While the hype and protesting around the high-profile release of the Panama Papers has begun to die down, Argentine President Mauricio Macri admitted on Thursday to having over US$18 million offshore in tax havens, while the fortune he had previously made public doubled in 2015, local media reported.
The information was released as part of Macri’s annual declaration of assets which shows he has US$10 million in the United States, where in many states foreigners only pay taxes on interests accrued within the U.S. His statement also shows he has about US$7.6 million in a Swiss bank account.
The fortune he did publicly admit to towards the end of 2014, about US$3.8 milion, jumped to US$7.8 million at the end of 2015.
Meanwhile, the conservative president owned up to holding another US$1.3 million in offshore accounts in the Bahamas, one of the top global tax havens. It was the first time he admitted to such offshore holdings, though he did not specify what kind of account it is.
Macri also acquired four new properties in 2015. He also has holdings in six firms amounting to over US$1.6 million.
The release of financial information comes after Macri shot into the international spotlight at the beginning of April when he was identified as one of the global heads of state directly implicated in the Panama Papers.
Macri and his father and brother were directors of an offshore shell company in the Bahamas up until 2009, which the president failed to disclose when he was the mayor of Buenos Aires.
The president has taken considerable heat over accusations of tax avoidance, including facing new charges pressed by an opposition lawmaker and protests calling on him to resign.