MUNICH, Germany, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Documents leaked in 2011 show that families of high-ranking Chinese officials have been hiding assets in Caribbean tax havens, a German newspaper said.
The daily newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung said it had been analyzing documents leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and found that assets under the name of the brother-in-law of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the son, daughter and son-in-law of former premier Wen Jiabao have been invested in offshore companies.
The assets were managed by Deutsche Bank, UBS, Credit Suisse and other western banks, TheLocal.de reported Wednesday.
The documents list more than 21,000 companies involved in the investment strategies that reveal a pattern of high-ranking officials placing assets in the names of family members to sidestep allegations of personal involvement.
All clients would "settle their affairs fully and abide by all tax laws and reporting obligations," Deutsche Bank said.
Suddeutsche Zeitung has been analyzing the documents since last summer, TheLocal.de reported.
