Ο ΣΑΒΒΙΔΗΣ ΠΟΥΛΑΕΙ ΤΗΝ DONSKOY TABAK ΜΕΤΑ ΤΗΝ ΑΠΟΚΤΗΣΗ ΤΗΣ ΣΕΚΑΠ

Παρασκευή 5 Απριλίου 2013

ΟΙ OFFSHORE ΚΟΝΟΜΕΣ ΤΟΥ MISTER JUMBO ...

The $43 million bond deal

Another way Greeks use offshore companies is to buy and sell bonds — thus keeping the arrangements cloaked in secrecy and avoiding taxes on the profits, according to Panayiotis Douvis, author of the book Offshore Activities and former director of investigations at the Greek Financial Crimes Unit.

Apostolos Vakakis.On February 21, 2007, a Cyprus law firm created an offshore company in the BVI  called Karpathia Ltd. It used the same registered agent as the Greek military contractor, Commonwealth Trust Limited. It named two companies as nominee directors of Karpathia.

Documents obtained by ICIJ reveal that the single shareholder behind the mysterious entity was Apostolos Vakakis, chairman of the retail conglomerate Jumbo SA, one of Greece’s largest companies.

In July 2007, Karpathia purchased 3.5 million convertible bonds issued by Jumbo SA for €36.7 million ($49.7 million), according to records from Greece’s security and exchange commission. Within the next six months, while Jumbo’s stock remained stable, Karpathia made a windfall: It sold 2.85 million bonds for €65.1 million ($92.6 million) –a $43 million profit, financial records show.

The buyers of the bonds remained anonymous and are part of the mystery surrounding the transaction.


Vakakis did not answer detailed questions sent to him by ICIJ, but he said in an email: “I have declared officially all without exception my transactions that should be announced in public, as provided by relevant Greek legislation.”

Vakakis also said that capital gains from buying and selling bonds at the time of Karpathia’s transaction was “absolutely tax-free anyway” in Greece. He didn’t respond to a follow-up question from ICIJ about whether Karpathia’s capital gains had at any point become taxable dividends upon distribution to him, the sole shareholder of the offshore company.

“One does not use a legal entity in order to hide the identity of the beneficial owner by using shadow names but to be able to complete a transaction in a straightforward manner,” said Vakakis.


Πηγή: International Consortium of Investigative Journalists 


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