That makes it larger in volume than both the Panama papers 2016 and Paradise papers 2017 , two previous offshore leaks.
It is also true that people in corrupt or unstable countries may use offshore providers to put their assets beyond the reach of repressive governments or criminal adversaries who may try to seize them, or to seek to circumvent hard currency restrictions.
More than 100 billionaires feature in the leaked data, as well as celebrities, rock stars and business leaders.