Panama Papers: How Moscow and Beijing reported Panama

Media from Moscow to Beijing are reporting the Panama
Papers leak, with some outlets omitting names of local
politicians and prominent figures who figure in them.
Eleven million documents held by the Panama-based company
Mossack Fonseca were leaked to German newspaper
Sueddeutsche Zeitung, then shared with the International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
In Russia, the three main pro-Kremlin TV channels have not
reported the story so far.
This is quite typical behaviour for Russia's mainstream
broadcasters, which often steer clear of controversial topics
involving Russian leaders.
The leak reveals a suspected money-laundering ring run by a
Russian bank and involving close associates of President
Vladimir Putin.
Putin associates linked to 'money laundering'
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the allegations:
"Even though Vladimir Putin is not explicitly mentioned
anywhere, it is obvious for us that our president has been and
will be the main target."
The story is covered by privately owned business channel RBK
and independent digital news channel Dozhd TV - sources that
seldom shy away from major international stories that cast
Russia in an unfavourable light.
Panama Papers - tax havens of the rich and powerful
exposed
Eleven million documents held by the Panama-based law
firm Mossack Fonseca have been passed to German
newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which then shared
them with the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists. BBC Panorama is among 107 media
organisations - including UK newspaper the Guardian - in
76 countries which have been analysing the documents.
The BBC doesn't know the identity of the source
They show how the company has helped clients launder
money, dodge sanctions and evade tax
Mossack Fonseca says it has operated beyond reproach
for 40 years and never been accused or charged with
criminal wrong-doing
Tricks of the trade: How assets are hidden and taxes
evaded
Panama Papers: Full coverage ; follow reaction on Twitter
using #PanamaPapers; in the BBC News app, follow the
tag "Panama Papers"
Watch Panorama on the BBC iPlayer (UK viewers only)
The ICIJ report was released late on Sunday night in Moscow,
missing print deadlines for newspapers.
But the ICIJ's Russian partner, the opposition newspaper
Novaya Gazeta, featured a seven-page hard copy report and a
large online version on its website. Since then, most of the
popular online news sources have included reports on the
story.
There has been plenty of chatter on social media. The hashtag
#panamapapers has been in and out of the Top 10 Twitter
trends for Russia since Sunday evening.
It seems the story has underwhelmed many Russian bloggers,
who were not surprised to learn about potential large-scale
corruption. There have been plenty of sarcastic jokes about
the alleged sums involved.
Chinese silence
In Germany, Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung - which originally
received the documents - has the online headline "Putin's rich
friends - the trail of the secret money".
The heavyweight Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung says
"Panama's state prosecutors investigate offshore firms", while
Berlin's Die Welt reports on "The billion-dollar trails of a global
affair".
The tabloid Bild says "Data leak reveals shady transactions
worth billions".
China's press is quiet on allegations that the Panama Papers
involve Chinese nationals, partly because it is a national
holiday, the Qingming Festival.
News outlets have reported the story, omitting any mention of
China being involved. However, it appears that dialogue on the
papers is now being censored, as features on the Sina and
NetEase web portals have been removed.