Opening Pandora's Box

The story of Pandoras's box is taken from Greek mythology. Pandora's curiosity led her to open a container, left in the care of her husband. The opening released contained physical and emotional curses on humankind. More recently, the phrase 'a Pandora's box' has been used to refer to a process, that once started, has unforeseen negative repercussions. Almost 12m files, from companies employed by wealthy clients to set up offshore structures and trusts in tax havens, such as the British Virgin Islands; the Caymen Islands; Dubai; Monaco; Panama and Switzerland, have been leaked to the press. The media have labelled this cache of files 'the Pandora papers' (https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/pandora-papers). The details of financial webs are extraordinarily complex (too complex for me!). They appear to have Russian doll-like structures (a holding company, within a holding company, within a holding company). The arrangements serve, however, to hide the actual identities of the owners of wealth, properties, companies, luxury yachts etc. The main reason for setting up such 'offshore devices' is so the owners of the wealth can avoid paying taxes. Trillions of dollars in taxes consequently go unpaid. The mechanism can also used, of course, to deflect criticism from people who can publically maintain they are 'fighting corruption', whilst hiding their own 'loot'. The companies who set up offshore holding mechanisms for clients, naturally maintain that what they do is 'completely legal'. It is but it shouldn't be. Only the very rich can join their 'clubs'. The Pandora papers reveal these offshore financial mechanisms have/are being used by current and former heads of state; dictators; corporations; major donors to political parties, pop stars etc, etc. It stinks but one also has to be very concerned about any 'agreements and pledges' reached about tackling the climate crisis. At least a proporation of the people, who will be speaking on behalf of countries and corporations, are named in the Pandora papers. If they can't be open about their own finances/pay their taxes, how can we trust anything they say?