The U.S.-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the publishers of the high-profile Panama Papers leaks, published another database — The Paradise Papers — on Sunday revealing offshore of "some of the world’s most powerful people and companies."

The Paradise Papers include around 13.4 million leaked documents, including nearly 7 million loan agreements, financial statements, emails, trust deeds and other paperwork from the Bermuda law firm Appleby Group Services Ltd. Appleby was named offshore firm of the year by Legal 500 UK in 2015. The law firms branches are in Bermuda, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Mauritius and the Seychelles, and it has a presence in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

"The Paradise Papers reveal offshore interests and activities of more than 120 politicians and world leaders, including Queen Elizabeth II whose private estate indirectly invested in a rent-to-own loan company accused of predatory tactics. At least 13 allies, major donors and Cabinet members of U.S. President Donald Trump appear, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s interests in a shipping company that makes millions from an energy firm whose owners include Russian President Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law and a sanctioned Russian tycoon," the press release by ICIJ summarized.

Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Ross had misled Congress and the Americans by concealing his ongoing stake in the company, Navigator.

“Only after a thorough investigation can Americans be sure Secretary Ross really has their best interests at heart,” Blumenthal said.

The leaked files from Appleby, the offshore law firm, include details of tax planning by nearly 100 multinational corporations, including Apple, Nike and Uber.

The offshore industry makes “the poor poorer” and is “deepening wealth inequality,” Brooke Harrington, a certified wealth manager and Copenhagen Business School professor said, adding: “There is this small group of people who are not equally subject to the laws as the rest of us, and that’s on purpose.”

These people “live the dream” of enjoying “the benefits of society without being subject to any of its constraints,” he said.

The leak has prompted Canadian tax authorities to review reports linking a key fundraiser for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to offshore trusts in the Caribbean.

The papers also revealed Queen Elizabeth II has invested millions of dollars in medical and consumer loan companies.

"The records show that as of 2007, the queen’s private estate invested in a Cayman Islands fund that in turn invested in a private equity company that controlled BrightHouse, a U.K. rent-to-own firm criticized by consumer watchdogs and members of Parliament for selling household goods to cash-strapped Britons on payment plans with interest rates as high as 99.9 percent," ICIJ said in a blog post.

U.K. politician John McDonnell called for a public inquiry into tax avoidance, saying people will be “outraged” to hear of its scale.

"I think we want openness and transparency overall... Of course it will [raise some eyebrows that the queen is involved] and the Duchy of Lancaster that manages those funds has to be held to account," he told Sky News, adding: “But it’s not just them. The [disclosures] just demonstrate the scale of tax avoidance that’s going on. That’s why we published a call 18 months ago for a proper openness and transparency programme so that people can know what’s going on."

"I think we need now a full public inquiry because we’ve heard from the government time and time again that they’re tackling this issue, we now know they’re not tackling it effectively. What we need is a public inquiry on tax avoidance overall. We also need full publication of registers of beneficiaries of these trusts," McDonnell said.

According to a database compiled by The Lawyer magazine, Appleby's corporate clients include Barclays Group, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC Bank, ­JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, ­Lloyds Banking Group, PwC, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Santander UK and Standard Chartered.

Below are some other reactions to the Paradise Papers leak.

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