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Putin: Panama Papers leak are a US plot to weaken Russia

by Jessie Hellmann - 04/07/16 2:38 PM ET

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Panama Papers leaks are a U.S.-led plot to weaken Russia.

“They are trying to destabilize us from within in order to make us more compliant,” Putin said Thursday at a media forum in Russia, according to The Associated Press.

{mosads}Putin denied any links to offshore accounts and said the Western media is pushing claims of his involvement even though his name did not appear in any of the leaked documents.

He was referring to reports from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) that the documents indicated Russian cellist Sergei Roldugin acted as a front man for Putin loyalists and possibly the president himself, according to AP.

The Washington-based group said the documents show offshore financial deals channeled as much as $2 billion linked to Putin.

The massive document leak, known as the Panama Papers, made public information about offshore accounts of powerful people across the globe.

An investigation into the documents by more than 100 news organizations found the files included information about 214,000 offshore entities, including the offshore holdings of 140 politicians and public officials across the world, according to the ICIJ.

The Department of Justice is investigating possible financial wrongdoing, as are the governments of several other countries, including France and Australia.

Tags Panama Papers Russia Vladimir Putin