The Panama Papers, a large document leak, included personalities such as the likes of Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping, and a number of big real estate names who ply their trade in New York. The document revealed how individuals operating at the highest levels of power made use of illegal offshore shell corporations and tax havens for their benefit.
The leaked documents mentioned Witkoff group which was best known for developing high-end New York condo projects such as 10 Madison Square West and 150 Charles Street. It also owned commercial properties such as the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel and the Woolworth Building. The leak revealed that the group had links to a shady offshore entity associated with a project in London, the renovation of a landmark structure known as Devonshire House.
The Panama Papers further revealed that the officers of the Devonshire Realty Investment I Limited included Scott Alper, the firm's chief investment officer, and James Stomber, the general counsel. Witkoff's associates on the project included Investra Capital, a Dubai real estate development firm. Zaid Randeree, a managing director at Investra, was also listed as an officer of the entity. Witkoff sold Devonshire House for an estimated $600 million in 2013 to Spain's Amancio Ortega, founder of fashion brand Zara.
Alper claimed that the move to register the entity was standard procedure and that all taxes were paid in full, according to a feature from Curbed.
The Panama Papers also mentioned Ofer Yardeni's Stonehenge Partners which was a Manhattan landlord with a $3 billion portfolio of 3,000 apartments. Stonehenge appeared to have acted as an intermediary for the entity. Atzmon Levi, who appeared to be in the diamond business, set up an offshore group known as Meshushe Limited. According to the documents, Stonehenge was listed as the master client of the entity. The company's real estate deals included the acquisition of the Bradford, an Upper West Side property at 210 West 70th Street, according to a feature from Jewish Busness News.