Former IMF boss Rodrigo Rato accused of concealing 27 million euro ($29M)fortune

[umbertino]

Rodrigo Rato accused of concealing funds through front firms in relative’s names

 

By James Badcock, Madrid

9:07PM BST 19 Apr 2015

 

 

Former International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato © arrives back home following a search in his office in Madrid Photo: REUTERS

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/11548742/Former-IMF-boss-Rodrigo-Rato-accused-of-concealing-27-million-euro-fortune.html

 

By James Badcock, Madrid

9:07PM BST 19 Apr 2015

 

Rodrigo Rato, the former minister and IMF managing director who was briefly placed under arrest last Thursday, is reported to have amassed a personal fortune of at least €27 million (£19.5 million), including dozens of companies and a 44 per cent share of a luxury hotel in Berlin.

 

Mr Rato, who was economy minister in Spain’s Popular Party (PP) governments between 1996 and 2004 before a three-year stint as IMF chief, is being investigated on suspicion of concealing his wealth and tax evasion.

 

According to information leaked to the Spanish media by court sources, Mr Rato used a web of companies and over 70 bank accounts.

 

The systems were created to avoid paying tax and having funds embargoed as a result of his implication in separate criminal cases, related to his time as director at Bankia, the bank of which he was director for two years until it had to be nationalised. It was eventually bailed out in 2012, to the tune of €22 billion.

 

The judge overseeing the investigation, Enrique de la Hoz, has ordered the freezing of up to 78 bank accounts in Mr Rato’s name.

 

The newspaper El Mundo cites tax agency reports in the possession of investigators which point to unpaid taxes of over €5 million resulting from the activities of 27 companies in Mr Rato’s name, or registered as being owned by members of his family. Another 13 companies are said to be registered under the names of the former minister’s lawyer, financial adviser and personal secretary.

 

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has admitted that the allegations “especially affect” the PP as Mr Rato was “one of the party’s greatest assets”. Mr Rato gave up his party membership last year.

 

Bankia has been forced to pay an €800-million liability bond imposed by a judge investigating the allegedly fraudulent flotation of the bank, whose shares were eventually declared to be worthless. Bankia is now demanding that Mr Rato pay back his €133-million share of that bond.

 

Mr Rato was released from prison seven hours after being arrested in Madrid on Thursday evening, but searches of his property continued the following day. Earlier last week, it was revealed that Mr Rato had benefitted from the Rajoy government’s 2012 tax amnesty.

 

[Saint]

Yeah, and the world is surprised!!!!      NOT. 

[umbertino]

Umbertino's note : I don't know who edited ( adding whole article) my post. It doesn't say who did it... I understand it was done with best intention so in this sense it's appreciated but I'd like to let you know the reason that I do not post ( as it's been noticed in the last months or even 1 yr now) "Daily Telegraph" articles anymore in their entirety ( unlike "TheGuardian" articles which I still do) is simply because Mr Montana  informed  me  months ago that the Telegraph had complained about me reporting whole articles until then and they didn't want me to do that anymore... They said to him ( and he reported that to me) it's ok to post header , pics and link but evidently they want readers to go straight to site through link... I just wanted to  explain this thing

 

 This instead doesn't ( yet) apply to  the Guardian articles that I keep posting in their entirety

 

 

Again I do understand the whole adding of article  was done with good intention and I do appreciate it... Many are not aware of this DT issue

 

Ciao e Grazie