Panama Papers

The Panama Papers, a 2.6 terabyte chunk of documents from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, went public today amidst a flurry of new accusations. While small bits of the leak have been fed to the masses since early April, this is the first time the entire database is available to be searched by anyone.

Since various news outlets originally got ahold of the information, many prominent figures have been caught up in the fraud, money laundering, and theft. For example, the media has identified the Presidents of Argentina, the UAE, Iceland, Ukraine, and the King of Saudi Arabia as being associated with these crimes.

But now that the database can be investigated by anyone, the first Americans named in the documents are beginning to make their way from out of the cracks and into the spotlight. Benjamin Wey, a Wall Street financier, was charged in September with securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering  for using family members to help him acquire ownership of stock in companies through “reverse merger” transactions between Chinese and U.S. shell companies. Another American, Igor Olenicoff, was listed as a shareholder of Olen Oil Management Limited in the leaked data. He failed to declare more than $200 million stashed offshore in shell companies setup by Mossack Fonseca.

While there’s not yet anything as scandalous as Prime Ministers and Presidents from the U.S. in the papers yet, there’s still plenty of time for things to be uncovered.

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By Christian Kramer

Brazil’s Rousseff Impeached… But Why?

Dilma Rousseff was voted to be Brazil’s first female president in 20011. Serving as the 36th president, Dilma was re-elected in 2014 by a historically narrow margin. Halfway into her second term, Congress voted 367 to 137 on a yes or no debate for impeachment. Congress only needed 342 and well surpassed that mark for support to impeach Rousseff. 

In the past few years Brazil’s economy had been booming which led to them getting the opportunity to host a summer Olympics and the World Cup. Unfortunately, dropping global commodity prices have only attributed to Brazil’s already stagnant economy. Rousseff’s mismanagement of money in her first term and Brazil’s already poor economic conditions only makes her an easier target for the public’s anger.

A corruption investigation known as Operation Car Wash was implemented to reprimand government officials and top businessmen. Government officials were in for a wake up call. Eduardo Cunha, the head of Brazil’s lower house, has been leading the impeachment charge. Just as he was on the hot seat being investigated for charges including money laundering and bribery, Rousseff became the scapegoat and target. 

On Sunday there was a televised session where members of Congress explained the reasoning behind their decision when voting on Rousseff’s impeachment. According to The New York Times “They voted ‘for peace in Jerusalem,’ ‘for the truckers,’ ‘for the Free Masons of Brazil’ and ‘because of the Communism that threatens this country.’”

While these reasons all have some extent of validity, it’s clear that most of Congress wasn't basing their vote on the actual reason the impeachment vote was being held: Dilma Rousseff is accused of violating regulations regarding public finance. The government is supposed to meet a set budget surplus. Dilma is accused of stretching the numbers to prevent anymore backlash around the suffering budget. 

Vice president Michel Temer is now stepping up as president while Rousseff awaits her impeachment trail.

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By Madison Gagnon

VANTAGE Students Visit Iowa Caucuses

February 1, 2016

David Stillman Video- Gen Z

David Stillman Video- Gen Z

VANTAGE students present to the Minnetonka School Board

With the first semester projects coming to a close, the General Mills VANTAGE group presented to the Minnetonka school board. This group consisted of both the Digital Journalism and Global Business class. This project was a research-based project, focusing on the morning eating trends of teens. With the research that the Global Business group conducted, the Digital Journalism team made an intriguing video on this research and the trends found.