PANAMA PAPERS: Spain’s Minister for Energy, Industry and Tourism resigned today
In a written statement to the Spanish press, he said: “Politics is an undertaking that must be exemplary at all times…. When that doesn’t happen, a politician must assume his responsibilities.”
(“La política es una actividad que debe ser en todo momento ejemplar también en la pedagogía y en las explicaciones. Cuando así no ocurre, deben asumirse las responsabilidades correspondientes.”)
Below you will find a translation of the news story in El Confidencial, the Spanish newspaper which is a media partner of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
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PANAMA PAPERS RESIGNATION
– Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism announces resignation. Makes statement acknowledging “mistakes” in his explanations but says there is no irregularity
José Manuel Soria, has resigned his position as Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism a few days after El Confidencial and laSexta proved his involvement in offshore companies named in the Panama Papers.
(…)
Soria referred to the “mistakes” he made in his explanations after his name was linked to companies in the so-called Panama Papers. “Politics is an activity that must be exemplary at all times, even when giving information and explanations,” he said in a statement. “When this does not happen, a politician must assume his responsibilities.”
He has resigned because of his blunder in explanations to the media, but does not see any irregularities in his actual behaviour.
After several days in which he gave contradictory explanations and even prepared for his hypothetical defence at a hearing scheduled for Monday, Soria has decided to leave politics altogether because of his implication in the Panama Papers, in a scandal uncovered by El Confidencial and laSexta.
(…)
Soria will now not appear before Congress on Monday as he is no longer a minister. (…)
Early reports revealed last Monday that Soria appeared, with his brother, as director of a company in the Bahamas, created through Mossack Fonseca, whose secrets have been revealed through international research known as the ‘Panama Papers’. The politician at first denied his links to this offshore company or its British namesake, which is registered in Jersey, but El Confidencial and laSexta published a document which he signed in his position as secretary of that (Jersey-registered) company.
The Jersey-registered company was set up in October 1993 and was listed as major shareholder of the Bahamas company since 1997. The company shipped fruit and vegetables from the Canary Islands. Soria had vehemently rejected any relationship with companies based in tax havens.
