Secretive Tax: Kufuor's son named in global tax evasion scam

This was contained in the latest leaks by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists dubbed 'Paradise papers'.

A son of former President John Agyekum Kufuor has popped up in an investigative piece dubbed the "Panama Papers" and authored by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on offshore business.

The data provides rare insights and proves how a global industry led by major banks, legal firms, and asset management companies secretly manages the estates of the world’s rich and famous: from politics, entertainment and sport who have sheltered their wealth in secretive tax havens.

This was contained in the latest leaks by ICIJ dubbed 'Paradise papers'.

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The details come from a leak of 13.4m files that expose the global environments in which tax abuses can thrive – and the complex and seemingly artificial ways the wealthiest corporations can legally protect their wealth.

The name of Kufuor's son has popped up among the findings of the year-long investigation by the ICIJ and German newspaper.

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The material, which has come from two offshore service providers and the company registries of 19 tax havens.

Kufuor is the eldest son of his father. He is a trained accountant and has worked in the hotel industry.

Throughout 2005, local media reported allegations that he gained lucrative government contracts and private sector business deals through paternal connections.

An official commission later found no evidence of wrongdoing.

In early 2001, shortly after the start of Kufuor's presidential term, he appointed Mossack Fonseca to manage The Excel 2000 Trust.

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Later that year, it controlled a bank account in Panama worth $75,000. His mother - Theresa Kufuor, then-Ghana’s first lady - was also a beneficiary.

In November 2010, an employee in Mossack Fonseca's compliance office in the British Virgin Islands suggested to colleagues that "due to the apparent prevalence of corruption surrounding Mr. Kufour we would not recommend us taking him on as a client or continuing business with him."

Mossack Fonseca, however, continued to do business with Kufuor. In 2012, Kufuor asked Mossack Fonseca to close the trust.

Files also connected Kufuor with BVI companies Fordiant Ltd and Stamford International Investments Group Limited. Both were registered when Kufuor’s father was president of Ghana and became inactive in 2004 and 2007.

This was contained in the latest leaks by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists dubbed 'Paradise papers'. Read Full Story