The Panama Papers, leaked this weekend by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, show 16 offshore companies linked by a few degrees of separation to online casino software development company Playtech’s CEO Teddy Sagi.
Playtech CEO Teddy Sagi Panama Papers
Panama Papers leaked: there is no suggestion that Playtech CEO and billionaire Teddy Sagi has done anything illegal through his dealings with Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, although others may be on shakier ground. (Image: businessinsider.com)
Sagi has been mentioned in the vast dossier of anonymously leaked documents that have been dubbed the Panama Papers, and which have dominated headlines worldwide since hitting the news.
Journalists across the world have been sifting through the enormous and unprecedented body of material that comprises 11.5 million documents relating to the customers of the Panama-based law firm known as Mossack Fonseca.
The firm’s services include the incorporation of companies in offshore tax havens, and the documents offer a fascinating glimpse into the way in which the world’s super-rich keep their fortunes out of the reach of the long arm of the taxman.

Shell Companies

To be clear, Sagi is not believed to have committed any crime, and we should also note that there is nothing inherently illegal about creating a shell company in an offshore tax haven to anonymously hold property and bank accounts.
Sources told Israeli newspaper Haaretz that the offshore companies were not incorporated by Sagi himself. Rather, they were purchased, with Sagi as the sole shareholder, mainly for the purpose of dealing in real estate.
As well as owning Playtech, Sagi has been instrumental in buying up and developing large parts of London’s Camden Market, where Playtech’s headquarters are based in the UK.
According to Haaretz, documents reveal that officers from Bank Leumi’s Jersey (Channel Islands) branch serve as directors of Sagi’s companies, a service seemingly provided by the bank.
Last December, the bank was investigated and fined $400 million by US tax authorities for helping more than 1,500 US clients evade their taxes. Neither Sagi nor Playtech were named in any way in that scandal..........................


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