Les Paradis, Rapport Annuel

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There are more than 800,000 companies based in the British Virgin Islands, but only 28,000 inhabitants. Image © Paolo Woods and Gabriele Galimberti

In the summer of 2016, 11.5 million documents from the world’s fourth largest offshore banking law firm were leaked by an anonymous source, exposing financial and attorney-client information of more than 214,000 offshore companies. The Panama Papers, as they are known, reveal some of the complex structures that allow the extremely wealthy to exploit offshore banking and shell corporations to commit fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, and other crimes.

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Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu Couché

Amedeo Modigliani, Nu Couché, 1917-18; oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 36 1/4 inches; image via Christie’s Images LTD
Amedeo Modigliani, Nu Couché, 1917-18; oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 36 1/4 inches; image via Christie’s Images LTD

It has been a superlative auction season in New York with sales of Impressionist, modern, and contemporary art totaling more than $2 billion. Christie’s reported a decline from last November with sales of $968 million, and Sotheby’s increased to $978 million notwithstanding a poor third quarter and concern about the margins on its $500 million guarantee for the Taubman collection.

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