IN THE INTEREST OF THE PUBLIC
Hugo Sluimer, Dutchman born in Woerden, resident of the Dominican Republic and accused of money laundering and tax evasion in the US, has labeled journalists Anouk Kootstra and Karlijn Kuijpers of De Groene Amsterdammer as biased. He alleges their negative reporting on his Panamanian offshore company director, Paul van Lienden—who is connected to organized crime, money laundering, fraud and tax evasion—stems from jealousy and a leftist bias, rather than factual analysis.
Hugo Sluimer (left) and partner Mikko Pakkanen (Right)
The controversial article, titled “The Man Who Hides Millions,” delves into Van Lienden's involvement in various international financial crimes, as unveiled in the Pandora Papers. It details his role at International Corporate Structuring (ICS) in Monaco, where he was instrumental in creating shell companies in tax havens to facilitate fraud, money laundering, tax evasion etc. Van Lienden has been linked to high-profile corruption cases, including the Brazilian Petrobras scandal, illegal arms deals in France, a major corruption case in Senegal etc., all involving significant financial misconduct.
In the Brazilian Petrobras scandal, Van Lienden managed shell companies and bank accounts for Renato Duque, a former director of Petrobras who was later sentenced to 57 years for crimes including corruption and money laundering. Van Lienden's role in setting up these companies was crucial for hiding and transferring illicit funds.
Despite the seriousness of these cases and their legal consequences, Hugo Sluimer has dismissed the journalists' motivations as mere jealousy and leftist ideology, without providing evidence for his claims.
Sluimer said in a recorded conversation: “They are ofcourse jealous leftists reporters”
Sluimer himself, "ofcourse" is a client of Van Lienden's ICS, faces accusations of money laundering and tax evasion in Miami, Florida. He acknowledged his connection to organized crime in a recorded call, referring to the news about Van Lienden as "We already knew that, that's old news." 'We' probably refers to Mikko Pakkanen and other Finnish investors in the "Clean formula" listed below.
Public records and a 2022 BVI news article indicate that Sluimer and his partners continued their business dealings with ICS and Van Lienden, despite being aware of his / their link to organised crime. Sluimer was accused of money laundering and tax evasion activities as early as 2018, years before the Pandora Papers were released to the public.
Moreover, Sluimer reportedly developed a scheme to evade US taxation using offshore companies and fake loans, involving Finnish investors and luxury properties in Miami. The Finns and Sluimer pooled money for investment. They decided Sluimer would be the disguised third-party offshore lender, barred from being a member of the US company. The money was lent to an offshore company Sluimer was involved in. Sluimer would then directly or indirectly lend the money to Blue Key Investments, LLC, and affiliates in Florida at high-interest rates. Sluimer then received tax-free interest payments offshore to siphon off the US profits which he would payout to himself and the Finnish investors. Sluimer was quoted saying that "It takes a long time to get the profits out because the interest accrues very slowly".
In conclusion, Hugo Sluimer's allegations against the journalists appear to be a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from the fact that Van Lienden, his company director, is a documented facilitator of international organized crime. The article outlines Van Lienden's business practices, which seem very similar to what Sluimer is accused of. The exposure of Van Lienden's activities in the Pandora Papers and subsequent public cases are the reasons articles were written. Sluimer's claim against these respected reporters is without merit, slanderous and an attempt to twist the facts. The reporters are part of a world-wide group of 600 investigative journalists working on analysing the Pandora papers database. Ironically, Sluimerrefusestoreleasehis US taxreturns.
