Luiz Carlos Trabuco Cappi, currently chairman of Bradesco’s Board of Directors, was chairman of the 2nd largest Brazilian bank for 9 years. When it comes to organizing his own finances, however, he is a global banker: he keeps part of his savings in a offshore in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven in the Caribbean. There is no illegality with the offshore of Trabuco. It was declared to the Federal Revenue, as required by Brazilian law.
At the top of the Brazilian banking system, the use of offshore for investments and paying less tax is common. It is a practice that ranges from traditional institutions –such as Bradesco or Santander– to new banks, such as Inter or Agibank. And it goes through public institutions, such as the BRB (of the Federal District government).
Trabuco Cappi, who presided over Bradesco for 9 years, owns Capvel Overseas Investments Limited. Along with his children, he has at least US$ 5 million in this account. offshore, opened in the British Virgin Islands.
The heiress of Bradesco and president of the bank’s foundation, Denise Aguiar, also has 3 offshore in that same tax haven. Another 4 bank executives or former directors own companies in the British Virgin Islands. Are they:
- Cassian Ricardo Scarpelli, vice president of the bank, created Monte Gennaro International to invest in international bonds, such as “team deposit”, “bonds” and “bills”, as stated in the form he sent to the authorities of the British Virgin Islands;
- Eurico Ramos Fabri, Bradesco’s Credit Director, opened Vincenza Inc. in the Caribbean with his wife and daughter;
- Samuel Monteiro dos Santos Junior, was vice president of holding Bradesco Seguro e Previdência and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the bank and of the Fleury group. He owns Idaho Holding Company with his wife and 2 children;
- Antonio Bornia, who chaired Bradesco in Argentina and served on the Board of Directors until 2015, has Anfamar & Sons Limited with 2 children.
Every offshore Bradesco executives were declared to the Brazilian authorities, according to the bank’s advisors.
From Santander, 3rd private bank in ranking Brazilian, Sérgio Rial, executive director, is also a long-time user of offshore. He has worked abroad for over 20 years. It was at this time that Celtic Associates Ltd opened in the British Virgin Islands. The company’s equity is at least $10 million. Rial says that your offshore was declared to the Internal Revenue Service.
Brazil only charges taxes from offshore in specific situations: when there is distribution of profits, loans or the repatriation of resources. The rates in these cases range from 15% to 27.5%.
None of the bankers mentioned here responded to a question sent by power360: why they prefer to invest outside Brazil if they are bank owners or managers in the country.
The documents of this report were obtained by ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists), a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, USA.
615 journalists from 149 vehicles in 117 countries participated in the investigation. The material has been analyzed for about 1 year for the preparation of the series. In Brazil, journalists from the power360, from the magazine Piauí, gives Public Agency and the website metropolises.
>>> read on here all Pandora Papers texts published by Power360.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has carried out some of the biggest impact investigations in recent years, such as Panama Papers and Swiss Leaks, revealing the darker side of finance and corruption.
These bankers are part of one of the most closed clubs in Brazil: those who use companies offshore to pay less taxes and escape the roller coaster of the Brazilian economy.
new banks
When investing outside Brazil, or avoiding paying taxes, the partners and founders of new banks follow the recipe of traditional bankers.
Rubens Menin, owner of Inter bank, MRV and CNN Brazil, had at least 4 offshore in the British Virgin Islands: Costellis International, Remo Invest, Stormrider Investments and Sherkhoya Enterprises Ltd.
Costellis was created with a common purpose among millionaires: it owns a vessel, worth up to US$75 million, as shown in its incorporation form, dated September 2016. Menin says that all of them were registered and both last, closed.
Marciano Testa, owner of Agibank, was a young prodigy. In 1999, at the age of 23, he founded Agiplan, startup that would give rise to the group.
In 2018, the company adopted the current name. Your bank innovated by using a person’s cell phone number as their account number. The speech was simplicity: anyone with a smartphone can bankroll.
With its investments, it is neither innovative nor simple. He went to the British Virgin Islands to open Yepidale International Ventures Limited.
According to its press office, the company is declared to the Federal Revenue.
In his investments, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Banco Original, Marcio Antonio Teixeira Linares, went to the British Virgin Islands to open Bravar Developments Limited.
The company’s objective, as informed in the opening form, was to invest in real estate in the United States. The estimated value was $1 million. Movements that took place after 2018 are not included in the database.
Teixeira Linares said that his company was declared to all authorities.
public bank
Paulo Henrique Costa, president of BRB, a bank in the Federal District, also owns companies in the British Virgin Islands.
There’s two offshore linked to the executive: Oakwood Investments Ltd and Equinox Investments LLC. He did not say whether they were declared to the tax authorities.
In 2009, Oakwood had 100,000 shares worth $1 each. According to Paulo Henrique Costa, the companies were opened when he was a student abroad and intended to pursue an international career, which did not happen.
He says that there was no movement in the companies and that he would have stopped paying the annual fees. “No financial transactions were carried out through the companies, which are inactive“, he said.
Equinox documents show that in 2015, he had gone 4 years without paying maintenance fees.
PUBLIC INTEREST
As recorded in several texts in the Pandora Papers series, having a company offshore or bank account abroad is not a crime for Brazilians who declare these activities to the Federal Revenue and the Central Bank, as the case may be.
If it’s not a crime, why divulge information about people whose business abroad complies with Brazilian rules? The answer to that question is simple: o power360 and the ICIJ are guided by the principle of journalistic relevance and public interest.
As is well known, there is a difference in how Brazilians should register their companies.
For the vast majority of citizens with registered businesses within Brazil, the data is public. All you have to do is go to a notary office or a Board of Trade to find out who the owners of a particular company are. In the case of those who have a offshore, even if declared, the information is not public.
There are, therefore, 2 types of Brazilian entrepreneurs: 1) those who have their companies in the country and who are exposed to the scrutiny of any other citizen; two) those who are able to open the business outside the country and whose data will be protected by confidentiality.
Those are the rules. In this space it will not be analyzed whether they are iniquitous or not. That’s the law. It must be fulfilled. It is up to Congress, if it wishes, to improve the rules. Journalism is left with the mission of reporting the facts.
It is, therefore, a function of professional journalism to describe to society what is happening in the country. There are citizens who occupy a prominent position and who must always be subjected to greater scrutiny. In this category, among others, celebrities (who live off their public exposure and often receive state subsidy); journalistic media companies and journalists (since one of their functions is precisely to investigate what is right or wrong in the country’s daily life); big businessmen; who makes donations to political campaigns; public workers; politicians in general. And there are even more explicit cases: contractors cited in major scandals, money changers, bookmakers and drug dealers.
All investigations must be judicious and never expose anyone improperly. A great entrepreneur who chooses to open a offshore, properly declared, has every right to do so. But the obligation of professional journalism is also to investigate big business and say how a given company takes care of its resources – always bearing in mind, when applicable, that everything is in accordance with current laws.
Many of the Brazilians mentioned in the Pandora Papers series responded proactively to the power360. They presented proof of the legality of their business abroad. They are citizens who contribute to the common good by understanding the role of professional journalism in scrutinizing who is more politically exposed in society.
The Pandora Papers series is the 8th that the power360 did in partnership with ICIJ (read about the previous ones here). It is a contribution of professional journalism to offer more transparency to society. The principle expressed in the sentence coined by the US Supreme Court Judge Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) about a century ago about access to data of public interest was followed in this report and in others already carried out: “Sunlight is the best disinfectant”. O power360 believes that in this way it fulfills its main mission as a journalism company: “Improving democracy by ascertaining the truth of the facts to inform and inspire”.
This article is part of the Pandora Papers series, from ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists). 615 journalists from 149 vehicles in 117 countries participated in the investigation.
In Brazil, journalists from the power360 (Fernando Rodrigues, Mario Cesar Carvalho, Guilherme Waltenberg, Tiago Mali, Nicolas Iory, Marcelo Damato and Brunno Kono); of the magazine Piauí (José Roberto Toledo, Ana Clara Costa, Fernanda da Escóssia and Allan de Abreu); gives Public Agency (Anna Beatriz Anjos, Alice Maciel, Yolanda Pires, Raphaela Ribeiro, Ethel Rudnitzki and Natalia Viana); and the website metropolises (Guilherme Amado and Lucas Marchesini).