Ecuador: President Guillermo Lasso, quoted in Pandora papers, refuses to testify

Published on : 10/21/2021 – 12:02

Guillermo Lasso in the sights of a parliamentary commission commissioned by the National Assembly in Ecuador. The Ecuadorian president refused, Wednesday, October 20, to testify as part of an investigation into the Pandora papers – in which he is quoted -, which prompted the commission to make a second request for him to appear on Friday from ” obligatory manner “.

Guillermo Lasso had been summoned to explain himself about the money he had in tax havens, according to the revelations of the Pandora papers.

According to this investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the Ecuadorian president controlled 14 offshore companies – most of them based in Panama – closed after former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017) adopted in 2017 a law prohibiting presidential candidates from owning companies in tax havens.

Out of 137 parliamentarians, 105 voted to open an investigation against the conservative president, in order to “clarify” whether he violated “the legal mandate of the ethical pact, which prohibits candidates and civil servants from disposing of their resources. or their assets in tax havens “.

In a letter, Guillermo Lasso assured that he was ready to receive the members of the commission at the seat of the government “once all the scheduled hearings (…) will have been completed”. “I have the right to know in advance the assertions that have been made,” he said.

“Legitimate investments in other countries”

Faced with the refusal to appear before the commission, its president José Cabascango (left) closed the session on Wednesday, summoning the head of state a second time, “on a mandatory basis” this Friday.

Also called to testify, the president’s wife and son also apologized to the commission, arguing that they were not civil servants and therefore did not have to attend.

“Neither when I registered my candidacy for the presidency, nor since then until today, have I violated” the ban on owning assets in a tax haven, assured the head of state in his letter.

The ex-banker simply admitted that he had “legitimate investments in other countries”, which he got rid of in order to be a candidate in the spring 2021 election, which he won.

He also asked the Office of the Comptroller General to examine his assets and said he is waiving bank secrecy so that he can be investigated.

In Latin America, in addition to the Ecuadorian president, the leaders of Chile, Sebastian Piñera, and of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, appear in the investigation of the Pandora Papers.

In Chile, Sebastian Piñera is the subject of a criminal investigation and faces the threat of impeachment proceedings launched by the opposition over the sale of a mining concession tainted with suspicion of corruption.

With AFP