The banks and the Government of Andorra fear the impact of ‘case Pujol’ – The País.com (Spain)

The banks and the Government of Andorra fear the impact of 'case Pujol' – The País.com (Spain)

Street View Meritxell, Andorra la Vella. / Azumendi gonzalo (age fotostock)

Neither research money from drug traffickers Galician almost three decades. Even the most recent operation against emperor capital flight of Chinese mafias. Not to mention the tax evasion cases featuring celebrities such as tennis Arancha Sanchez-Vicario or soprano Montserrat Caballé. Nothing had muddied Day Pyrenean Andorra day and nothing had frightened the ruling classes of the country. Nothing fell until Pujol case, the demand for information by the investigation opened against money laundering by the eldest Ferrusola Pujol marriage and paternal inheritance than the president of the Generalitat confessed that his family had hidden in the Principality during the . past 34 years

The scandal has left the Principality frost guts: banking, responsible for 16% of the country’s GDP and the government in the hands of liberal Democrates per Andorra and four of its eight ministers from the financial sector. They refuse to explain in public and remain an important zeal about their upcoming performances. “It does us no good,” has just said about the case, the head of government, Toni Martí, who in a meeting with bank representatives to discuss relations with OECD knew that Pujol had between four and five . Andorran million in accounts

The bank fears that letters rogatory studied from Spain for the defendant to obtain tax information and can blow the answer that has been his main asset for decades: bank secrecy. “They mistakenly believe that may have a major leak of customer deposits, which could reach the conclusion that if given information Jordi Pujol’s going to give any,” said the first secretary of the Social Democratic Party Toni López on responsible bank. “I am convinced that the government wants to give that information,” says Jaume Bartumeu, former prime minister and architect of the OECD Andorra take out the gray list of tax havens in 2010.

Bartumeu defends his country can not be understood as a mountain Cayman Islands but stresses that the bank refused to change his status and that, in fact, was the opposition that he lost the election in 2011 Other financial sources claim that the Banking is also against the signing of a double taxation agreement.

Indeed, the Spanish President Mariano Rajoy will meet with Martí the first week of September to address only that agreement, as published in the Diari d’ Andorra. Banking, the sources said, also seeks the maximum possible delay implementation of the system of automatic exchange of tax information on bank savings. “He should be ready in 2015, but may not be ready until 2016 and can not. But they try to see if it may be delayed until 2017, “said the same financial sources.

There are differences between them, but the owners know that every minute financial status quo distributes more dividends. The executive of a multinational law, claiming anonymity, said that already took at the time that relaxing the fiscal opacity Switzerland to win funds from wealthy clients while turning a blind eye to the local legislation. “There are some unsophisticated bank believes it can still take more money with that model, but the truth is that the situation and the international pressure exceeds them,” he says, referring to the monitoring of banking transactions that are imposed after the attacks 11-S to control the financing of terrorism.

The last tax amnesty adopted by the Spanish Government and the subsequent conditions to regularize income tax -types more fines-have left many accounts frozen because any transfer can become a clue to regularize tax agencies and can be assumed to lose all the money and even more, if one takes into account the fines. “For the Minister Montoro, Pujol case is a victory,” said Antonio Durán-Sindreu, president of the Spanish Association of Tax Advisors.

But if customers are between the rock and the banks you also. Because in addition to profiting from the 40,000 million euros administering must output the gains that have amassed over the years and have taken them, for example, to be very active in Spain, seizing bank records, hiring managers and purchasing managers asset. And that high exposure in Spain suggests that either the war would pose the Spanish Government

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Banking Andorra in Spain

• Both BBVA and La Caixa abandoned their participation in the Andorran market in 2006 consulted sources say that due to the demands of transparency of the Bank of Spain. While BBVA sold its 51% stake in Banc Internacional d’Andorra, Banc currently Mora, La Caixa came off 35% Andorran Credit. The Sabadell maintained since 2000, when it was founded, 51% of Banc Sabadell d’Andorra.

• The withdrawal of Spanish banks contrasts with the international expansion Andorran banks in recent years, which have been projected into Spain. The aggression shown by the Andorran banking, family capital, surprised. “They try to diversify that Andorra has remained little they have surplus cash,” says professor Eada, Daniel Wuhl.

• d Andbank and Private Banking ‘Andorra (BPA), the two entities that carried out the bank transfer that caused the scandal Pujol, have competed in this ambitious landing Inversis acquiring bank. BPA, which has already acquired by Banco de Madrid signing Interdin values, the asset management company of Banco Valencia, Nordkapp and society Liberbank Management also wanted to buy but was finally Inversis Andbank Bank which took the bank investment fund, in a deal that has caused unrest between the two entities.

• While Andorra is no longer a tax haven, experts the very specialized in private banking, Andorran entities continue to offer products in countries with low taxation.

FE ERROR

In the report titled Banking in Spain Andorrana published today said the company wanted to buy Liberbank Management Liberbank when in fact should say Inversis Bank.