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Argentine President Mauricio Macri's cabinet chief finally broke his silence and told the press that his boss had “nothing to hide” regarding offshore accounts revealed by the Panama Papers leak tying Macri to the ongoing scandal.
Cabinet Chief Marcos Peña was accompanied by two other government ministers, Justice Minister German Garavano and Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, in Tuesday's press conference.
“No information was communicated previously because there was nothing to say,” claimed Peña, despite the fact that the opposition in Argentina had been clamoring for a response from Macri.
Macri silencing critics?None of these organizations the Inter-American Press Association, the Committee to Protect Journalists or Reporters Without Borders (RSF USA) have spoken out against President Macri's decision to close teleSUR, a station which has always had a left-wing anti-neoliberal editorial line. #DontSilenceTeleSUR
Posted by teleSUR English on Tuesday, 5 April 2016
Peña also insisted that President Macri had been “absolutely transparent” about his finances. However, Macri has come under heavy criticism for failing to disclose the his connection to an offshore company in his asset declarations in 2007 and 2008.
Macri was director and vice president of Bahamas-based company Fleg Trading, created in 1998 and dissolved in 2009. The company was managed by Mossack Fonseca when he was a businessman and mayor of Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires.
IN DEPTH:
The Panama Papers
AFP revealed that Argentine president was linked to a second offshore company known as Kagemusha S.A.
Cabinet Chief Peña also denied any wrongdoing in connection to that second company, which belonged to Macri's father. Peña said that Macri was named in Kagemusha's documentation because he was person of trust but that the company never engaged in any activity.
“What we can guarantee is that there is not a business where the president has assets nor any undeclared accounts,” said Macri.
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