A series of revelations about tax crimes by Ecuadorian presidential candidate Daniel Noboa have shaken the chances of the young billionaire businessman who was leading the polls in the presidential elections being held today in Ecuador.
Left-wing candidate Luisa González regained lost ground in the final days of the campaign in part because of evidence that Noboa, 35, son of banking magnate and Ecuador's richest man, Álvaro Noboa Pontó, has benefited of asset transfers carried out in the tax haven of Panama.
It emerges from documents leaked through the Pandora Papers investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (CIPI) to which the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo has had access, that Noboa is one of the main beneficiaries and owners of Lanfranco Holdings S.A., based in the offshore center of Panama and one of the largest entities of the Noboa family conglomerate.
La Vanguardia has been able to verify by accessing the files referring to the Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers - that Noboa appears in dozens of other secret documents leaked to the CIPI that prove tax crimes committed by hundreds of high-net-worth individuals in dozens of countries.
Likewise, according to the Financial Times, Noboa is also involved in a confrontation over control of his father's banana company "which could create conflicts of interest if he is president," as the British newspaper concludes.
As published by Folha de Sao Paulo on Friday, a document sent on June 10, 2015, by Álvaro Noboa Pontón to the law firm Alemán, Cordero, Galindo
In the event of a victory for Noboa, evidence of illegal offshore activities could call his candidacy into question, since Ecuadorian law prohibits presidential candidates from maintaining assets or capital in tax havens.
The papers to which Folha had access also show that the account of Lanfranco Holdings S.A. It is in the Banisi bank, controlled by the current Ecuadorian president, Guillermo Lasso. In 2021, the Pandora Papers showed that Lasso had ties to more than ten offshore companies in Panama. That same year, the president was investigated by the Ecuadorian Comptroller's Office and Parliament, who were looking for evidence that he had assets in tax havens when he ran for president. Months later, the case was closed due to lack of evidence. Lasso called the early elections due to a crisis of legitimacy of his presidency amid accusations of corruption and relations with organized crime.
