Alitalia President and former
Ferrari chief Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and Italian banks UBI
Banca and Unicredit were among the subjects to be named in the
so-called 'Panama Papers' case over offshore accounts and
companies.
The leaking of around eleven million documents held by
the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca to German newspaper
Suddeutsche Zeitung has created a worldwide scandals after many
world leaders and famous personalities, including Russian
President Vladimir Putin and soccer player Leo Messi, were
named.
Holding offshore accounts is not illegal.
But such accounts are often linked to tax evasion and
other illegal activity.
Suddeutsche Zeitung shared the documents with the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, with news
weekly L'Espresso getting access in Italy.
L'Espresso said it had found about 1,000 Italian clients
in its analysis of the documents.
These included former Formula One driver Jarno Trulli and
the businessman Giuseppe Donaldo Nicosia, a fugitive of Italian
justice after being implicated in a fraud case with jailed ex
Senator Marcello dell'Utri.
Dell'Utri, who used to be one of ex-premier Silvio
Berlusconi's closest aides, is currently serving a seven-year
jail term for mafia links.
L'Espresso said Montezemolo's name appeared in the
documents after he was named as an agent for a company called
Lenville in a series of contracts signed early in 2007.
"The manager, who at the time was president of Fiat and
Ferrari, allegedly received a mandate to use an account at Bim
Suisse, the Swiss branch of the Italian Banca Intermobiliare,"
L'Espresso said.
Sources close to Montezemolo said Monday that the Alitalia
president, who is also head of Rome's bid committee for the 2024
Olympics, does not own any offshore companies.
"Neither Montezemolo, nor his family, possess any offshore
companies," the sources said.
UniCredit said that "Mossack Fonseca is not a tax
consultant for the parent group".
UBI Banca said "we do not have subsidiary companies in
those locations" referring to Panama and the Seychelles.
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