It is impossible to audit a complex financial vehicle such as the one formed by Energy and Health Minister Konrad Mizzi, experts in the field of trusts have told the Times of Malta. Panama is one of the few jurisdictions that still allows the registration of companies holding bearer shares. This is the highest level of secrecy still permitted in the financial world and, according to experts, puts transparency into serious doubt. "Bearer shares have been outlawed in the EU and only a few jurisdictions in the world still allow it. With the proviso of bearer shares one can never really know what and who is behind a company, whether it has such shares and what assets are being traded," one expert said. "This is why whoever wants to be transparent cannot have at the same time such companies in Panama." Bearer shares are physical certificates which are owned by whoever has possession of them (or bears them). These are unlike registered shares, which are registered to a person in a registry. Bearer shares can be traded very quickly and easily, by simply handing over the shares to the new shareholder. This means companies with bearer shares can change owners many times without anyone...
from timesofmalta.com http://ift.tt/21yBVmg
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