On July 7, our media outlet published that businessman José Ortiz managed dubious wealth and that he directs more than a dozen companies that could be used for money laundering.
Veneto SA appears among the firms cited, which would have acquired Tabesa cigarettes for a total of US$ 17.7 million. The article cites Jorge Mendoza and Gloria Beatriz Schulz as directors of this firm.
“Furthermore, Veneto SA lent money to the cement company Secon, no more and no less than US$6 million. Although José Ortiz and Sarah Cartes appear as the main shareholders of Veneto SA, they also appear as partners: César Luiz Cuadri Santi and Luiz Constantino Santi, the latter, a Brazilian national who has already been investigated in Paraguay. At that time, the inspectors had detected smuggling of cigarettes quantified at about US$ 22 million, belonging to the company Tabacalera SA, chaired by the Brazilian”, reads part of the article.
RIGHT TO REPLY
César Luiz Quadri Santi reported that the data published about him and his father; Luiz Constantino Santi are incorrect.
“My father and I were founders of the company Veneto SA and we sold it to the Cartes Group in 2015. When the alleged loans from Veneto SA to Secon occurred, we no longer belonged to the board of directors or to the corporate composition of said company. Regarding the smuggling of cigarettes, the information is totally false. The Tabacalera SA company to which the publication refers was investigated for tax evasion and totally dismissed of any fault more than 20 years ago, ”he said.
