The ‘Pandora Papers’ investigation, undertaken by an international consortium of journalists, provides only a keyhole view of the world, and a glimpse into parallel systems used by the wealthy and the powerful to take money out of the mainstream financial system, journalist Harry Davies said.
Speaking at the Asian College of Journalism’s special lecture series, Mr. Davies, who was part of The Guardian ’s ‘Pandora Papers’ investigation team, said it showed that many of the rich and powerful, whose names figure in the investigation, did not play by the rules that everyone else followed.
He said it was important for media organisations to think about public interest, which will be served, while gaining access to these financial dealings and data. He said some documents in the ‘Pandora Papers’ told the whole story, while in many cases, documents were used as a launch pad for further reporting. “Find other sources and documents that can build a fuller picture of what that individual was up to, why they had offshore companies, or accounts,” he said.
Mr. Davies said that reporting on the investigation, in collaboration with an international team of journalists, could be difficult in terms of sharing of data and reports. “The great thing about the ICIJ [International Consortium of Investigative Journalists] is that it brings a great number of journalists together and facilitates [information flow]. The agreement is that you share what you find,” he said.
