Alejandro Gonzalez Montpetit: context for my entry in ICIJ’s database
My name appears in ICIJ’s Offshore Leaks database because of my connection with Orangenbaum Gruppe Limited, a company incorporated in Malta. I want to explain that connection and provide context for people consulting the record, including financial institutions reviewing my profile.
What ICIJ’s record says
The record under my name identifies its source as Paradise Papers — Malta corporate registry and lists a shareholder relationship with Orangenbaum Gruppe Limited. The record states that the Malta corporate registry data is current through 2016.
ICIJ explains that it added information from Malta’s corporate registry to its database. Its disclaimer also makes clear that inclusion does not, by itself, imply illegal or improper conduct. That distinction matters when interpreting my entry. ICIJ’s explanation of the dataset.
My connection with Orangenbaum and Palos
My involvement concerned a business operating websites that earned advertising revenue. Palos Holdings Limited was my holding company in Malta.
The dates matter. Palos was incorporated in April 2017. In June of that year, I signed documentation to contribute my Orangenbaum shares to Palos. The direct relationship recorded in ICIJ’s data through 2016 and the later holding through Palos therefore relate to different points in time.
Palos initially held one third of Orangenbaum. In 2021, one of the three partners left, and the two remaining partners each held half through our respective companies. This is why the October 2023 ownership chart shows Palos holding 50% of Orangenbaum.
For financial institutions reviewing my profile
This is my personal account of the context behind the entry. I ask reviewers to distinguish a historical corporate connection from a finding about my conduct, and to consider the dates of the underlying documents.
I can provide corporate documents and further explanations through the secure channel specified by the institution reviewing my case. I do not publish identity documents, addresses, signatures or private financial documents here.
This page supplements ICIJ’s historical record. It is not a determination by ICIJ, a public authority or a financial institution.