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Pandora Papers: How Panama Law Firm Helped Public Figures Hide Money in Tax Havens
A prestigious Panamanian law firm was named in the so-called ‘Pandora Papers’ as implicated in the creation of offshore shell companies meant to hide money in tax havens for more than 160 politicians and public figures.
They included “some accused of looting their countries,” according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which obtained the leaked documents as part of the Pandora Papers, published Sunday, which sent shockwaves of embarrassment through powerful circles.
Aleman, Cordero, Galindo & Lee, or Alcogal, was involved in creating shell companies to move money for Jordanian King Abdullah II, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Montenegro President Milo Djukanovic and three former presidents from Panama, among others, according to the bombshell release.
Others involved with Alcogal — co-founded in the 1980s by the son of a former Panamanian ambassador to the United States who then became ambassador himself — include a Honduran presidential candidate and a former president of Ecuador.
The firm also worked with figures in some of the most notorious financial scandals of the last decade, including the massive Latin American bribery plot involving Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and the soccer corruption case known as “Fifagate,” according to the ICIJ.
In a report, the ICIJ enumerated the 14,000 offshore entities in Belize, the British Virgin Islands and Panama created with the help of Alcogal in an effort to stash money away from public scrutiny for some 15,000 clients since 1996.
So prolific was the law firm’s offshore involvement that nearly two million of the 11.9 million leaked documents associated with the Pandora Papers — which were reported on by some 600 journalists — came from Alcogal.
Magnet for rich and powerful
According to the ICIJ, Alcogol played “a leading role in the tax avoidance and asset protection industry.”
“Over the past three decades, Alcogal has become a magnet for the rich and powerful from Latin America and beyond seeking to hide wealth offshore,” the reporting group said, citing leaked corporate records.
“Firms like Alcogal propel that (shadowy) economy, helping well-heeled clients find havens to conceal their money, sometimes from tax collectors and criminal investigators. Ordinary people often pay the price,” the ICIJ report on the firm said.
For example, the ICIJ says Alcogal set up more than 200 shell companies for the Banca Privada d’Andorra, some of which were then used to conceal public corruption in Venezuela. The United States later blacklisted the bank over money laundering concerns and Alcogal disentangled itself from the bank.
The firm rejected accusations of shady dealings in a statement, saying it was considering legal action to defend its reputation “in a vigorous manner where necessary.”
“Alcogal rejects the conjecture, inaccuracies and falsehoods in the papers,” the firm said, offering to work with authorities to investigate any irregularities.
And several politicians named in the papers also pushed back, including former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli, who denied involvement in anything untoward.
The revelations from the Pandora Papers could further damage Panama’s reputation, after the Central American country’s image already took a hit in a previous round of financial scandal reporting known as the “Panama Papers” five years ago.
The government worried about fallout from the new release, according to a letter from officials released by local media.
“The damage could be insurmountable,” the Panamanian government said in the letter, sent through a law firm to the ICIJ.
The letter warned that “any publication” reinforcing “a false perception” of the country as a possible tax haven “will have devastating consequences for Panama and its people.”
The letter from the Panamanian government also references some of the reforms that the Central American country has made in recent years, although it remains on the EU list of tax havens.
The Panama of 2016 “is nothing like the Panama of today,” the government said in its letter.
(AFP)
Adebayo Adelabu, one of the aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket in Oyo State, has alleged irregularities in the party’s governorship primary election held on Thursday.
Adelabu, who expressed dissatisfaction over the conduct of the exercise, stated that the primary was characterized by misconduct ranging from disenfranchisement of his supporters in some wards and the commencement of election process earlier than scheduled.
Speaking after the conclusion of the primary election at IMG School, Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, the immediate past Minister of Power alleged that the process was neither free, fair nor credible.
He said: “Before our people started getting to their various wards, they have already conducted the election and they wrote the figures they want as results.
“In some wards, our people were prevented from voting. They were intimidated. They were chased away violently. And in some wards, voting did not take place at all.
“All this kind of misconduct is not good at this stage of our democracy in Nigeria, and something has to be done about it.”
Adelabu, therefore, vowed to come up with serious petitions against all the irregularities not just in Ibadan, but across all the five geopolitical zones in Oyo State.
“Also, conduct of many party executives is uncalled for, a lot of people bought forms and they were cleared. And they decided to conduct affirmation of a particular candidate in some wards.
“There was nothing like consensus arrangement. It was just a figment of their weird imagination. The instruction we got from Abuja was that we should all carry out free, fair, and transparent direct primary election where every aspirant will be given a level playing ground and the election will be conducted peacefully.
“Where did they get the idea of consensus candidates? And this is what happened in a lot of the wards. And it didn’t go down well with us. “We don’t want that. We are going to assess the gravity of this gross misconduct and the potential impact on the overall result of this election.
“I will put a petition forward to the appropriate authorities so that it can be deeply investigated and there must be consequences to this. The people who perpetrated this misconduct must be identified and punished. And the aspirants involved also need to be suspended because this is not good for us.
“Democracy is the government of the people by the people and for the people where nobody should be disenfranchised. Once you are a party member, you should have that freedom, that authority to pick an aspirant of your choice as the flag bearer of the party.
“This is Ibadan, this is Oyo State and this the centre of politics in the southwest. And we should be able to lay good examples and the process should produce a candidate that won transparently, freely and fairly,” he said.
Meanwhile, at Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government, Adelabu, polled 430 to defeat his closest rival, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, who had 3 votes.
Al Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has finally won the Saudi Pro League title.
They were confirmed champions on Thursday, thanks to a 4-2 drubbing of relegation battlers, Damac.
The title race had gone down to the final day after Al-Nassr dramatically dropped points against Al-Hilal the previous week.
Jorge Jesus’ side knew there could be no mistakes against a Damac side fighting for survival at the other end of the table.
Ronaldo was on the scoresheet, as his brace helped Al Nassr secure the title ahead of rivals Al Hilal.
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has announced his withdrawal from the All Progressives Congress governorship primary election in the state.
Fubara made this known in a statement personally signed on Wednesday, saying he would support whoever emerges as the party’s candidate, The Nations reported.
The governor said his decision followed extensive consultations with his family, friends, and political associates.
“After deep reflection and extensive consultations with my family, friends, and associates, I have taken the difficult but necessary decision to withdraw from the APC governorship primaries. I do so with a full heart and with a firm commitment to support whoever emerges as the candidate of our great party,” Fubara said.
Fubara said although the decision was difficult, he remained committed to supporting whoever would emerge as the APC governorship candidate.
According to him, leadership demands sacrifice and personal ambition must sometimes give way to the collective interest of the people.
Meanwhile, the embattled governor expressed appreciation to his supporters for their loyalty, prayers and sacrifices throughout the political process, acknowledging that many would feel disappointed by his withdrawal.
He said his silence in recent weeks was “deliberate and strategic,” adding that it was guided by the higher interest of the state.
Tone Cole, APC chieftain and 2027 governorship aspirant in Rivers State, also announced his withdrawal from the race, saying his decision was, among other reasons, in the interest of the party’s unity.
