The major issue of our time is the rapid movement toward international oligarchy, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) declared in a statement to the Guardian on Monday, which noted that “Sanders’ intervention in the debate sparked by the Paradise Papers marks the most prominent political response to the leak in their opening 24 hours.”

Decrying a world “in which a handful of billionaires own and control a significant part of the global economy,” Sanders said the trove of more than 13 million leaked documents detailing offshore dealings “shows how these billionaires and multinational corporations get richer by hiding their wealth and profits and avoid paying their fair share of taxes.”

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Sanders said the documents expose a “major problem not just for the U.S. but for governments throughout the world.” According to the Guardian, he also

pointed the finger of blame for the flourishing of offshore holdings on both Congress and the Trump administration. He told the Guardian that Republicans in Congress were responsible for providing “even more tax breaks to profitable corporations like Apple and Nike.”

The same tax breaks, he said, were being seized upon by super-wealthy members of Trump’s cabinet “who avoid billions in U.S. taxes by shifting American jobs and profits to offshore tax havens. We need to close these loopholes and demand a fair and progressive tax system.”

Sanders took to Twitter on Monday to call on Congress to investigate the Paradise Papers, adding his voice to growing demands for U.S. government action as several members of President Donald Trump’s inner circle continue to be implicated in the leaked records and subsequent news reports.

Top photo | Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., waves during a campaign rally at Grand View University, on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP/Evan Vucci)

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