Tax havens: Three Poles on Panama Papers list

The documents, which are from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, were shared by the German newspaper with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

The list, which names figures who apparently have companies in tax havens, includes Polish businessman Marek Profus, media mogul Mariusz Walter and former mayor of Warsaw Paweł Piskorski.

The Poles are named alongside a wide variety of movers and shakers, including 12 current and former world leaders, among them Prime Minister of Iceland Sigmundur Davío Gunnlaugsson and President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, film star Jackie Chan and footballer Lionel Messi.

Polish probe to be launched

Poland's General Inspector of Financial Information (GIIF) Wiesław Jasinski said on Monday that he has decided to probe Polish aspects of the Panama Papers.

The three Poles on the list have been swift to deny any insinuations of financial impropriety, amid talk of tax evasion.

Marek Profus has stated that he has never carried out “tax optimization” in companies located abroad, arguing that he has always paid his taxes in Poland. Profus is the owner of Profus Management, which sells fuel and military equipment among other activities.

Mariusz Walter likewise said he has “always been and remains a Polish tax resident.” Walter is a co-owner of the ITI Group, which sold its majority share in media group TVN last year.

Paweł Piskorski has claimed that his offshore company Stardale Management, which was registered in Panama, was never used for anything and was hence liquidated. He has insisted that he had no obligation to report the existence of the company to Polish banking services.

Piskorski is currently head of the Alliance of Democrats Party, which has no seats in parliament. He was mayor of Warsaw between 1999 and 2002. He was a member of the Civic Platform party from 2001 to 2006, but was dismissed in 2006 amid allegations of financial corruption. He served as an MEP from 2004 to 2009. (nh/pk)

Source: PAP