The Pandora Papers Scandal Reaches Bolivian Politicians

The Jeanine Añez Regime's former Finance Minister Branko Marinkovic, former Finance Minister Fernando Illanes, and Pedro Valdivia the former Consul in Brazil are implicated in the concealment of assets in tax havens denounced by the Pandora Papers.

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There are 293 Bolivians involved in tax haven practices, with 130 companies registered in countries like Panama or the Virgin Islands. Among them are 3 former public officers with multiple offshore companies worth millions of dollars.

In 2002, Marinkovic and his relatives created the company Granol in Panama. He also owns another 4  offshore joint ventures with his family, according to the 2016 Panama Papers.

Marinkovic was fleeing from Bolivian justice before the 2019 coup led by Senator Añez. After the breakdown of the constitutional order, he also managed to become Minister of Development Planning.

Valdivia, who was the Consul of Bolivia in Sao Paulo during the Morales government also created an offshore company, Hines Finance Corporation, from 2008 to 2014, just 2 years prior he stepped down as Consul.

Recently deceased Fernando Illanes created 2 offshore accounts in the Virgin Islands worth almost US$3 million. The accounts were trust funds for his children. Illanes also owned another company in Panama, provided by the infamous Mossack Fonseca law firm, as reported in past investigations.

The Pandora Papers identified that 60 percent of beneficiaries of these accounts/companies were family groups. The report states that fathers create trust funds for their children or appoints them as the beneficiary of their companies. The main objective seems to be giving family members high sums of money without having to declare them or paying related taxes.