Reports indicate that politicians, businesspeople and celebrities who hold Portuguese citizenship are among those listed in the Panama Papers. Hundreds of renowned companies are also said to be named in the documents.
With these names expected to be made public in the coming days or weeks, the Government has demanded that all relevant information with regards to allegations of money laundering and tax evasion by any of its nationals be passed on to the taxman as soon as they emerge.
The State Secretary for Fiscal Affairs underlined Lisbon’s particular interest in the leaked documents and said the Treasury has already been empowered to procure all pertinent details.
Fernando Rocha Andrade told MPs on Wednesday night that “all legal means at our disposal will be used to track down those whose earnings and properties are taxable in Portugal and any acts of concealment they might have perpetrated will be dealt with to the final consequences.”
But journalists are still sifting through 11.5 million documents obtained by the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung which it shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), of which Portuguese newspaper Expresso is a member.
The information in the documents dates back to 1977, and goes up to December last year. Emails make up the largest type of document leaked, but images of contracts and passports were also released.
To date, the only Portuguese national named out of the 34 people listed in the Panama Papers is Idalécio de Castro Rodrigues de Oliveira.
According to the Papers, he is a Portuguese corporate executive who, according to Brazil’s attorney general, supplied money that was paid as a suspected bribe to Eduardo Cunha, the president of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, currently under indictment for alleged corruption.
De Oliveira is the chief executive of the Lusitania Group, which purchased certain oil licences in West Africa in 2011 and entered into a partnership with Petrobras, Brazil’s oil giant, which is currently at the heart of the country’s largest-ever corruption probe, the Lava Jato investigation. Cunha has repeatedly denied accusations against him and recently told reporters, “I am not worried… I will continue to work.”
The ICIJ said that De Oliveira has so far opted to not respond to repeated requests for comment. Cunha’s press office released a statement that said he vehemently denies the allegations and added that he “challenges anyone to prove that he is related to any offshore company.”
Meanwhile, the chairman of Portuguese NGO Civic Transparency and Integrity Association told the Lusa News Agency that the disclosure of a list of people allegedly involved in corruption schemes questions the image of countries and citizens’ security.
A list of over 70 heads or former heads of state involved in corruption schemes with offshores was published on Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
The list of names refers to thousands of companies that were created in tax havens for politicians and leading figures to manage their assets.
The CTIA chairman told Lusa: “We cannot continue to think it is normal that law firms have such power. We have to look at the kind of work they are doing”.
Meanwhile, Madeira’s Governor has said in the wake of the release of the Papers that the island is neither a “financial centre” nor an “offshore” tax haven.
Miguel Albuquerque cited what he said was a tendency in Portugal for “self-flagellation” to explain why the subject of Madeira’s status has been raised in the wake of revelations about international capital flows.
Albuquerque dismissed any analogy between the Madeira International Business Centre (CINM) and tax havens such as Panama.
“The CINM is an audited business centre authorised and monitored by the European Union, which observes legality and where there is no ambiguity about the circulation of capital and it is there to clarify any of the deals that are done here”, the Madeira Governor said.
He added that it was focussed on “attracting foreign investment” and that it raises tens of millions of euros in fiscal revenue.
“There is a tax regime that makes it possible for companies to expand abroad, as Portugal must do as an Atlantic nation,” he reasoned.
The Socialist government has since backed the Social Democrat leader of the island region, saying it was unwilling to remove the offshore status of Madeira, despite calls this week by its political allies from the Communist Party and the Left Bloc to do so.
“If we cease to operate the Madeira International Business Centre, the only outcome will be that we will end up losing revenue”, argued Socialist Parliamentary leader and former Azores Governor Carlos Cesár.
The Left Bloc replied that the Socialists have “never been able to take the required steps as they will be affecting many interests.”
In recent years, the Left Bloc and Communist Party have repeatedly presented law reform proposals to end Madeira’s offshore status, but have always been outvoted by the Socialists, Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats.
According to the latest figures, the CINM is currently responsible for the capture of just over ten percent of all Portugal’s foreign investors.