The sons of former President Alvaro Uribe Friday defended their use of an offshore tax haven, revealed in records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
“We created a company in the British Virgin Islands in partnership with a friend to commercialize artisan goods abroad. We chose this location because our friend resided there, who had lived outside of Colombia for 14 years and who we had known for 11 years, while one of us was studying outside of the country,” said Tomas and Jeronimo Uribe, in a statement released Friday. “While we were partners, the company did not operate; it did not produce income, nor could we pay the subscribed capital. A few months after creating it [the company] we retired through formal legal action.”
The statement came in response to records revealed by the ICIJ, which stated that the sons of former President Uribe were “shareholders of Asia America Investment Corporation (2008) in the British Virgin Islands.”
Former President Uribe’s sons have been implicated in wide range of illegal activity, however as yet none of the charges have stuck.
NEWS ARCHIVE: Tomas Uribe, Jeronimo Uribe
Sources
- Who Uses the Offshore World (ICIJ)
- Tomas y Jerónimo Uribe aseguran que han actuado con “honestidad y disciplina”
