹著一些非法的勾當，也就是把財產轉移出去，偷逃稅收，還有把一些國有資產轉變成境外的私人財產，其中存在著很多非法的事情。」
報導說，硬碟裡的文件，揭露了大量富豪在英屬維爾京群島、庫克群島、新加坡等地，開設離岸公司及銀行戶口的記錄，當中涉及中國客戶的訊息極多、中國權貴設立境外實體的比例也是最高的。
「避稅天堂」英屬維爾京群島，是與中國牽扯最深的離岸地之一，那裏成為了中國貪官洗錢的主要通道。島上大部分資產都屬中國富豪持有，他們開設了大量「空殼」公司，並利用複雜的公司架構，將巨額財富隱匿其中來掩蓋腐敗行為。
胡星斗：「這是很多貪官、腐敗分子洗錢的一個重要方式，也就是通過辦離岸公司這樣一種形式來轉移資產，特別是將國有財產轉變成個人資產，這可以說是一個主要的形式。」
在「避稅天堂」開設離岸公司的，除了急於轉移財產的貪官，還有少部分是因無法承擔國內巨額賦稅，而不得不逃稅的企業家。
胡星斗：「國內的公司稅費太高，稅賦負擔太高，也是重要原因。因為有很多的機構經過調查，認為中國企業的稅費負擔是世界第二、也有的人說是亞太地區第一，這是不同的機構的調查，在國內開公司，稅賦負擔非常重，那麼它通過註冊離岸公司的方式也可以成功的避稅。」
「北京理工大學」經濟學教授，首都經濟研究會副會長胡星斗認為，中國法制不健全、官員財產不透明、個人產權保護不完善等，都是造成中共官員和企業家向海外轉移財產的部分原因。
胡星斗：「國內對高官、對官員的財產沒有建立公開透明的制度，這樣一些官員也對外轉移財產。很多的私人企業家感到在國內沒有安全感，他們偷偷的轉移財產，或者是通過註冊離岸公司的方式，變相的通過某種合法的渠道，但實際上是轉移了他的私人財產。」
在這次洩密事件中，不少客戶資料信息，明確顯示了藏匿在離岸的秘密公司、和家族信託操作離岸資產的痕跡，而這些暴露在陽光下的姓名，不僅有億萬富翁、公司高管、中產階級，還有政界高官、國際軍火商等。隨著涉密信息的不斷披露，牽涉其中的中國客戶主動或被動的不法信息，都會逐漸浮出水面。
據了解，各國媒體將會在4月15號揭露更多相關細節，如果這個硬碟的消息解密，中國權貴的海外資產、公司架構、股權比例等絕密資料，將大白於天下，他們煞費苦心隱藏的財富也將會公諸於眾。
採訪編輯/張天宇 後製/葛雷
China’s Bigwigs Illegal Financial Activities Leaked
Possibly the most massive data leak on offshore wealth cons
keeps China’s super rich and corrupt officials on their toes.
A hard disk with over 260 gigabytes of data has been
submitted to an overseas investigative organization.
The disk contains a great amount of details on how China’s
super rich transferred assets abroad and made illicit trades.
Once this data is open to the public, many corrupt party
officials who have lurked for a long time will be exposed.
China’s financial media reported that the ICIJ (International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists) acquired a hard disk with over 260 GB of data from an informer,
during an investigation of Australian fraud’ scandal,
involving offshore companies.
The disk contains over 2 million emails and 500,000 files,
related to secret trades of over 120,000 offshore companies and trusts.
These companies served two major purposes,
assets transfer and tax evasion.
Hu Xingdou, Professor in Economics at Beijing Institute of
Technology: ”Founding offshore companies abroad is legal.
Yet, those companies may be engaged in illegal activities,
such as transferring assets abroad, evading taxes and converting state-owned assets to private ones.
There can be great many illegal activities involved.”
According to the report, the files in the hard drive contain
massive records of the super rich’s offshore asserts.
These include companies, trusts, and bank accounts
in the British Virgin Islands, Cook Islands and Singapore.
Among the records a great many relate
to Chinese clients.
The proportion of offshore economic entities founded
by China’s rich is also the highest among all the countries.
The British Virgin Islands, dubbed “tax haven,” is one
of the off shores that have most connections with China.
The island has become a money-laundering hub for China’s
corrupt officials, who own most of the assets on the island.
They found many “dummy companies” with complicated
structures to hide their huge corruption gained’ wealth.
Hu Xingdou: ”This is an important way
of money-laundering for many corrupt officials.
They transfer assets abroad, and especially convert
state assets to their own through offshore companies.
This can be regarded as a primary approach
to achieve that.”
Other than the anxious corrupt officials transferring assets,
some offshore firm’ owners are Chinese entrepreneurs.
They could not afford to pay the huge taxes in China,
and were compelled to evade them in such a way.
Hu Xingdou: ”Another important reason is that our
domestic companies are burdened with overly high taxes.
There have been many relevant surveys on the issue,
conducted by different agencies.
They conclude that Chinese companies have to pay
the second highest taxes in the world, or the highest ones in the Asia-Pacific region.
This is a common conclusion,
according to a number of different sources.
As the tax burden is very heavy in China, founding offshore
companies appears to be a feasible way to evade taxes.”
Hu Xingdou also serves as the vice president
of the Capital Research Board of Economics.
Hu remarked that party officials and entrepreneurs
transfer their assets abroad for several reasons.
These include China’s legal system flaws, opacity of officials’
wealth, and unreliability in protecting personal properties.
Hu Xingdou: ”China has no law, requiring officials to declare
properties, which allows them to transfer assets abroad.
In addition, many private company’ owners
have little sense of security with their wealth left in China.
They secretly transfer assets abroad, or register
offshore companies to do the same in a legal way.
Either way they are moving private assets
into foreign countries.”
The customer profiles leaked by the hard drive this time
clearly indicate the existence of many secret offshore firms,
and record how the family trusts operate
their offshore assets.
The list of exposed names includes not only billionaires,
company executives and middle-class men, but also senior politicians and arms dealers.
As more of the leaked information becomes open,
the Chinese clients illicit activities, both active and passive, will gradually rise to the surface.
On Apr 15, the media from different countries
will announce more details about the leaked information.
If all hard drive’s records are made public, the top secrets
of China’s super rich, including their offshore assets, company structures and equities will be known to the world.
The truth of their wealth, which they worked so hard
to hide away, will also be exposed to the Chinese people.