Israel: Netanyahu ally Aaron Milchan accused of hiding $500 million in offshore firms

Israeli film producer Aaron Milchan, who is a key witness in the country’s former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial, has some half a billion dollars held in offshore companies, according to a recently released report. Milchan is amongst the 565 Israelis named in the Pandora Papers leak, which disclosed names of celebrities, politicians and billionaires with hidden financial assets. The report published by Israeli NGO Shomrim stated that his name appears several times in the leaked documents. Shomrim alleged that Milchan owned at least seven properties in the Virgin Islands, a major tax haven. It further said that all the companies were formed in the 2000s, became operative in 2013 and were shut down in 2018. Apart from artwork and antiques, the companies owned properties in Manhattan and Malibu and millions of dollars in cash. 

The Pandora Papers is the dossier of over 11.9 million confidential files which were published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on October 3. It has drawn attention to the alleged shadow financial schemes and other offshore activities of hundreds of political figures from across the world. In the aftermath, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the United States remains 'the largest tax haven in the world' despite its pledge to tackle corruption and money laundering. The stunning leak of Pandora Papers exposed secret wealth and dealings of leaders, politicians and billionaires across the globe, in one of the biggest leaks of financial documents.

Netanyahu's trial

Netanyahu is already under trial for corruption charges. The Israeli leader’s trial formally opened in May 2019 at a Jerusalem district court where he denied the bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges against him.  Netanyahu, accused of bribing media and favouring business tycoons, is the first-ever Israeli Prime Minister to go under trial while serving a term. Notably, in the last days of his tenure, public outrage against him intensified, fuelled by his bad handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Image: AP