The “Pandora papers” ensnare a Czech leader and a Dutch minister

POLITICIANS’ PRIVATEBVIEUBVI finances are a big political issue in central Europe, as Andrej Babis well knows. Mr Babis, a billionaire who is prime minister of the Czech Republic, faces a general election on October 8th and 9th. A week before it, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a reporters’ alliance, released an extravaganza of leaks from 14 financial firms, which it called the “Pandora Papers”. It charges that Mr Babis transferred $22m through shell companies in the British Virgin Islands (), a tax haven, in order to buy a villa near Cannes anonymously. Mr Babis was already facing years-long investigations over alleged conflicts of interest and improper receipt of subsidies by Agrofert, an agricultural business he founded. He denies any wrongdoing.Mr Babis was not the only politician tagged. Wopke Hoekstra, the Netherlands’ finance minister, was shown to have invested €26,500 ($30,500) in a friend’s safari company, also through a shell company in the . Mr Hoekstra kept his shares while serving as a senator but sold them before becoming a minister, and broke no laws. But his Christian Democratic party has officially promised to take “firm action” against the use of tax havens.