Nexia BT has insisted that anonymous bearer shares, which are outlawed in Europe, were not used to transfer ownership of the mystery third Panama company, Egrant.

Egrant’s public registry documents show it was authorised to issue both registered and bearer shares, which are legal in Panama.

Contacted by Times of Malta, Brian Tonna, whose company Nexia BT was involved in opening two Panama companies for Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, insisted that no bearer shares had ever been issued by Egrant.

Bearer shares allow the ownership of companies to be transferred anonymously without the need for documentation.

Documents in the Panama Papers indicated that Mossack Fonseca had provided Nexia BT with four blank share certificates when the company was incorporated in 2013.

READ: Nexia BT says it owns Egrant

Mr Tonna told this paper that these four certificates were not bearer shares but standard forms provided on the back of registered share certificates so that, if desired, the shares could be transferred.

Mr Tonna said no such share transfers had taken place for Egrant and ownership never left his hands.

Publicly available documents for Egrant show that the authorised share capital of the company is $10,000, divided into 100 shares.

Mr Tonna said that only one of the 100 shares was ever issued by Egrant, and this was a registered share held in his name.

Nexia BT’s managing director also provided a document signed by Egrant’s director and president, Ricardo Samaniego, saying that the company’s share capital is, and always has been, one share since its incorporation in July 2013.

Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna says that this document proves no bearer shares were ever issued by Egrant.Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna says that this document proves no bearer shares were ever issued by Egrant.

Mr Tonna said power of attorney over Egrant was never granted to anyone else and the company had never engaged in any activity.

Speculation over who owns Egrant came to a head last Sunday when Mr Tonna claimed ownership of the firm.

Mr Tonna presented a Mossack Fonseca document to MaltaToday showing that he was the “ultimate beneficial shareholder” of Egrant.

According to the OECD, the term ‘ultimate beneficial shareholder’ is not defined and may not necessarily be the actual owner (‘ultimate beneficial owner’) of the company. Mr Tonna insisted that the two terms meant the same thing and were used interchangeably.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil has been insinuating since the Panama Papers scandal broke last year that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat owned Egrant.

Up until last Sunday, Dr Muscat always challenged Dr Busuttil to prove his insinuations, yet stopped short of outright denying ownership of Egrant.

The Prime Minister said that his silence on Egrant “may have been a mistake” but “clear evidence” now existed for who owned the company.

Two weeks ago, Mossack Fonseca’s founding partners, Ramon Fonseca and Jurgen Mossack, were arrested in Panama for running what prosecutors described as a “criminal organisation”.

The two men are still being held in custody after being denied bail.

 

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