A marquee of the Arango Orillac Building lists the Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama City.
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas has been named a key tax haven for some of the world’s wealthiest people who sometimes seek to launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax, according to a recent leak of confidential documents that reveal how some international power-players hide their wealth.
The leak, released yesterday, is being called the Panama Papers.
According to international reports, 11 million documents were leaked by a Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, to a German news agency, which contacted the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) to help analyse the data. Mossack Fonseca is said to have played a major role helping clients use offshore centres.
Data from the leaks reveal information about at least 12 current or former heads of states and 17 relatives/friends of country leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to data from the ICIJ, the Bahamas is listed as the third most popular tax haven used by the law firm, behind only the British Virgin Islands and Panama.
One world leader named in the report with ties to a Bahamas offshore company is Maurico Macri, the current president of Argentina. According to the Panama Papers, he is listed as a being a former director of Fleg Trading Ltd, a company incorporated in the Bahamas in 1998 that was dissolved in January 2009.
The report says Mr Marci did not disclose the company as an asset when he was mayor of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.
“Macri, his father Francisco and brother Mariano were directors of Fleg Trading Ltd, incorporated in the Bahamas in 1998 and dissolved in January 2009,” the ICIJ reported on its website.
“In asset declarations in 2007 and 2008 when he was mayor of Buenos Aires, Macri did not disclose his connection to Fleg Trading. He declared a Merrill Lynch bank account in the United States with $2.9 million in 2007 and $1.9 million in the same account in 2008. Macri also declared $158,000 in foreign assets in 2008, but did not specify their source or location.”
In a statement to ICIJ, Mr Macri’s spokesman said he did not list the company as an asset because he “had no capital participation in the company.”
“The company, used to participate in interests in Brazil, was related to the family business group. This is why Mauricio Macri was occasionally its director,” Mr Macri’s spokesman said.
Nonetheless, Mossack Fonseca is said to be one of the world’s biggest providers of tax haven registry services, often used for clients who have legitimate reasons for wanting such companies set up.
Gerard Ryle, director of ICIJ, has been quoted as saying the leak of information “will prove to be probably the biggest blow the offshore world has ever taken because of the extent of the documents (leaked).”
It is unclear if the Bahamas has been named in more documents connected to the Panama Papers. The data leak contains nearly 40 years of records, according to the ICIJ.
Comments
sheeprunner12 8 years, 8 months ago
As a Bahamian, I am more interested in those 55 Bahamians with millions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts ................ that is more of a concern to our banking laws than persons banking in The Bahamas as an offshore jurisdiction ............. OECD and their dirty tricks again
watcher 8 years, 8 months ago
It will be another blow to our already reeling offshore banking industry, because in the upcoming days and weeks, every time a new revelation about Mossack Fonseca comes out, the Bahamas is bound to be mentioned as one of the havens used. Already we have heard of the Bahamas involvement with Macri (above), Cameron's father (UK), the Gehlaut family and their realty holdings (India), Vladmir Putin (Russia) etc etc etc. And of course MF has offices here. I am almost looking forward to finding out the dirt on the Bahamian movers and shakers that will surely come to the surface.
Economist 8 years, 8 months ago
One has to consider the political climate, in many South American countries, in the 70's and 80's and even into the 90's to understand why people would wish to get assets away from dictator type governments. Political stability is a new phenomenon.
Many hard working people hid money. Sadly so did many crooks. It was usually fairly easy to distinguish between the two.
However, some financial institutions, and law firms, did not bother to make any distinction. They just wanted the fees.
Our Central Bank had the ability to sus much of this out but were either incompetent or chose not to.
Examples are Guardian Trust Company, Suisse Security Bank and the late Nigel Bowe.
Why did the Exchange Control Department allow someone to continue to operate foreign currency bank accounts? All lawyers and accountants had to file a monthly report showing their activities.
What did the Banks Supervision Department do? What information did they not act on? Why did they not do their job?
We are all suffering because of their failure to do their job.
jus2cents 8 years, 8 months ago
This also shows the importance of why people in public office must disclose their assets.
With 11 million documents to trudge through and the Bahamas listed as the third most popular tax haven used by this law firm, we will definitely see a pandora's box opening, this is going to be 'interesting'.
MonkeeDoo 8 years, 8 months ago
I doubt that any of the political bribery proceeds would have been passed through MyF so that leak is not likely to bear much fruit for the Bahamians hoping to have corruption exposed. Although what is the point in having it exposed anyway. No one is going to prosecute the politician taking it. One doesn't really need the evidence anyway. When the Blackbeard's Cay developer doesn't even blink when the development is the subject of a Supreme Court Order to close, it is because he has someone in his back pocket. Already bought and paid for. On the other hand, when Peter Nygard complains that he made the payment but is now being harassed by environmentalists, you know he paid someone. He says five million, but the PLP party says it was much less: so who got the difference ? Who ? You whistle and I will point.
Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years, 8 months ago
What most Bahamians do not know is that well placed sources have it that the U.S. Treasury and IRS already have several senior operatives planted within our country's financial services sector, including two of the largest law firms in the Bahamas. These operatives are typically dual nationals of the Bahamas and U.S. (or former dual nationals) who were born into prominent Bahamian families and have been educated and worked for a period of time in the U.S. Uncle Sam always goes about getting the more vital and sensitive information that it needs to protect its interests one way or another. Most of us also seem to have forgotten that the Bahamas was one of the first countries the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) targeted for the recording of all voice and email communications transmitted within the Bahamas and to and from the Bahamas and other countries. That's right....100% of all such communications!
bogart 8 years, 8 months ago
Economist.....also Gulf Union, Clico and for years Bank of the Bahamas. No one listens locally and regrettably persons outside the Bahamas have to expose this. We need to start locally with Consumer Protection or customer protection with laws of jail time and stiff personal and institutions fines and an Agency to make it work, This can happen today, once we can respect locals the rest will follow. Train a child up in the ways......spare the rod and spoil.....We urgently need to create an Ombudsman for Financial matters. Nothing happens because because many institutions have politically appointed Directors.
killemwitdakno 7 years, 10 months ago
David Davis, who was shadow home secretary at the time of the murder, said the report meant that in a civil UK court Putin would be found guilty of complicity in murder. He said: “We need to go after the financial assets of Putin in the Bahamas and in Cyprus. Eventually you get to a point when with a dictator you have to draw a line as we did in the 30s.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/…
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