Pandora Papers Puts Ecuador's President under Investigation
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The National Assembly of Ecuador agrees to open an investigation against President Guillermo Laso "to establish whether the President has violated the moral charter."
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105 of the 137 deputies voted in favor of opening an investigation into whether President Guillermo Laso broke the law
Ecuador's National Assembly agreed on Sunday to open an investigation into whether President Guillermo Laso broke the law by keeping assets in tax havens after his name appeared in the Pandora documents.
In a press release, the National Assembly announced that 105 deputies out of its 137 members voted in favor of the investigation, stating that it is aimed at establishing whether the President has violated the ethical code that prohibits candidates and officials from disposing of their resources or assets in tax havens.
The Pandora Papers stated that Lasso took control of 14 offshore companies, mostly in Panama, which closed down after former President Rafael Correa passed a law in 2017 banning presidential candidates from owning companies in tax havens.
For his part, Ecuadorean President Guillermo Laso, 65, asked the Office of the Comptroller General to examine his assets after waiving banking secrecy.
It is noteworthy that the Pandora Papers, published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on October 3, include about 35 current and former leaders of countries in the world and more than 300 government officials who hid millions of dollars through offshore companies, mainly for tax evasion purposes.
