Wen Yunsong, the son of the former premier, Wen Jiabao, set up a BVI company in 2006, when his father was in office (it was dissolved in 2008).
One LLP, which is suspected of having been used in a $150m gas-rig fraud, was owned by two British Virgin Islands (BVI) entities; control subsequently switched to a pair of firms in Belize.
On average, the citizens of Cayman, Jersey, Guernsey and the BVI are richer than those in most of Europe, Canada and Japan.
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) alone registered 59,000 new firms in 2010.
BVI companies are popular in Asia for much the same reason: they are familiar, they work, and everybody else uses them.OFCs with critical mass and expertise in certain niches often act as subcontractors for financial institutions in big onshore centres in the same region.
Deng Jiagui, who is married to Mr Xi's older sister, owns 50% of a BVI company, Excellence Effort Property Development, according to the leaked files.
Indeed, on paper the BVI ranks as the second-largest investor in China (see chart 2).
Some OFCs still make this difficult, and layering by service providers compounds the problem: try penetrating a Belize bank account fronted by nominees that is owned by a shell company in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) that in turn is owned by a foundation in Panama.
It is said to set up more than 10,000 BVI firms a year for Asian clients.
Offshore shell-company registrations (a BVI speciality) are back near record levels.
The bill would impose stiff penalties up to 20 years in prison and $1m in fines on anyone, anywhere, who discloses or publishes leaked information about a BVI offshore company.Although the rights of individuals to financial privacy should be respected, it is also necessary to safeguard the rights of those damaged by the criminal activities that such privacy can invite.
