As we reported earlier, UK PM Boris Johnson has said all donations to the Conservative Party are vetted after it was revealed a prominent supporter who contributed to his leadership campaign was involved in one of Europe's biggest corruption scandals.

But anti-corruption organisation Transparency International UK says that vetting process is "little more than a box-ticking exercise".

"It’s easy to evade the rules or not look too closely. We must do better," they add.

To give money to a political party as an individual you have to appear on a UK electoral register - and companies must be registered in the UK and carry out business in the country.

Read more on how parties in the UK are funded here.

Rob Watson
BBC political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, ministers at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, have been keener to focus on government policies than the Pandora Papers, while ordinary delegates seem more concerned about inflation and petrol shortages than their party’s funding.

What official reaction there has been has come from the two most senior ministers in the government, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Asked by the BBC about the leaks, Mr Johnson said all party donations are “vetted in the normal way in accordance with rules set up by the Labour government, so we vet them the whole time”.

Rishi Sunak told the BBC it was “a matter for the party” not the government but said his understanding was that “we carry out compliance checks in line with the referendum and political parties legislation".

Image source, AFP

In Russia, the Kremlin has rejected the Pandora Papers' findings that President Vladimir Putin has secret assets in Monaco.

Speaking at a daily briefing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calls the investigation "a collection of fairly groundless claims".

"To be honest, we've not seen [evidence of] any hidden riches belonging to Putin's inner circle there," he says. "I think they'll continue publishing them, but we've not seen anything special yet.

"It's not clear yet what sort of information this is, what it's about, there is a lot of stuff there that raises questions," he says, adding that therefore it's "not clear how this information can be trusted".

Asked by journalists whether the allegations will be investigated, Mr Peskov says: "Something will need to appear first, you know? So far, some assertions have been made and it's not clear what they are based on. Of course, they are no reason to launch any investigations."

Mr Peskov adds the publication of the Pandora Papers highlights the US as "the world's largest offshore haven and tax haven".

He says: "This is quite out of line with the declarations of intent to fight corruption, tax evasion and money laundering. But this is the reality."

There's no doubt this is a complicated story.

Do you have questions about the papers, what the leak all means, how it was investigated, and how it might impact you?

Ask your questions by clicking the link at the top of the page and we'll be joined by some of the journalists behind the global investigation tomorrow to answer them.

Reality Check

The chancellor was asked on the Today programme about the Pandora Papers, which expose money laundering, including in the UK.

Rishi Sunak said: “The independent global body FATF said when they last looked at this in 2018 that we were probably one of the world’s best places to tackle money laundering.”

The Financial Action Task Force is a global watchdog against money laundering, which is the process of hiding where criminally obtained money came from.

It does not do comparisons between countries, and its 2018 report, external does not describe the UK as one of the best places in the world to tackle money laundering.

The Treasury pointed us towards something it published when the FATF report came out in 2018, in which it highlighted the fact that the UK had received the top rating - “high” - in four of the 11 key areas that FATF judges, external.

But the UK also received only a “moderate” rating in three of the areas, although its ratings did compare favourably with other countries being assessed at the time.

While FATF does not compare countries, another organisation brings out the Basel AML (anti-money laundering) index, external, which ranks countries based on FATF’s methodology.

The UK comes out as the 18th lowest-risk country out of 110, coming behind countries such as Greece, Spain, Portugal, Australia and Israel.

If you missed it earlier, here's the moment Chancellor Rishi Sunak told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the government has a strong record in combating the "global" issue of tax avoidance and money laundering.

But Transparency International UK says the government must "redouble its efforts in tackling illicit finance".

BBC Panorama
Investigative TV show

Last night's Panorama episode investigated one of the biggest offshore leaks in history, revealing the financial secrets of some of the most powerful people on the planet.

It in, reporter Richard Bilton detailed the hidden offshore deals that presidents, prime ministers and royalty don’t want you to know about.

If you missed it, you can watch it at the top of this page or catch up on BBC iPlayer.

And there's another episode tonight called Pandora Papers: Political Donors Exposed.

When political parties accept donations, they are required to check who the donor is but not where the money actually comes from.

In this episode on BBC One at 19:35 BST we ask whether the rules governing political donations are fit for purpose.

Soutik Biswas
India Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

A cricketing icon, a fugitive diamond merchant, a top businessman who’s facing bankruptcy and a Bollywood veteran are among the Indians named in the Pandora Papers.

For most Indians, the presence of Sachin Tendulkar - possibly the country’s most-loved sportsperson - in the financial papers has come as a surprise. Tendulkar, who has also been a former MP, and members of his family owned an offshore firm in the British Virgin Islands, which was wound up in 2016, according to the papers. The cricketer’s spokesperson says the investments were “legitimate” and taxes were paid on the funds.

Among the other names are some usual suspects. Anil Ambani - the younger sibling of India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani - declared that he was bankrupt in a London court last year.

But, according to the papers, Mr Ambani and his representatives own at least 18 offshore firms in Jersey, British Virgin Islands and Cyprus. Mr Ambani’s lawyers say he had “made disclosures to the Indian authorities” as required by the law.

Other highlights: the fugitive billionaire diamond trader Nirav Modi - who is also wanted in one of India’s largest bank frauds - set up an offshore trust a month before he escaped India; and Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff, who was the prime beneficiary of a trust set up in New Zealand by his mother-in-law. (The family says they have no knowledge of such trust.)

In many ways, as the Indian Express, the newspaper which has investigated the data, says, “elite Indians are just finding new ways to ringfence wealth in secret havens”.

As we’ve just been reporting, Tony Blair and his wife Cherie saved £312,000 in stamp duty tax in 2017 when buying a property in London.

The four-floor building is now home to Mrs Blair’s legal advisory firm, Omnia Strategy, and her foundation for women.

Let’s look at how they did it:

Mrs Blair said the sellers had insisted the building was sold in this way - but she said they’d now brought it under UK control, meaning capital gains tax would be due if they sold it.

One of the big revelations from the Pandora Papers concerns former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie. The documents show he and his wife Cherie saved £312,000 in stamp duty tax in 2017 when buying a London townhouse for £6.45m.

Instead of buying the property directly - and paying the tax that comes with that - he and his wife Cherie bought an offshore company that owned the building.

No laws were broken and there’s no suggestion the Blairs hid their wealth, but Mr Blair has previously criticised people who “can employ the right accountants”, saying “the tax system is a haven of scams, perks, City deals and profits”.

Mrs Blair says the sellers insisted the building was sold in this way, but they have brought it under UK control - and that it will be liable for capital gains tax if it is resold.

Read the full story on the Blairs here.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Turkish pro-government and mainstream media outlets have so far downplayed or overlooked the Pandora Papers leak.

Turkey's state-funded Anadolu Agency failed to cover the story this morning. Many mainstream Turkish news channels also appeared to overlook the news.

However, independent news websites Gazete Duvar and T24 noted that 220 Turkish names were included in the leak.

They say the documents show that Turkish Ronesans Holding, which built Turkey's presidential complex in the capital Ankara, transferred some profits from public projects to the Virgin Islands.

If you're just joining us, this is what the Pandora Papers - a huge leak of 12 million files from financial firms - have revealed so far:

• Prominent Tory donor Mohamed Amersi, who contributed to UK PM Boris Johnson's leadership campaign, was involved in one of Europe's biggest corruption scandals
• In response, Mr Johnson said all Tory donations are "vetted in the normal way"
• Chancellor Rishi Sunak also told the BBC that the Conservative Party carries out all legal background checks on its donors
• The family of Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta secretly owned a network of offshore companies for decades
• The White House has vowed to "crack down on unfair tax schemes" in light of the leaks
• The papers also reveal how ex-UK PM Tony Blair saved £312,000 in stamp duty tax in 2017 when buying a London townhouse for £6.45m
• In addition, they show the King of Jordan secretly spent more than £70m ($100m) on a property empire in the UK and US
• Read our simple guide to the Pandora papers for the basics on what is going on and where this information came from

The prime minister insists all donations to the Conservative Party are vetted after it was revealed a prominent supporter who contributed to his leadership campaign was involved in one of Europe's biggest corruption scandals.

Boris Johnson tells reporters at a Network Rail site in Manchester: "I see that story today.

"But all I can say on that one is all these donations are vetted in the normal way in accordance with rules that were set up under a Labour government. So, we vet them the whole time."

Mohamed Amersi has given nearly £525,000 to the party since 2018. Leaked documents reveal how he worked on a series of controversial deals for a Swedish telecoms company that was later fined $965m (£700m) in a US prosecution. Mr Amersi denies any wrongdoing.

Image source, Getty Images

The Pandora Papers' revelations that prominent figures use offshore companies to secretly buy property in the UK "reach into the heart of UK democracy", says the shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy.

The Labour MP tweets, external: "The tentacles of dark money exposed by the #PandoraPapers, external reach into the heart of UK democracy. That’s why I announced a new Illicit Finance Taskforce at Labour Conference with the explicit aim of making Britain the most inhospitable place in the world for dirty money."

And fellow Labour MP John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, has also reacted by tweeting, external: "City of London exposed as the money laundering & tax avoidance capital of the world whilst cut in universal credit is to force thousands of our children into severe poverty, yet Sunak in the most complacent interview on Today programme refuses to take action on both."

BBC Radio 4's Today programme earlier put it to Mr Sunak that official figures show that half of all Russian money laundering happens in the UK. But he says the UK leads the world on tackling money laundering.

Reports that the King of Jordan secretly spent more than £70m ($100m) on a property empire in the UK and US are "distorted and exaggerated", the palace says.

Leaked financial documents identify a network of secretly-owned firms used by Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein to buy 15 homes since he assumed power in 1999.

A statement from the Royal Hashemite Court says, external it is "no secret that His Majesty owns a number of apartments and residences in the US and the UK".

He uses these properties during official visits to host officials and foreign dignitaries as well as staying there with his family during private trips, it says.

"These properties are not publicised out of security and privacy concerns, and not out of secrecy or an attempt to hide them, as these reports have claimed," the statement says.

'Personally funded'

It says the purchase of the properties "have been personally funded by His Majesty" and under "strict compliance with all relevant legal and financial obligations".

Jordan receives substantial international aid with the UK government doubling its funding to £650m over five years in 2019.

The statement says: "International assistance to the Kingdom is used for public purposes within the national budget allocations and is subject to agreed upon governance mechanisms and the oversight of donor states and institutions."

The court says it rejects all reports and "maintains its right to undertake the necessary legal procedures".

You can read the statement in full here., external

Image source, Getty Images

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who faces an election later this week, says revelations about him in the leaked documents are an attempt to discredit him ahead of the 8-9 October polls.

The Pandora Papers show Mr Babis, a billionaire, failed to declare an offshore investment company used to purchase two villas for £12m in the south of France.

Mr Babis says he has done "nothing illegal".

In short, pretty massive: almost 12 million leaked files make up the Pandora Papers.

They come from 14 financial services companies in countries including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Belize, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Switzerland.

Combing through them has been the work of the biggest journalism partnership in history.

It’s taken 600 journalists - from more than half the world’s countries - several months to pick out the stories you’ll see over the next few days.

Image source, PA Media

The Pandora Papers "reveal a monstrous culture among the world’s richest", says a Labour MP who chairs the cross-party parliamentary group on anti-corruption and responsible tax.

Margaret Hodge tweets, external: "The UK lies at the heart of this scandal. Our offshore tax havens provide a route for dirty money.

"Secrecy about property ownership permits money laundering. British lawyers, bankers & advisers provide the cover. Our regulation is weak, our enforcement pathetic."

She calls for the government to act by introducing "transparency, tough regulation, effective enforcement & holding the professionals to account".

Her Twitter thread continues: "The Tories promised a public register of property ownership in 2016; consulted in 2017; promised a bill in 2018; did so again in the 2019 Queens Speech & at the 2021 G7. We're still waiting. I'm sick of empty promises. I'm ashamed we allow this behaviour to flourish in Britain."

Image source, Reuters

The White House is vowing to "crackdown on unfair tax schemes", after the Pandora Papers revealed how the global elite hid their wealth in a secretive system.

The BBC has reported that the King of Jordan secretly amassed property worth millions in Malibu, California and Georgetown, Washington DC.

A tweet from the White House account says, external: "President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda will crack down on the unfair tax schemes that give big corporations a leg up.

"It's time to deal-in hard-working Americans and ensure the super-wealthy pay their fair share."

Another tweet says , externalthe Biden administration plans to "ensure the wealthy pay their fair share – giving the middle class a tax cut and ensuring lower costs on child care, health care, and more for working families".

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

Image source, EPA

Chinese news sites are running reports but not opinion pieces on the revelations of the Pandora Papers.

The state-run nationalist tabloid Global Times notes that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie, saved £312,000 in stamp duty when buying a London property in an offshore deal.

It adds that Russian President Vladimir Putin was found to have "secret assets" in Monaco.

Meanwhile in Russia, no mention was made on the county's main Sunday evening TV news reviews of the allegations contained in the leak. Although the claims were published shortly before the programmes were aired.

However, Russian social media users have been commenting on them. The Russian part of the investigation was published by website Vazhnyye Istorii (Important Stories, or IStories).

Gazprom-Media's NTV aired a brief report on the investigation this morning, focusing on allegations against foreign officials, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.