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| Ecuador - President Guillermo Lasso |
About
Guillermo Lasso is the president of Ecuador. A former banker, he founded the Creating Opportunities (CREO) Party in 2012. After unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 2013 and 2017, he was elected last April and sworn into office in May . He previously served as Ecuador’s itinerant ambassador in 2003 and as a “super minister” to coordinate economic policy, a job that lasted only about a month in 1999. He also served as governor of Guayas province in 1998. Lasso headed Banco Guayaquil for almost two decades, beginning in 1994.
In 2011, before launching his first presidential campaign, Lasso created GLM Management Trust in Ecuador to hold his assets, including 40% of the shares of Corporation MultiBG, the majority owner of Banco Guayaquil. The other main shareholders of MultiBG are two of Lasso’s siblings. Lasso told ICIJ that GLM Management Trust holds his investment in Banco Guayaquil SA and has “no current relation” to any foreign company. Its trustee is an Ecuadorian management company.
Lasso said that the source of his income comes from Banco Guayaquil. “That fact is well known to the general public as well as to the control authorities in the country,” he said.
Political Career
- President (2021-present)
- Itinerant Ambassador (January 2003- unknown)
- Governor of Guayas province (August 1998- to August 1999)
- Super Minister of Economy (August-September 1999)
Leaked Details in the Pandora Papers
Pandora Papers show that Lasso has had ties to 10 offshore companies and trusts in Panama, South Dakota and Delaware.
In 2017, Bretten Trust and Liberty US Trust were created in South Dakota with Trident Trust as trustee. Lasso authorized the transfer of companies held by two Panamanian private interest foundations named Bernini and Barberini, to those two new trusts. Under rules governing each foundation, monthly distributions would be made to beneficiaries after Lasso’s death, including $20,000 for Lasso’s wife, $2,000 for his children and $1,500 for his brother.
Lasso told ICIJ that he does not have “any relation regarding property, control, benefit or interest of any type” with Bretten Trust and Liberty US Trust. “Accordingly, I have at all times complied with the Ecuadorian law that forbids candidates and public servants from holding offshore companies, exactly as I have declared in my filings.”
Other Lasso-related offshore companies and private interest foundations that appear in the Pandora Papers have been dissolved: Bernini Foundation, Bretten Holdings, Da Vinci Foundation, Fundación Bienes Raíces, Nora Group Investment Corp., Pietro Overseas SA, Positano Trade LLC and Tintoretto International Foundation.
Lasso confirmed that these entities “do not have any legal existence.” He said that “all past use of any international entity” was legitimate. None of the offshore entities are related to his public service, he said.
Secrecy Broker
At the heart of the Pandora Papers are 14 offshore firms that help clients establish companies in secrecy jurisdictions. This profile draws on leaked data from these providers:
1. Alcogal
Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee, or Alcogal, is a go-to offshore provider for top politicians and elites in Latin America and beyond. Founded in Panama, the firm has ties to nearly half of all the politicians whose names appear in the Pandora Papers leak. Here are some of the top political figures involved.
2. Trident Trust
Trident Trust is one of the world’s largest offshore providers. It is linked to nearly 100 politicians and public officials identified in the Pandora Papers. Here are some of the top political figures involved.
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