Iona Napier
FORMER Spanish finance minister Rodrigo Rato has been outed in the Panama papers leak.
Allegations have emerged that the ex-Bankia boss employed a Gibraltarian company Finsbury Trust and Corporate Services which instructed Mossack Fonseca to close two offshore companies for him.
Under the move in 2013, the former IMF chief was able to syphon off €3.6 million.
The allegations may be the tip of the iceberg for the ex-Bankia boss however as he is believed to have links to many offshore companies including 26 in Gibraltar, two of which he owned.
Rato is already being probed for money laundering and was ordered to cough up €3 million to Bankia last year due to ‘mismanagement’ and his role in the ‘black cards’ credit card scandal.
The news comes as Spain’s minister of industry, energy and tourism Jose Manuel Soria resigned after he himself was linked to offshore investments.
Meanwhile, the ex-girlfriend of former Spanish king Juan Carlos, German Corinna zu sayn-Wittgenstein, has also been connected to the Panama papers.
The Princess allegedly attempted to transfer shares from USA to the British Virgin Islands via Gibraltar.
