Your front-page article (4 April) stated that “A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin ... Though the president’s name does not appear on any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.”

If claims of political corruption are to be based on the fact that friends of politicians are “fabulously wealthy”, there would be no necessity to probe events in Russia to substantiate them; evidence of such unhealthy alliances lie much nearer home.

Another article (Cameron’s vow to stop the secrecy, 5 April) said: “In June, the government will introduce a new central register that identifies the beneficial or ‘significant’ owners of UK companies ... But a government consultation paper published in March leaves open the possibility that a central register might be kept in the country in which a firm is incorporated, in effect allowing offshore secrecy to carry on.” Says it all, really!

Paul Hewitson

Berlin, Germany

• Interesting as it is to know how Mr Putin set up his bank (Best friend who holds the key to hidden fortune, 4 April), the more pressing issue is that people in positions of the highest power from all over the world are involved, and have been for years. None of these will have any interest in stopping the looting, holding other members of their global gang of thieves to account or restoring stolen wealth to the people it was taken from. They will have the opposite intention: to confuse us about it, justify it and sweep it away behind the next public focus of attention. And they literally have the wealth of nations with which to do so.

So who will stop this corruption and theft and bring about restitution? Who can?

Sara Clarke

Cambridge

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