How do I check if a company or person appears in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database?
Search the name at offshoreleaks.icij.org, the free database published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) with data from the Offshore Leaks, Panama Papers, Bahamas Leaks, Paradise Papers and Pandora Papers investigations. A result shows the offshore entity, its jurisdiction, the intermediary that set it up and the officers and addresses linked to it. ICIJ itself notes that there are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts, and appearing in the database does not mean anyone broke the law.
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How to check it manually
- Open the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database and search the company name, then each director and owner.
- Narrow results by country, jurisdiction or data source (which leak the record came from).
- Open a matching record and follow its connections: officers, intermediaries, addresses and related entities.
- Compare details such as country, address and dates with what you know about your counterparty. Names repeat, and the records are often incomplete.
- Read the ICIJ reporting linked to the investigation for context.
- Record the match, the source leak and your conclusion; a match is a reason to ask questions, not a verdict.
What it tells you
- Whether a name appears in the leaked records ICIJ has published, and in which investigation.
- Offshore structures, intermediaries and connections you may want to ask the counterparty about.
What it doesn’t tell you
- Wrongdoing: many offshore structures are legal.
- The current situation: the data reflects the leaked records for the period each leak covers.
- Anything about offshore structures that were not in a leak.
- Sanctions status: Offshore Leaks is not a sanctions list.
How SONAR automates it
SONAR checks the company and each director and owner against the ICIJ Offshore Leaks data, downloaded and matched locally. The dataset must be under 45 days old at screening time, or the report marks it as stale.
A possible match is shown with the matched name and source, so you can look it up in the database yourself and judge it.
SONAR is a due-diligence tool for checking vendors, partners, resellers and suppliers. It compiles public-record data. It is not a regulated AML / KYC provider, does not verify identity documents, and is not legal advice.
You can try it on 2 companies a month for free, no card needed; every report includes a receipt for each source it used.
Frequently asked questions
Is it illegal to appear in the Panama Papers or Offshore Leaks?
No. ICIJ states that there are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts and that it does not suggest that people or entities in the database broke the law. A match is context to understand, not proof.
Which leaks does the database include?
The Offshore Leaks, Panama Papers, Bahamas Leaks, Paradise Papers and Pandora Papers investigations, as listed on the database site.
Is the data up to date?
No. Each leak is a snapshot of the records leaked from offshore service providers, so the data shows what those records contained, not the current ownership.
Official sources
Run these checks on a company you’re about to sign
Registry record, owners, sanctions, PEP, ICIJ Offshore Leaks and adverse media in one report, with a receipt for every source. 2 free reports a month, no card.
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