Mauricio Macri to Invest Panama Papers Money in Argentine Bonds


News from Panama / Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

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The Argentine president encouraged others with offshore accounts to reinvest their money in Argentina’s soon-to-rise economy.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri will repatriate the US$18 million he holds in Bahamas tax havens into national treasury bonds, and suggested Monday that others should follow his lead.

Macri said he was confident enough in the Argentine economy to invest in it—with the money the Panama Papers leaked show he hid offshore—telling reporters that, “Each person must do what suits them, and Argentina will do very well.”

The new president, who has implemented a slew of neoliberal policies since taking office in December, admitted last week that he holds offshore funds after being mentioned several times in the Panama Papers leak. AP reported that he will only repatriate part of his savings— US$1.3 million—while Argentine media reported the entire US$18 million would be put into bonds.

Macri is the son of one of Argentina’s wealthiest men, with whom he co-owned a Bahamas-based shell company that was managed by Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law first. He is currently being investigated for not declaring his role in such offshore companies when he was mayor of Buenos Aires.

Before holding the money in the Bahamas, Macri said he had accounts in Switzerland and the United States. His net worth, not counting the blind funds, is placed above US$60 million.