Panama Papers: Vladimir Putin's spokesperson blames 'Putinophobia' for financial allegations

Several of the Russian President's associates appeared in a huge cache of leaked files

(Getty)

The Kremlin has blamed “Putinophobia” for claims that some of the Russian President's closest allies are involved in offshore financial schemes revealed by a huge leak.

Vladimir Putin was not named in the files dubbed the Panama Papers, which contain information on 215,000 offshore entities connected to individuals in more than 200 countries and territories.

According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which co-ordinated research into the 11 million documents, they reveal “covert manoeuvres” by banks, companies and associates close to the Russian President as they transferred huge sums of money.

Ahead of the report’s publication on Sunday, the Kremlin announced an upcoming “information attack” and accused journalists of attempting to discredit Mr Putin.

Dmitry Peskov, the Russian President’s official spokesperson, said he was “obviously the main target” of the reports, which he claimed aimed to destabilise the country and influence parliamentary elections scheduled for September.

“This Putinophobia abroad has reached such a point that it is in fact taboo to say something good about Russia, or about any actions by Russia or any Russian achievements,” he added in comments translated by the BBC.

“But it's a must to say bad things, a lot of bad things, and when there's nothing to say, it must be concocted. This is evident to us.“

Mr Peskov said international media had wrongly focused on Mr Putin instead of other world politicians, even though he was not implicated in any wrongdoing, and suggested the ICIJ had ties to the US government.

Leaked documents show that close allies of Russian President Putin, center, used offshore accounts based in Panama City to hide their money (Alamy)

“We expected better quality summaries in the work from the journalistic community,” he added. “The traditions of quality journalistic research have declined.”

Russia's opposition newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, carried a seven-page report on details of Mr Putin's associates named in the leaks but the story was notably absent from state-controlled television.

The documents contain alleged evidence that some of the Russian President’s closest friends, including cellist Sergei Rodulgin, ran a “clandestine network” that moved millions of dollars through offshore companies in a series of covert deals.

"I don't consider it possible to go into the details, mainly because there is nothing concrete and nothing new about Putin, and a lack of details,” Mr Peskov told reporters.

He confirmed that Mr Rodulgin is a friend of Mr Putin's but said the President “has very many friends”.

The Russians were among hundreds of individuals named in more than 11 million files leaked from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm.

There is no suggestion that the firm, or any of the banks and clients linked to it, committed or assisted others in any wrongdoing.

But the documents have triggered investigations by tax authorities around the world, as well as controversy for politicians including the Prime Minister of Iceland, who was revealed as the buyer of an offshore company.

HM Revenue and customs said it had asked to view the Panama Papers and would act on any information ”swiftly and appropriately“ as the Government continues to crack down on tax evasion.

Additional reporting by agencies