BEIJING: Hostile Western forces are behind the "Panama Papers", a state-run Chinese newspaper alleged Tuesday, as media avoided reporting revelations about Communist leaders and it emerged that the law firm involved has eight offices in the country.
The scandal erupted on Sunday when media groups began revealing the results of a year-long investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specialises in creating offshore shell companies.
At least eight current or former members of China's Politburo Standing Committee, the ruling party's most powerful body, have been implicated, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which co-ordinated the reports.
Mossack Fonseca has offices in eight Chinese cities including Hong Kong, its website showed Tuesday, more than any other country.
Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has launched a much-publicised anti-corruption drive but has not instituted systemic reforms such as public declarations of assets.
Among those named in the Panama Papers are close associates of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and President Xi's brother-in-law, who was previously identified in a New York Times investigation into the wealth accumulated by Xi's family.
Chinese media have largely avoided reporting on the leaks and social media have been scrubbed of references to them, with foreign news broadcasters such as the BBC blacked out when they report on the issue.
As well as Xi Jinping's brother-in-law, the documents also contained the names of family members of two current Politburo Standing Committee members, Zhang Gaoli and Liu Yunshan, reported the BBC, which took part in the investigation.
Chinese journalists were ordered to delete "all content related to the 'Panama Papers' leak case", according to instructions seen by AFP.
Users on microblogging web site Weibo tried to circumvent restrictions by circulating pictures of Chinese-language articles describing the allegations.
In an editorial the Global Times, a newspaper with close links to the ruling Communist Party, implied the leaks were part of a "disinformation" campaign by Western forces.
It did not mention any of the Chinese revelations, focusing instead on the allegations involving Putin -- as did the Shanghai Daily, which is linked to the government of the commercial hub.
"The documents revealed do have basic political targets," the Global Times said, adding that "Washington has demonstrated particular influence" in previous leaks of sensitive information to the media.
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