The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) maintains the Offshore Leaks Database, a powerful public resource that lets anyone search for the real people and companies behind more than 810,000 offshore entities—companies, foundations and trusts.
Drawn from five landmark investigations (Offshore Leaks 2013, Panama Papers 2016, Bahamas Leaks 2016, Paradise Papers 2017–18 and Pandora Papers 2021–22), the database links these secret structures to individuals and firms in more than 200 countries and territories. Records span more than 80 years up to 2020 and reveal, whenever available, the names of beneficial owners, directors, shareholders and intermediaries who create and control these opaque vehicles.
Users can search by name, country, jurisdiction or entity type and explore connections that were once hidden behind layers of nominee directors and shell companies. The data has exposed politicians, oligarchs, celebrities and ordinary citizens who used tax havens to shield wealth, avoid taxes or obscure ownership of assets.
While the database does not contain every offshore structure in existence and may include duplicates from leaked (rather than official registry) sources, it remains one of the world’s most important tools for piercing financial secrecy. Journalists, researchers, regulators and the public can freely search or download the data under open licences, always citing ICIJ.
By making this information available, ICIJ continues to shine a light on the global offshore system and the powerful interests that benefit from it.
