The global work discovered that 35 heads of state and 336 senior government officials from 91 countries and territories participated in overseas actions.
The largest investigative journalism in history emerged in 2021. More than 600 journalists from 117 countries came together to uncover the wrongdoing and public interest issues hidden in nearly 12 million leaked documents, most of them in tax havens. The project is called Pandora Papers, and it is run by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and involves two journalists from EL UNIVERSO.
Global work discovered that 35 heads of state and 336 senior government officials from 91 countries and territories participated in the business Navy, Among them is the President of Ecuador, Guillermo Laso.
To date, nine investigations have been published regarding Ecuador, involving public officials elected by popular vote, and former officials and businessmen investigated or prosecuted in major corruption schemes such as the Petroecuador, Petrochina, Espol and Seguros Sucre cases.
The most interesting post is the one related to President Lasso. Pandora’s Papers reveal that the president has shut down eleven entities Navy Before registering his candidacy, he placed several assets in two trusts established in South Dakota (USA): Bretten Trust and Liberty Trust. The latter is also part of Liberty Holdings LP, a company registered in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Lasso claims that he has nothing to do with these entities and that he complied with the law before becoming a candidate. The Internal Revenue Service does not consider tax havens in South Dakota or Canada.
Correístas legislators and a wing of Pachakutik are seeking to remove Lasso for allegedly failing to comply with the law preventing candidates from owning businesses in tax havens and accusing him of tax evasion. The president asserts that he has nothing to hide and that he has always paid all taxes. On October 11, he sent a letter to EL UNIVERSO stating that the newspaper had dedicated itself “in a clear and childish way to a smear campaign against a president who is trying to repair all the damage done to Ecuadorean institutions”. It also highlights your tax payment.
At the beginning of November, The Constitutional Guarantees Committee of the National Assembly approves a report Which asked the plenum to address the issue with a view to removing the president. He does not accept it, but agrees to a proposal urging Laso to come and explain the matter. At about the same time, the Comptroller General issues a report absolving the president of responsibility.
After this first report, Pandora Papers also revealed corporate ownership Navy For contractors and Petroecuador employees who have opened investigations in both Ecuador and the United States. Among them is Nielsen Arias, a former director of international trade, who handled the award of oil advance sales contracts to PetroChina, Unipec and PetroThailand Asia.
Also revealed corporate leakage Navy Juan X. Domenech Ribas, convicted in the United States for collecting bribes and money laundering when he was president of the state-owned Seguros Sucre, and Jorge Chérrez Miño, investigated the failed Isspol investments. When this newspaper asked Cherys to give an interview, he threatened the journalists with prosecution.
Finally, Bandura also reveals the little-known works of politicians and advisors. The deputy governor of Guayas, José Lóñez Parra, and the mayor of Ventanas, Rafael Sánchez Ochoa, both agricultural entrepreneurs, did not disclose all of their assets to the controller, as it was discovered that they held companies Navy and bank accounts. Political advisors at Informe Confidencial, Jaime Durán Barba and Santiago Nieto, have also maintained companies in tax havens.
Like the Panama Papers, Pandora’s Leaf leaks are not over. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists relaunched its ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database at the beginning of December with partial information from Pandora and will add in the coming months more data about the end beneficiaries of companies in tax havens. (I)
