Panama papers: ex Prez. Kufuor, Kofi Annan sons named

• Posted on April 5, 2016
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Eldest son of former president John Agyekum Kufuor has been cited in the leaked document of one of the world’s major offshore secret companies, Mossack Fonseca.

The document says after the former President was sworn into office in early 2001, Mr John Addo Kufuor appointed Mossack Fonseca to manage The Excel 2000 Trust – his offshore account.

It revealed later that year, Mr Addo Kufuor controlled a bank account in Panama – a country in North America – worth $75, 000.

The document disclosed further that Theresa Kufuor, his mother, also benefited from the account operated by John Agyekum Kufuor.

An employee of Mossack Fonseca’s compliance office in the British Virgin Islands suggested Mr Kufuor should be cleared out of the client list of the company because of what he described as “prevalence of corruption surrounding” him, the leaked document has revealed.

However, Mossack Fonseca refused to comply with the suggestion of the employee but rather continued to do business with him.

Mr Kufuor requested for the trust to be closed in the year 2012, the document says adding he is also involved in other companies such as BVI companies Fordiant Ltd and Stamford International Investments Group Limited – companies said to be registered when the former President was in office.

The document has not pointed out if the money in Mr Addo Kufuor’s offshore account was gotten through corrupt means.

On Kojo Annan, who was sole director of the Samoan company Sapphire Holding Ltd, originally incorporated in Niue in 2003, the files show that he had used the name of the company to buy an apartment in central London.

The apartment was purchased in a transaction completed in 2003 for more than $500,000, according to U.K. records. Sapphire Holding used unnamed shareholders until 2015 when Kojo Annan became a listed shareholder with a Ghana address.

Mossack Fonseca continued to communicate with Annan at the central London address, Argyll Mansions, into 2015. Kojo Annan was also a joint shareholder and director of two British Virgin Islands companies incorporated in 2002.

What are the Panama papers?

The Panama papers are leaked documents showing how Mossack Fonseca clients were able to launder money through the evasion of tax.

Who is in the papers?

So far there are about 12 current heads of states and former government officials cited in the document. There are also more than 60 relatives and associates of these heads of states implicated in the papers.

Some experts on foreign policy have described the documents as one of the biggest financial leaks in the world.

-myjoyonline