A “Greek angle” emerged from the so-called “Panama Papers” disclosure this week, with a former aide to the previous Greek prime minister amongst the thousands of names listed in the roughly 11.5 million leaked documents of a Panama-based law firm suspected of facilitating large-scale money laundering.
According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), whose reports over recent days generated intense media reactions around the world, Stavros Papastavros served on the boards of the off-shore companies Green Shamrock Foundation και Diman Foundation between 2004 and 2016. After 2006 he appears as the alternate president of a firm called Aisios Foundation, whose board members also included well-known Greek businessmen Constantinos Lanaras and Spyros Metaxas.
According to the ICIJ website, Papastavros admitted that he did serve on the board of the three offshore firms, but he said he did so as a favor to two family friends and without any compensation. He also underlined that he did not retain ownership rights in the companies; therefore, he did not declare his participation to tax authorities.
In a later response sent to local news media, Papastavros, who served as a close aide to former prime minister Antonis Samaras, said he was a member of the companies’ “Foundation Councils” and not their board of directors or as shareholder of the offshore companies or on any related accounts.
“The members of the councils of the three foundations were the sole choice of the (foundations’) founders. My participation in the council reflected the trust the founders had in my person and my capacity as an attorney … in order for them to ensure the execution of their wishes in case of their death.
