Neelie Kroes under fire after leak reveals offshore business

The EU’s former competition chief failed to disclose position in Bahamas holding company.

Former European Commissioner Neelie Kroes was among those named Wednesday in new leaked documents about offshore companies in the Bahamas, which showed a company directorship she had failed to disclose as required by EU ethics rules.

Kroes, who held Commission posts overseeing competition and digital agenda policies between 2004 and 2014, was listed as director of the Bahamian company Mint Holdings Limited during at least some of that period, according to the leaks, which were published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

But Kroes, who now holds paid advisory positions with Uber and Bank of America and who recently wrote an opinion articlecriticizing the EU’s state-aid action against Apple, did not include Mint Holdings on a list of dozens of company positions.

The news of her undeclared business relationship while serving in an EU regulatory role comes as the Commission’s “revolving-door” policy is already the subject of controversy.

Former Commission President José Manuel Barroso’s acceptance in July of a senior position with Goldman Sachs was heavily criticized by European politicians and lobbying watchdog groups. The outcry prompted the EU executive’s current chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, to refer the matter to the Commission’s internal ethics panel for review.

Asked about her role in the Bahamas company, Kroes responded through her lawyer, who said: “My client agrees that formally she should have declared this directorship [to the Commission] … Mrs. Kroes will inform the president of the European Commission of this oversight and will take full responsibility for it,” theGuardian reported.

Kroes was listed as a director of Mint Holdings between July 2000 and October 2009. The company was said to have been funded by the United Arab Emirates, and was set up to buy international assets of the energy company Enron. When she joined the Commission, Kroes declared former roles at more than 60 companies and bodies, but did not mention Mint Holdings, according to the leaks.

The Commission’s code of conduct states: “Commissioners may not engage in any other professional activity, whether gainful or not.”

European politicians were quick to call for greater scrutiny of commissioners’ business dealings.

“Barroso has already undermined the image and the credibility of the Commission by announcing that he will work for Goldman Sachs, the bank which helped Greece to conceal its public accounts,” said Gianni Pittella, leader of the Socialists bloc in the European Parliament, in a statement. “Now we have a former member of the Barroso team whose name is mentioned in the Bahamas leaks and who risks further ruining the reputation of the European institutions.”

Pittella called for the Commission to tighten its conflict-of-interest rules, and said the Parliament’s committee investigating tax shelters should look into the new revelations.

Kroes’ lawyer said she was not paid for her role, did not offer advice on the Enron deal and did not hold shares in the company. Kroes said the company never became operational and there had been no board meetings.

“Kroes’ links to the proposed Enron deal would have remained secret were it not for a leak,” said Transparency International EU’s Carl Dolan. “We need genuine transparency around who owns what, otherwise we will have to rely on the fallible memories and record-keeping of politicians.”

Also named in the leaks is U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd. The leaks reveal Rudd’s involvement with two offshore companies, and another where her co-director was jailed for fraud, the Guardian reported.

The documents from the Bahamas corporate registry include names of directors and owners of more than 175,000 Bahamian companies, trusts and foundations registered between 1990 and early 2016. The Bahamas is one of the world’s most notorious tax havens.

The leak comes five months after the release of the Panama Papers, a database that contains information on more than 200,000 offshore entities.