The statements of the Chartist deputy about the ownership of the Amambay bank reinforce the suspicions that Horacio Cartes used his sister Sarah as a front man and that the entity was capitalized via a loan, violating the provisions of the banking law.
The statements made by the president of the ANR, Pedro Alliana, about the ownership of the Amambay bank are very striking because, on paper, Sarah Cartes, the sister of Horacio Cartes, is the one who appears as a shareholder with 91% of the total shares and, therefore, is the owner of the financial institution.
However, when the Chartist deputy indicates that the former president is the owner of the entity, the version that former Interior Minister Arnaldo Giuzzio had denounced weeks ago is reinforced, that, in reality, Sarah’s presence is just a screen to avoid anti-money laundering controls.
In that complaint that was presented to the Secretariat of Prevention against Money Laundering (Seprelad) it was indicated that Horacio had lent a volume of money worth G. 330,000 million as credit, an amount that is exactly equivalent to the total value of Sarah’s actions.
If the Public Ministry and Seprelad did their job of crossing data and this is how it has been denounced, the former president’s sister would also be committing a crime, because to be a shareholder of a financial institution, the banking law indicates that the funds They must be your own and not the product of a loan.
When consulting experts in the financial sector on this issue, they pointed out to this medium that the regulations prohibit capitalizing a financial institution through a loan. They indicated that, if Horacio did lend money to Sarah to be the majority shareholder, an illegality was committed. Up to 10% of the total value of the shares there are not so rigorous controls, but when that percentage is exceeded, the origin of the resources is investigated in depth and in this case, Sarah appears with 91% of the total shares.
They also pointed out that the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) through the Superintendence of Banks should never have allowed an event like the one being denounced to occur and that, in the event that it is shown that it was capitalized through a loan, the entity should be intervened.
As an example, these banking market agents pointed out that in the merger by absorption process that was carried out between BBVA and the GNB bank, strict controls were made on the origin of the money to approve the purchase operation. Measures have to be taken because if this happens, it sets a very serious precedent for the system, indicated the sources who spoke with El Independiente.
