REYKJAVIK, Iceland, April 4 (UPI) — A call for a general election in Iceland is expected Monday after information surfaced regarding the prime minister’s stake in an offshore company.
Sigmundur Davio Gunnlaugsson’s name is mentioned in the “Panama Papers,” a leaked set of 11.5 million documents offering a list of politicians and celebrities who hid millions of dollars in secretive offshore tax shelters to circumvent tax laws.
An anonymous source provided the list, from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specializes in establishing offshore accounts, to a German newspaper.
Maintaining an offshore account to avoid taxes is not illegal but could be perceived as unethical and publication of the list could spur calls for reform.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, family members of Chinese President Xi Jinping, a key member of the scandal-ridden soccer organizing body FIFA, associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin and at least 33 people blacklisted by the U.S. government for offenses including drug dealing and doing business with terrorist groups, are reportedly on the list.
Gunnlaugsson is under fire for not revealing he and his wife have a stake in a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, Wintris Inc., in the seven years he has been involved in Icelandic politics. A demand for a quick general election, in effect a vote of confidence in the prime minister, is expected.
Steingrimur Sigfusson, former Icelandic finance minister, told The Guardian, “We can’t permit this. Iceland would simply look like a banana republic. No one is saying he used his position as prime minister to help this offshore company, but the fact is you shouldn’t leave yourself open to a conflict of interest, and nor should you keep it secret.”
The prime minister and his wife, Anna Sigurlaug Palsdottir, each stressed that Icelandic tax authorities are aware of their financial interests, and there has been no suggestion of tax evasion or dishonesty on their part.
Gunnlaugsson, though, rose through the ranks of Iceland’s politics by decrying foreign creditors who he says were instrumental in the country’s 2008 banking system collapse.
