Panama Papers reveal offshore secrets of China’s red nobility

Disclosures show how havens such as British Virgin Islands hide links between big business and relatives of top politicians

• The Panama Papers revelations so far
• French villa at the heart of a scandal

 (Left to right) Jasmine Li, her grandfather Jia Qinglin, Li Xiaolin, and her father Li Peng. Composite: Getty/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar--- Xi Jinping attends a meeting with foreign experts at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photograph: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

Zeng Qinghong, whose younger brother has been linked to tax havens. Photograph: Reuters/CORBIS-- Zhang Gaoli is one of China’s seven most powerful politicians. Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

Juliette Garside and David Pegg-Wednesday 6 April 2016

The eight members of China’s Communist party elite whose family members used offshore companies are revealed in the Panama Papers.

The documents show the granddaughter of a powerful Chinese leader became the sole shareholder in two British Virgin Islands companies while still a teenager.Jasmine Li had just begun studying at Stanford University in the US when the companies were registered in her name in December 2010. Her grandfather Jia Qinglin was at that time the fourth-ranked politician in China.

Other prominent figures who have taken advantage of offshore companies include the brother-in-law of the president, Xi Jinping, and the son-in-law of Zhang Gaoli, another member of China’s top political body, the politburo standing committee.

They are part of the “red nobility”, whose influence extends well beyond politics. Others include the daughter of Li Peng, who oversaw the brutal retaliation against Tiananmen Square protestors; and Gu Kailai, wife of Bo Xilai, the ex-politburo member jailed for life for corruption and power abuses.

The relatives had companies that were clients of the offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca. There is nothing in the documents to suggest that the politicians in question had any beneficial interest in the companies connected to their family members.

Since Monday, China’s censors have been blocking access to the unfolding revelations about its most senior political families. There are now reports of censors deleting hundreds of posts on the social networks Sina Weibo and Wechat, and some media organisations including CNN say parts of their websites have been blocked.

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