Lithuanian authorities have nearly doubled the number of people and companies under investigation in the wake of the Panama Papers leak, including companies linked to Russian oil company Lukoil and the network of Vladimir Putin associate Sergey Roldugin, OCCRP partner 15min.lt has reported.

 Baltic International Bank (BIB) (Photo by OCCRP)

Documents leaked to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) from Latvian banks appear to offer instructions to clients on how to use fake offshore companies associated with the bank to launder money or evade taxes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin insists that while the Panama Papers stories published by OCCRP and its partner Novaya Gazeta are correct, they show no corruption or illegal activity on his part. Putin has called the stories a Western plot to destabilize his regime.

Sergei Roldugin

Banking records obtained by OCCRP show that cellist Sergei Roldugin, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s old friend, received money from an offshore company at about the same time it was being used to steal money from the Russian government in the notorious Sergei Magnitsky case.

New information on the Panama Papers story about the billions of dollars allegedly being moved around offshore by a close friend of Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin emerged Tuesday, as Lithuanian law enforcement verified some of the details.