Ecuador elections: right-wing candidate Guillermo Lasso linked to 49 tax haven companies
Ecuadorean presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso is connected to 49 companies in offshore tax havens, Argentine news daily Página/12 first reported during the country's last election in 2017.
The companies, based in Panama, the Cayman Islands and Delaware, have diverse names that hide Lasso's role.
Lasso, 65, is currently running second to Andrés Arauz, 36, a center-left former Economy Minister, in first-round elections being held today in the nation of 18 million. Runoff voting is scheduled for April 11.
Página/12 reported that between 1999 and 2000 - when former Ecuadorean President Jamil Mahuad dollarized the country's economy and Lasso served as Minister of Finance - Lasso's fortune jumped from $1 million to $31 million.
The right-wing banker candidate is believed to have boosted his fortune by speculating on government bonds ahead of dollarization, which left millions of Ecuadoreans in poverty.
"The financier tried in recent years to tidy up his businesses in order to enter the political arena," the investigative report says. "However, the magnitude of the offshore companies and their profits could implicate him in tax evasion."
In February 2017, in the closing months of former President Rafael Correa's administration, Ecuador became the first country in the world to pass a plebiscite to ban public officials from having assets or capital in tax havens.
At: https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuadors-Right-Wing-Candidate-Linked-to-49-Tax-Haven-Companies-20170316-0001.html
Ecuadorian presidential candidates Andrés Arauz and Guillermo Lasso.
The center-left and center right candidates, respectively, are running to succeed President Lenín Moreno - who opted not to seek re-election amid severe recession and what's widely considered one of the world's worst Covid-19 pandemic responses.
While Arauz remains ahead in polling by around 4%, the outcome of April 11 runoffs remains uncertain.
