Guillermo Lasso

Ecuador - President

About

Guillermo Lasso is the president of Ecuador. A former banker, he founded the Creating Opportunities (CREO) Party in 2012. After unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 2013 and 2017, he was elected last April and sworn into office in May . He previously served as Ecuador’s itinerant ambassador in 2003 and as a “super minister” to coordinate economic policy, a job that lasted only about a month in 1999. He also served as governor of Guayas province in 1998. Lasso headed Banco Guayaquil for almost two decades, beginning in 1994.

In 2011, before launching his first presidential campaign, Lasso created GLM Management Trust in Ecuador to hold his assets, including 40% of the shares of Corporation MultiBG, the majority owner of Banco Guayaquil. The other main shareholders of MultiBG are two of Lasso’s siblings. Lasso told ICIJ that GLM Management Trust holds his investment in Banco Guayaquil SA and has “no current relation” to any foreign company. Its trustee is an Ecuadorian management company.

Lasso said that the source of his income comes from Banco Guayaquil. “That fact is well known to the general public as well as to the control authorities in the country,” he said.

Political Career

President (2021-present)

Itinerant Ambassador (January 2003- unknown)

Governor of Guayas province (August 1998- to August 1999)

Super Minister of Economy (August-September 1999)

In The Pandora Papers

Tarin holds one offshore company, Triperna Inc., while three of his family members hold three others named Hamra Inc., Moonen Inc. and Seafex Inc. All four companies were registered in the Seychelles in 2014 to hold investments, according to the Pandora Papers. The records of all four companies are maintained by Tariq Fawad Malik, a financial consultant based in Dubai, who received company records and managed correspondence. According to Malik, the companies were set up as part of the Tarin family’s intended investment in a bank with a Saudi business. Malik told the ICIJ that, “as a mandatory prerequisite by [the] regulator, we engaged with the Central Bank of Pakistan to obtain their ’in-principle’ approval for the said strategic investment.” The deal didn’t proceed.

Tarin did not respond to ICIJ’s repeated request for comment. In a statement issued on the day of the Pandora Papers’ publication, Tarin said, “The off-shore companies mentioned were incorporated as part of the fund raising process for my Bank.”

Secrecy Jurisdictions

Panama

Secrecy Broker

At the heart of the Pandora Papers are 14 offshore firms that help clients establish companies in secrecy jurisdictions. This profile draws on leaked data from these providers:

Alcogal - Trident Trust

Discover this Power Player’s offshore connections.