Ecuador's Parliament to Consider Special Commission to Probe Pandora Papers

MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th October, 2021) The Ecuadorian National Assembly has approved an initiative to discuss the creation of a special commission to analyze the Pandora Papers, which feature President Guillermo Lasso.

The initiative was submitted by lawmaker Ronny Aleaga Santos.

"The motion of Ronny Aleaga Santos, which includes considering a draft resolution on creating a commission to investigate the Pandora Papers, is approved by 104 votes," the parliament tweeted late on Thursday.

Another initiative on the matter, however, did not gain support. It envisioned the creation of a bipartisan commission on the offshore scandal.

On Sunday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) unveiled the so-called Pandora Papers, a leak of more than 11.9 million financial documents exposing the offshore activities of over 300 prominent global political figures, including Lasso.

According to the dossier, President Lasso is linked to 10 offshore companies and trusts in Panama, South Dakota and Delaware. Two trusts, Bretten Trust and the Liberty US Trust, in South Dakota are allegedly used by the president to control his Panamanian business. In case of his death, they will pay compensation to his wife and children. The president himself told the ICIJ in a letter dated September 27 that he had nothing to do with the two trusts.

The ICIJ said that other Lasso-related offshore companies and funds mentioned in the Pandora papers were disbanded in 2017 before he became a presidential candidate. Lasso confirmed that the companies were "legally dissolved" and added that any past use of the entities on his part was legal.