Le Monde | • Updated | By
the revelations of” Panama papers “reveal offshore companies more bosses french football, Waldemar Kita and FC Nantes Dmitry Rybolovlev and his aS Monaco.
the “Panama papers’ three-point
- Le Monde and 108 other newsrooms in 76 countries, coordinated by the International Consortium of investigative journalists (ICIJ), had access to a wealth of new information that cast a harsh light on the opaque world of offshore finance and tax havens.
- 11.5 million files from the archives of the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca, specialist domiciliation of offshore companies between 1977 and 2015. It s’ is the biggest leak of information never exploited by the media.
- “Panama papers” reveal that in addition to thousands of anonymous numerous heads of state, billionaires, big names sports, celebrities or personalities within the scope of international sanctions have used offshore arrangements to conceal their assets
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Waldemar Kita (FC Nantes), owner of a company in the British Virgin islands
On the phone, Waldemar Kita irritated. If his name appears in the “Panama papers” is an unfortunate homonym. “The Kita, I found full , he said. This is a household name in Asia, where there are Waldemar Kita, but they are black, they are not white. “ Reached by Le Monde , the president of football club FC Nantes is adamant he is not a shareholder of the company offshore Dylan Limited, domiciled in the British Virgin Islands.
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However, in the vast database of Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca (MF) an element weakens his thesis. The “Waldemar Kita” shareholder Dylan Limited, established on 31 August 2007, is shown as having a residence in Uccle, a suburb of Brussels. “It’s not my address. It’s not me, that’s thank you “, cutting the man Franco-Polish business, aged 62.
The holding company FC Nantes y is domiciled
in the past, the one who bought the FC Nantes in August 2007, having been president of FC Lausanne Sports between 1998 and 2001 – the Swiss club went bankrupt in 2003 – has never denied numerous press articles mentioning his residence in Uccle. The common grouse full of millionaires or billionaires, like the LVMH boss Bernard Arnault. Flava Group, the holding company that owns Waldemar Kita FC Nantes, there is also domiciled. But short of brief telephone conversation with the boss of the “Canaries”, he will not say more, and maintains its version. According to the documents we have consulted, the Dylan Limited owns a yacht.
A boat under flags of convenience, this is a luxury that all “Waldemar Kita” can probably not afford. Chosen by the magazine France Football “of the year 2014 club officer,” Mr. Kita has made a fortune by founding the Corneal Laboratoires group specialized in ophthalmology and anti-wrinkle products. In late 2006, he sold Corneal, in which it held a 75% stake in the Californian giant Allergan, for 170 million euros. Besides its activities in football, he invested in the Vivacy laboratory in Archamps (Haute-Savoie), a border town with Switzerland.
The Modigliani and Picasso Rybolovlev, owner of AS Monaco
like Waldemar Kita, several names of French club owners in the documents of the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca, even if their presence does not necessarily appear linked to their activities in football. Thus the Russian Dmitry Rybolovlev, Chairman and majority shareholder of AS Monaco in December 2011, which appears behind several offshore companies with which he learned to juggle as its players with the ball.
Interest the Russian oligarch for financial arrangements is not new. His propensity to cloud his heritage was denounced in 2008 by Elena Rybolovleva, his ex-wife, when she decided to divorce.
In 2005, Mr. Rybolovlev filed its assets in trusts Cyprus, the Vigo Trust and the Trust Aries. The sale of its stake in Uralkali potassium business in 2010 – in the middle of divorce proceedings – allowed him to significantly increase his fortune, which amounted to 8.8 billion dollars (7.7 billion euros ) in 2014, according to the magazine Forbes . The Russian has yielded to these entities managements of opaque assets part of its heritage, particularly through several offshore companies. Fearing that her husband is seeking to despoil the part of his fortune upon divorce, Elena Rybolovleva asked the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in late 2008, the freezing of assets of three offshore companies domiciled in the British Virgin Islands : Xitrans Finance Limited – a structure that has, moreover, opened an account at Standard Chartered Bank in Jersey – Ringham Investment Finance SA and Treehouse Capital Inc. the ex-wife believes 720 million Swiss francs (660 million euros) were placed in these companies, especially in the form of works of art including Picasso and Modigliani. Treehouse Capital Inc. also owns, according to Elena Rybolovleva, the yacht My-Anna , estimated at some 60 million.
“COMPANIES OFFSHORE aRE USED fOR ESTATE PLANNING REASONS aND aSSET PROTECTION “
Considering that ” the details of the business assets are covered by business secrecy and [that] one has to answer for the composition of his personal fortune to a newspaper “, M th Tetiana Bersheda, counsel for Mr. Rybolovlev , said: “Ringham not existed since 2010 – it was removed from the commercial register in May 2010 and will be automatically dissolved in May 2017, according to the applicable law. Xitrans holds works of art, which is common knowledge today. It is false that owns the yacht Treehouse My-Anna . Offshore companies are used for reasons of matrimonial planning, including estate planning and asset protection. “ In May 2014, the Swiss Justice granted 4 billion Swiss francs Elena Rybolovleva, before lowering that amount to 564 million appeal. Finally, on 20 October 2015 the two former spouses in a statement terse reaching an agreement, without giving figures.
In addition to these three companies, which justice was already interested, the MF documents show the name of another offshore entity that might have escaped the vigilance of Elena Rybolovleva and lawyers. Talasea Limited is domiciled in the British Virgin Islands. It was created in August 2006, as a shareholder Montrago Trustees Limited – a manager trusts established in Cyprus. Mr. Rybolovlev is the co-director, with some Mikhail Sazonov. The latter, financial advisor Rybolovlev, appears very close to the club AS Monaco. Talasea Limited she has a connection with the activities of the oligarch in football? “This company has no operations and has no assets” , simply said M th Bersheda, without elaborating.
It is often difficult to know with certainty what purposes were created these structures rarely used in an objective of transparency . One thing is certain: several patrons of French football clubs they found some interest, like Corinne Vollet-Limido, owner of AJ Auxerre boarder Ligue 2. His name is linked to Brown Associates Investments SA, on which it has since May 2006 attorney. On 17 May 2006, the company opened an account at Fortis Bank (now BGL BNP Paribas), Luxembourg. Until 2011, Centuria Capital Luxembourg, an investment company which accounted for 4 billion euros in 2014, was the guest of Brown Associates Investments SA. Founded by her husband, Emmanuel Limido – died May 30, 2015 after making a fortune in the bank – Centuria Capital Luxembourg is the customer at least six offshore companies appearing in the Mossack Fonseca database. M me Vollet Limido did not respond to our requests. Reached by Le Monde , his lawyer, M th Jean-Luc Michaud, also a director of AJ Auxerre, said he did “nothing to say “ on the subject. “I’ll just say a generality . Nothing prohibits someone to have an offshore company. “
The legacy of Robert Louis-Dreyfus, former head of the OM, the British Virgin Islands
the former head of Olympique Marseille, Robert Louis-Dreyfus , did not create private offshore company. The French businessman naturalized Swiss, who died on 4 July 2009, thus appears as co-shareholder with close to United in Sports Parallel I GP Limited, established on 6 November 2007, as well as TUI RLD 2 Limited. The date of birth of this second entity domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, is interesting. It was created June 12, 2009, less than a month before the death of the former head of Adidas.
Was it to shield a part of the family inheritance tax ? Can not tell. But this is a Martin Foster, executor of “RLD” which became a shareholder, while Ivo Hungerbühler, lawyer Margarita Louis-Dreyfus – DRC widow and now owner of OM – to manage the issue of family heritage, was appointed director of that company in September 2009. It was finally dissolved in 2013, as United in Sports Parallel I GP Limited. Ivo Hungerbühler did not respond to requests from the World
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Among the players in the french football club owners are not the only ones to appear in the MF database. Jorge Trezeguet, father and agent of the 1998 world champion David Trezeguet, figure at the head of Diamond Wave Limited, an offshore company established in January 2007 and domiciled in the Seychelles. Since December 2014, Jorge Trezeguet, himself a former professional footballer and now living in Monaco, where he spends part of his time when he is not in Argentina, sold 50% stake in the company to his wife, Beatriz . Diamond Wave Limited has an account at the Credit Foncier de Monaco (CFM). A private bank in Monaco which, in the documents we have been able to consult, has helped create numerous front companies for other clients.
Jorge Trezeguet declined to explain what was the Diamond wave Limited, referring to the “legal department” of his bank, CFM. Feint pass a little rough: the establishment, which was obviously not communicate on the accounts of one of his clients, did not respond to our requests. Anyway, concludes Trezeguet: “These are not questions to ask someone who lives quietly in Monaco. “
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