The Audit Commission of the Assembly of Ecuador has asked the president of the country, Guillermo Lasso, to provide information on his alleged link with companies in tax havens, according to the publication of the Pandora Papers.
Thus, the president of the Commission has published a message on his social networks in which he points out that in the absence of requests by legislators to investigate the facts, he has asked President Lasso to send information about the case.
“I will not only investigate the Pandora Papers, but the involvement of former officials in the Panama Papers”, has warned, as reported by the television network Ecuavisa.
In a statement, the Oversight Commission has requested these documents to verify whether the president currently has any “business, financial or labor ties with the trusts, companies and foundations mentioned in the report.”
For its part, Lasso has clarified that the companies that appear in the Pandora Papers were “legally dissolved” in the past and that those that currently exist have “no connection” with him, after the investigation showed that the president has assets in tax havens.
In a statement, in which he emphasizes that he collaborated “voluntarily and openly” with the International Consortium of Journalists (ICIJ, for its acronym in English and author of the investigation), Lasso has reiterated that he complies with the Ecuadorian law that prohibits candidates to elected positions and public servants owning properties in tax havens.
“This is what I stated in the declaration required for the registration of my candidacy”, He has had an impact, before defending that it is “public knowledge” that his assets, accessible in the declaration of assets presented to the General Comptroller of the State, is “the fruit” of his “lifelong” work at Banco Guayaquil.
“All my income has been declared and they have paid the corresponding taxes in Ecuador, having become one of the best personal contributors in the country”, He has argued, noting that his investment in Banco Guayaquil is structured through the GLM Trust, a “one hundred percent” Ecuadorian entity and managed by a fund and trust company supervised by the competent authorities ”.
An ICIJ investigation published on Sunday shows how 35 prominent leaders and former world leaders such as Vladimir Putin, Abdullah of Jordan, Andrej Babis or Lasso have assets in tax havens.
The leaked documents could prompt cases for crimes of corruption, money laundering or tax evasion, although for the most part they are evidence of fully legal operations that the rich and powerful resort to to create companies to buy property. In Lasso’s case, he has a foundation in Panama that makes monthly payments to his family.
(With information from Europa Press)
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