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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