Paradise Papers – German Government protects criminals

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„One week after the Paradise Papers revelations the German Government blocks together with the British administration a public register of the real owners of trusts, foundations and letter box companies. In real, that means that the German government protects the dodgy tax avoidance practices of the super-rich as well as of organized crime and terror financing”, comments Fabio De Masi (DIE LINKE.), former vice-president of the inquiry committee on the Panama Papers in the EU-Parliament and now member of the German Bundestag, the tentative failure to reach an agreement between Council and EU-Parliament on the revision of the anti-money laundering directive.

De Masi continues:

„EU member states like Spain, Portugal and France support the demand to introduce public registers of the real owners of companies or reals estates. This demand is shared also by the EU-Parliament and public financial investigators.  The revision of the anti-money laundering directive might fail because of Berlin and London. Right now the conservative, liberal and green parties in Germany are negotiating to form a new government. If they keep on being silent on this issue we have to assume that they all agree on this blockade of the managing German finance minister.”