Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/826629
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 MAY 2017 19 Tirona Limited CYPRUS Oleg Boyko Interactive Ltd. MALTA Urnicans ABS Holding Ltd. MALTA Aigars Kesensfelds Mercalia Partners Ltd. MALTA Edgars Dupats VS Ventures Ltd. MALTA Maris Keiss AJG Partners Ltd. MALTA Albert Pole Nessa Ltd. MALTA Maris Martinsons Marcis Martinsons Fatcat Investments Limited/ FCI Investments Limited MALTA € 51.6 m. € 57.7 m. € +3 million of dividend income € +2.7 million of interests on loan to AS 4finance 18.4 m. € 18.4 m. € 6.6 m. € 4.7 m. VC Vertice Ltd. CYPRUS Ilya Nikulin € 11.2 million paid by 6 remaining shareholders € 4.7 m. Tirona Limited CYPRUS Oleg Boyko Fatcat Investments Limited/ FCI Investments Limited MALTA 51,6 57,7 LVS Ltd. MALTA Kristaps Ozols € 13.3 million paid by 6 remaining shareholders Nessa Ltd. MALTA Maris Martinsons Marcis Martinsons VC Vertice Ltd. CYPRUS Ilya Nikulin € 11.2 million paid by 6 remaining shareholders € 13.3 million paid by 6 remaining shareholders € 4.7 m. EL MUNDO GRÁFICOS Interactive Ltd. MALTA Aldis Urnicans ABS Holding Ltd. MALTA Aigars Kesensfelds Mercalia Partners Ltd. MALTA Edgars Dupats VS Ventures Ltd. MALTA Maris Keiss AJG Partners Ltd. MALTA Albert Pole 18,4 6,6 LVS Ltd. MALTA Kristaps Ozols 4,7 4,7 EL MUNDO GRÁFICOS € +3 m. of dividend income € +2,7 m. of interests on loan to AS 4finance 4,7 18,4 Millones de euros BILLIONAIRE OLEG BOYKO'S BUYOUT OF 25% SHARES IN FATCAT INVESTMENTS SHAREHOLDERS' LOANS DISTRIBUTED IN DECEMBER 2013 BILLIONAIRE OLEG BOYKO'S BUYOUT OF 25% SHARES IN FATCAT INVESTMENTS AND SHAREHOLDERS' LOANS DISTRIBUTED IN DECEMBER 2013 'Lux_Interest_30112015', shows that interest from Po- land, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and other coun- tries shifted these profits to Malta, into an IIG Bank ac- count. Most of the interest on company shareholder loans had a 15% interest rate. What could be problematic about this is if tax authori- ties find that these shareholders loans are at significantly higher interest rates than those available on the local market over a specific time. In this case, such high-inter- est loans could be an unjustifiable transfer of money from a local subsidiary to a parent company. Annual accounts show the Malta branch received €24.9 million in interest income from 4Finance subsidiaries in 2014, and €32.2 million in 2015. Impairments eroded profits so that just hundreds of thousands were paid in tax. 4Finance did not reply to comments on this issue. USA: the Native American loophole Among the subsidiaries paying high interest rates for inter-company loans to the Malta branch is 4Finance US Holding Inc., registered in another tax haven, in Dela- ware, USA. The company manages the fast loans services of North Star Finance LLC, a company that is ultimately owned by the Fort Belknap Native American Indian com- munity of Montana. Again, a Maltese company, GMLA Trading Limited is used as a vehicle to transfer the interest paid by US citizens on these fast loans, to Boyko's Tirona Limited. GMLA registered losses in Malta when it passed on some €3.2 million of interest from US clients to Tirona between 2012 and 2014. No taxes get paid on losses. North Star Finance LLC, which operates the North- cash brand, cannot lend to residents of Arkansas, Cali- fornia, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. When in March 2017 the Washington State Department of Finan- cial Institutions (DFI) published complaints it received about some online lenders, including North Star LLC, it couldn't do anything. "It appears that these companies may be operating as online tribal payday lending companies. These companies assert ownership by the Fort Belknap Indian Community, a federally-recognized Indian Tribe. These companies are not licensed by DFI and are not registered to conduct business in Washington State by the Department of Li- censing, the Department of Revenue, or the Secretary of State," they explained. The directors of GMLA Trading Ltd, Tirona Limited and their major beneficial owner Oleg Boyko would not respond to written questions. Boyko's employees at Finstar have also inquired about the possibility that the Russian millionaire obtains resi- dency in Malta under the Global Residence Programme, a special high-net worth individuals scheme that predates the Maltese sale of citizenship. When asked if he succeed- ed, Boyko didn't answer. *Daniel is not his real name. He preferred not to reveal his identity, as he is working for a public institution. • Blaž Zgaga, is a freelance investigative journalist and member of the ICIJ • Vlad Odobescu is a freelance feature writer and a member of the Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism • Matthew Vella is executive editor MaltaToday • Sergejs Pavlovs is a freelance journalist This investigation was developed with the support of Journalismfund.eu News Malta are already known, after supergrass Mario Gennaro, 42, who ran the BetUniq brand in Malta on behalf of one of the clans, admitted to Italian prosecutors that his job was to funnel Mafia cash in online poker and betting sites. The Uniq Group had used the com- pany GVM Holdings, a fiduciary com- pany headed by the son of former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi, Da- vid, to start business in Malta. Gonzi and a Maltese associate Iosif Galea were later removed from the Reggio Calabria's list of suspects. But the case shows how lawyers and accountants in Malta can sometimes find them- selves customers that are, simply, Ma- fiosi. Another entry in the Maltese regis- try is that of Israeli national Ehud 'Udi' Goldshmidt, who resides in Lecco, Italy. His name had emerged in an in- vestigation of the Anti-Mafia Bureau in Reggio Calabria on Senator Anto- nio Caridi, who was charged with be- ing a member in the Calabrian crimi- nal organization. Italian prosecutors, had said Goldshmidt "is fully at the disposal of the Raso-Gullace clan," one of the dangerous 'Ndrangheta families from the plains of Gioia Tauro. According to a Calabrian investigat- ing court, Goldshmidt – probed by the Anti-Mafia Bureau in Reggio Calabria – allegedly "favoured the criminal en- terprise's businesses, especially slot machine operations, in relation to the development of a software platform to manage online poker gaming to be developed in Israel and approved in Italy." Now documents confirm a Maltese corporate link between the 'Ndrang- heta and the Israeli businessman. Goldshmidt shows up as shareholder in two companies: Wantedplay Lim- ited and Beproga Limited. And both brands share two very specific fea- tures: they were founded by Stefania Casati, the wife of Antonio Pronestì, investigated on Mafia charges along with 'Udi', and relative of the late boss of the clan by the same name, Girola- mo Raso. Again in gaming, there is the Cata- nese Antonio Padovani, who accord- ing to the Italian finance police was a middle-man to broker a deal for the Neapolitan Camorra and the Mafia for the management of bingo halls. As Mario Gennaro himself told the police, the 'Ndrang- heta also sought entry into this crime triad. Padovani's son, Luigi Fabio and his wife Patrizia Fazio, turn out to be shareholders in Non Solo Bet Limited, also registered in Malta. And then there is Alfonso Diletto 'the monkey' (Scimmia), believed to be the right-hand man of 'Ndrangheta godfather Nicolino Grande Aracri. On charges of being an 'Ndrangheta boss last year Diletto was sentenced to 14 years, along with Giovanni Vec- chi, a Reggio Emilia businessman with whom he had a building partnership, the Save Group, winning hundreds of millions in international build- ing contracts. Their shell company was incorporated in Malta on 5 May, 2011 in Birzebbugia, used as a base for laundering billions around the world for the Mafia clan of Crotone, through construction companies that branch out of Italy. Edited by Matthew Vella Over the last three months EIC.network has dug into 100,000s of documents that show how Malta operates a tax system where companies pay the lowest tax on profits in the EU. The Malta Files show how Malta works as a base for tax avoidance inside the EU. Although profiting from the advantages of EU membership, Malta also welcomes large companies and wealthy private clients who try to dodge taxes in their home countries. This damages the budgets of other EU countries and reveals a weakness in the European Union, which allows member states sovereign rights over their taxation. The research was undertaken by the network European Investigative Collaborations (EIC), which has brought together 13 media outlets and 47 journalists in 16 countries, and which include L'Espresso, Le Soir, NRC, DER SPIEGEL, The Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism / TheBlackSea.eu, Mediapart, Politiken, NewsWeek Serbia, El Mundo, Expresso, Dagens Nyheter, MaltaToday, The Intercept and Agência Sportlight. Millions in euros Nicola Grande Ararci Mario Gennaro