1MDB and beyond: How US' biggest law firm drives global wealth into tax havens

PANDORA PAPERS | An adviser to Malaysia's prime minister needed help managing companies in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur and in Hong Kong.

Prosecutors say he and his associates used the companies to divert hundreds of millions of dollars from a government economic development fund.

A Russian maker of Kalashnikov rifles, under international sanctions for bad behaviour, wanted to sell its shares in a large copper mine to a shadowy business in Mongolia.

The sale triggered a corruption probe of the then-Mongolian prime minister.

Tech giant Apple Inc was shopping for a tax haven to stash its mountain of offshore cash.

They all had a friend in America's biggest law firm.

When billionaires, multinationals and the politically connected seek to hide wealth or avoid taxes, they often turn to Baker McKenzie, the Chicago-based behemoth.

With 4,700 lawyers in 46 countries and revenue of US$ 3.1 billion, Baker McKenzie...