Following the Panama Papers and leaks from Luanda, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) unveiled a new investigation this Sunday: the Pandora Papers. About 12 million confidential files were analyzed, which allowed journalists to find various data on offshore companies associated with a total of 35 current and former presidents and prime ministers, as well as hundreds of others who are being followed in court or who act as government officials. services.
Among the names revealed during the investigation are at least three Portuguese politicians: former minister and current vice-president of the SDP Nuno Morais Sarmento, former deputy and ruler of the socialists Vitalino Canas and former minister Manuel Pigno. They all explained to Expresso the (different) reasons for their association with tax havens.
The use of an offshore company is not illegal in itself – the way it is used can become illegal, for example, it can be used for crimes of tax evasion, fraud or money laundering. Offshore companies benefit from low taxation, anonymity and no account records or even their beneficiaries. According to calculations by the European Commission, reported by El Pais, the equivalent of 10% of European GDP passes through these vehicles in the EU. as a result, Brussels estimates that it loses 46 billion euros annually in taxes. The value is, in fact, close to the 50 billion euros that the Portuguese placed offshore between 2001 and 2016, becoming the third country in the European Union to transfer more wealth to tax havens such as Observer reported.
Regarding the three Portuguese mentioned in this new investigation, according to express partner of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, three very different scenarios are at stake.
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No case Sarmento moralitywho, in addition to being vice president of PSD, is a lawyer, was the beneficiary of an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands that was used to buy a diving school and hotel in Mozambique.
In response to Expresso’s question, Morais Sarmento explained that in 2006, when the company was formed, he wanted to take part in a “small investment” in Mozambique and fulfill the “dream of connecting to diving”, in addition to buying the aforementioned school and hotel “Support for divers” on the same beach. And the company was created because of the “restrictions and obstacles that existed at that time in Mozambique” regarding the ownership and transfer of real estate by foreigners. Since then, the company has no longer operated.
The Tofo Mar Hotel and the Diversity Scuba School continue to operate, but are now directly owned by a politician on his own behalf. “As a result of the evolution of Mozambican legislation on direct ownership and transfer of real estate and companies, with a significant reduction in obstacles for non-Mozambican citizens, Magalia International Limited’s share in Tofomania now belongs directly to me. and individually, a situation that continues to this day, ”he explained to Expresso.
Manuel Pine – another politician mentioned in the Pandora Papers, and the companies the former minister was beneficiary of – Tartaruga Foundation, Blackwade Holdings Limited and Mandalay Asset Management Corp – are already part of the EDP case file (criminal investigation still ongoing. progress in Central Department investigations and criminal cases in connection with the alleged endorsement of the EDP under the government of Jose Socrates with Pinho as minister).
Expresso also spoke out against Pinho, asking a former government official about whether the companies were being used for tax evasion, but the former minister only made sure that he “had no income to declare to the tax authorities from anywhere.” … He concluded that the names of these companies were “paraphrased”.
In the case of Vitalino Kanas, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, Secucom International Holding Limited in 2012 issued a power of attorney on his behalf and a Russian citizen to open and maintain accounts “in any banks or other financial institutions anywhere”. in the country, in the world, ”says Expresso. But in response to a newspaper question, the former MP said he had not been able to find any such document and suggested that his law firm, Vitalino Canas e Associados, was working for Secucom, only denying that “there are any problems of nature coming from there.” … ethics “.
