Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/647574
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 MARCH 2016 7 News Muscat's chief of staff to present statement from trustees CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 But Keith Schembri rejected sugges- tions that such a vehicle opened him up to speculation that it could be used to receive funds that remain undisclosed to the authorities. "I don't see any relevance between my business group's foreign compa- nies, which have been part of the group for a number of years, and my role as chief of staff. Your insinuations are completely un- founded and ma- licious. "I have already stated that I will present a statement from the trustees of the New Zealand trust, and that the trust has no other assets other than an empty company in Panama. But the group and its companies have been audited according to Maltese law since inception." On Sunday, Schembri admit- ted holding a New Zealand trust, as well as an attached company that was opened "as a contingency upon advice from my financial advisors" over the possibility of local banks chang- ing their business model or transferring their trust business to third parties. Schembri was referring to HS- BC's and Bank of Valletta's de- cision to move out of the trust business and transfer their divi- sions to legal and financial ser- vices firms. "After taking up my current job, I stepped down from di- rectorships on my companies and consolidated my structures by opening a family trust both locally and abroad," Schembri said. "Over these two decades my interests have always been fully audited. I own and have interests in a number of business- es, both locally and abroad. The group and my family also own real estate." The National- ist Party has criti- cised Schembri for not saying when he set up the company, whether it was on the same day that Konrad Mizzi set up his and whether it was "at the same time when together with the Prime Minister, they had gone to Azerbaijan behind the peo- ple's back." Opposition leader Simon Bu- suttil will lead an "anti-corrup- tion protest" organised by his party at Castille Place on Sun- day. mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Keith Schembri Panama takes umbrage at being called a tax haven THE Republic of Panama has rejected claims that it is a tax haven, in a reaction to a report in The Times over the coun- try's secrecy laws for offshore companies. The statement, communi- cated to the media by Malta consul John A. Gauci Maistre, said that Panama was "com- mitted to the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion." The reaction comes over news that energy minister Konrad Mizzi has admitted owning a Panamanian firm that is owned by Orion Trust, the trustees of his New Zea- land trust Rotorua. Mizzi will be closing down the Panama offshore company. The Panamanian govern- ment said that in April 2015 it had enacted three laws im- proving the fight against mon- ey laundering and tax evasion, namely: • Law 23, reinforcing policies of due diligence to identif y the final beneficiary, aiming to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; • Law 22, imposing sanctions on companies that do not keep their records of minutes and shareholders updated; • Law 18, which anticipates the entry into force of the re- gime that immobilizes bearer shares. "This has been recognized by international bodies such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which has re- moved Panama from its grey list after the successful update of its legal framework, focused on the fight against money laundering, terrorist financ- ing and tax evasion," the gov- ernment said in its statement. Panama is now in Phase II of a peer review by the Or- ganization for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD), the club of rich in- dustrialized nations, for the measures taken over transpar- ency and exchange of tax in- formation. The government said that Law 23 widened the circle of parties obliged to report, and introduces oversight for resi- dent agents in legal Panama- nian entities. "Panama is not included in the list of 'tax havens' of the European Commission. It maintains a high commitment to international cooperation with member countries, with existing accords, and the sign- ing and negotiation of tax agreements. To date, Panama has agreements that facilitate the exchange of tax informa- tion with more than 10 mem- ber countries of the European Union." Panama has 29 tax treaties.