Spanish minister quits over Panama Papers scandal

Spain’s acting Industry Minister José Manuel Soria resigned on Friday after his involvement in offshore companies was disclosed by the Panama Papers leak.

 

Soria, from the Popular Party, said in a statement that he was quitting his job “in light of the series of mistakes committed in the past few days” regarding his business links to tax havens, reports politico.

 

He initially denied allegations of involvement in a firm in the Bahamas, before further information emerged about his ties to a company based on the island of Jersey, including a document bearing his signature. Soria said the business links in question dated from before he entered politics in 1995.

 

Soria, who has been minister of industry, energy and tourism since 2011, acknowledged the situation was causing “damage” to the government and his party.

 

He also also gave up his seat in Congress and his presidency of the PP in the Canary Islands.

 

The leader of the main opposition Socialists, Pedro Sánchez, said acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy should explain the affair to parliament, while Pablo Iglesias of the anti-austerity party Podemos tweeted that the conservatives “must explain themselves, investigate and pay back what is owed.”