Rise Project: Romania’s richest has his whole fortune placed in a foundation in Panama

Former tennis player Ion Tiriac, the richest man in Romania, has his whole fortune placed in a private foundation in Panama. The information appears in the confidential documents leaked from the Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama, known as the Panama Papers, which were analyzed by Romanian investigative journalism team Rise Project. The documents reveal that Ion Tiriac used Mossack Fonseca’s services to transfer the control over all of his assets from an offshore firm registered in the British Virgin Islands, Fieldhurst Limited, to a private foundation registered in Panama, which is called the Puma Foundation. This happened in 2009. Ion Tiriac is the foundation’s Chairman and the board members are Tiriac’s German friend Klaus Mangold, the billionaire’s sister Rodica Tiriac, his son Ion Alexandru Tiriac, and Tiriac’s lawyer and close collaborator Nicolai Mindrila. Mindrila explained to the Rise Project journalists that the Puma Foundation’s purpose was to execute Tiriac’s last will after his death. The foundation controls all of Tiriac’s fortune, which Forbes currently estimates at some USD 1.16 billion. Tiriac’s lawyer also explained that the Romanian tax agency and Romania’s National Bank have been aware of Tiriac’s offshore holdings at least since 2005, as the billionaire had a significant stake in UniCredit Bank Romania, which is regulated by the central bank. Ion Tiriac, 76, sold his stakes in UniCredit Bank Romania, the country’s fifth largest bank by assets, and in Metro Cash& Carry Romania, in 2015, for some EUR 800 million, according to estimates by Romanian media. He still controls a 45% stake in Allianz-Tiriac Asigurari, one of the top 3 insurance companies in Romania, and the Tiriac Holding, a group of companies with activities in real estate, auto, energy, and other sectors. Tiriac also owns the Madrid tennis tournament and the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy ATP tournament in Bucharest. Former Daimler CEO, a member ofTiriac’s Puma Foundation Klaus Mangold, one of the Puma Foundation’s members, is Tiriac’s close friend and partner. A former Daimler CEO between 1995 and 2003, Mangold has also been a board member in several big German corporations with a strong presence in Romania, such as Metro, Continental, Swarco, and Alstom. Tiriac and Mangold started their cooperation in the early 1990s when the former tennis player became the official importer of the Mercedes cars in Romania.