President Refuses To Answer Any Questions About Panama Papers Connection

President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has nothing more to say about his connections to offshore accounts.

RÚV reports that their news office recently put in an interview request with the President to discuss the family of his wife, Dorrit Moussaieff, and their involvement in offshore accounts, including a company named in the Panama Papers.

The Office of the President responded that “at this time there is nothing to add to the response that [Ólafur and Dorrit] gave”, referring to their contention that they had no knowledge of the companies named in the financial reports of Moussaieff Jewelers Limited (MJL), Dorrit’s family’s business.

Further, when reporters caught up with Ólafur at Reykjavík Domestic Airport, where he was boarding a flight for the Westman Islands, he refused to answer any questions on the matter, objecting to the time and place for answering questions.

As reported, according to the Directors’ Report and Financial Statements for MJL in 2006, Lasca Finance Limited (LFL) – a company registered in the British Virgin Islands of which Dorrit’s parents are shareholders – was paid interest payments by MJL from at least 2000 until 2005, which was the last time we saw reported interest. Lasca also appears in the widely-reported Panama Papers leak.

In 2006, LFL all but disappears, and a new company appears in Hong Kong: Moussaieff Limited, of which Dorrit’s mother is the sole director and shareholder, and has been active through at least March 31, 2015. While not defined as a tax shelter by Icelandic law, Hong Kong does rank in second place on the Financial Secrecy Index.

You can download and read the documentation on the matter for yourself below:

2000-MJL_FinanceStatement
2001-MJL_FinanceStatement
2003-MJL_FinanceStatement
2005-MJL_FinanceStatement
2006-MJL_FinanceStatement
2006 MJL Report
2007-MJL_FinanceStatement
2010-MJL_FinanceStatement
2011-MJL_FinanceStatement
2013-MJL_FinanceStatement
2015-MJL_FinanceStatement
Lasca-Finance-MossacFonseca-List