Former chief of the International Monetary Fund, Rodrigo Rato, is under investigation for money laundering, government sources have told Spanish daily El Pais.
According to the newspaper, the Spaniard – a former finance minister – applied for a 2012 tax amnesty. This was legal, however, online publication Vozpopuli claims he ‘cleaned’ the ‘dirty’ money outside of Spain, before declaring it: notably in the tax havens of Gibraltar and the Virgin Islands.
The Tax Agency has provided the Executive Service for Prevention and Capital Laundering (Sepblac) with the names of 705 anonymous taxpayers. Sepblac has launched an investigation into those on the list, who are suspected of using the immunity deal to launder money.
Vozpopuli says Rato – a former government official in Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party – was on this list.
Spain’s current finance minister, Luis de Guindos, refused to elaborate on the alleged investigation.
“I have a duty to keep things under wraps, a
