Andrej Pig Photo: Reuters
Czech Prime Minister
An international team of journalists discovered that Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babi used an offshore company to buy real estate, i.e. a company based in a tax haven and allowed to hide the identity of the real owner. According to experts, they are often used for money laundering.
Web Investigation.cz He stated that in July 2009 Babi, with the help of French law firm DB Artwell Avocats and Panamanian law firm Alcogal, had an anonymous and confidential incorporated company, in which the directors were involved. He sent them nearly 400 million crowns, which he later bought at Bigaud’s palace in the south of France.
The prime minister refused to answer reporters and his bodyguard pushed the Investigace.cz reporter and BBC reporter away when they personally asked him questions. After publishing the article, he first denied that he owned real estate in France, but later added that buying the villa through an offshore company was advised by a real estate agent.
Experts handled by server Investigation.cz however, they agreed that the transaction contained signs of money laundering. “No normal business transaction would look like this,” said Kamil Kouba, a former financial crimes investigator and current anti-money laundering consultant.
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