Documents from Seprelad, Paraguay's Secretariat for the Prevention of Money or Property Laundering. The reports known as Patron Papers were first released to the press in 2022, and include an investigation into tobacco smuggling and payments made to public officials by companies linked to former president Horacio Cartes.
The Seprelad investigation details the president's connections to the money launderer Darío Messer, and payments made to public officials who were investigating the Messer affair. This dataset was shared with DDoSecrets after Paraguayan authorities opened an investigation into the 2022 leak and asked two outlets that covered the dataset to disclose names of their journalists writing the stories about the money laundering investigations.
Statement from the source
"In May 2022, Paraguay’s main media outlets published portions of financial reports, calling them #PatronPapers. These financial intelligence reports were created by the Seprelad, the Secretariat for the Prevention of Money or Property Laundering, and were delivered to the public prosecutor office.
"The reports link the former president of Paraguay Horacio Cartes, and current senator Erico Galeano, with tobacco companies in a money laundering scheme involving cigarette smuggling networks. Although the prosecutors received the full report from the Seprelad investigation, they continued to protect the politicians and the companies involved.
"Later, the prosecutors opened a criminal case to investigate the leak of the report. On August 18, 2023, media outlets reported receiving a legal request with an intimidating tone, asking even for the names of the journalists who had written the stories.
"Because of this intimidation and the abuse of the freedom of the press in Paraguay, all the financial reports implicating expresident Horacio Cartes in a money laundering and cigarette smuggling ring, which Seprelad delivered to the prosecutor’s office, are now public. In addition, this new full leak includes other financial intelligence reports linking Dario Messer to currency exchange and to the current legislator for the Colorado party, María González Vaesken. There are 28 financial intelligence reports, including 1620 pages, adding up to 474 MB."
Research
- Patron Papers: publican documentos filtrados de la investigación de Seprelad a Cartes (ABC Color)
- Filtran documentos que involucran a Cartes en operaciones de lavado y lo conectan con Corea del Norte (La Política Online)
- Erico Galeano, sacado de tabacalera ligada a HC tras nexo con A Ultranza (ABC Color)
- La propia Seprelad de Horacio Cartes lo vinculaba con el lavador Darío Messer (ABC Color)
- Filtraciones de Patrón Papers involucran al diputado Tiki González con esquema Messer (La Clave)
- Internationale Organisation veröffentlicht geheimen Bericht über die Seprelad-Untersuchung gegen Cartes (Wochenblatt)
- Empresas de Cartes pagaron hasta 50 millones mensuales a Boidanich (Última Hora)
- Fulminantes datos sobre red montada por Horacio Cartes (ABC Color)
- Informe habla de G. 774.000 millones de fortuna no justificada de Cartes (ABC Color)
- Candidato recibió cerca de G. 10.000 millones (ABC Color)
- Pagos de medios de prensa y cementera a Tabesa no son por compra de cigarrillos, dice abogado de HC (ABC Color)
- PatrónPapers: Piden que Sandra Quiñónez investigue a Cartes en serio (ABC Color)
- Honor Colorado pide “mantener concordia” tras informe sobre Cartes (ABC Color)
- Horacio Cartes transfirió un millón de dólares a ex secretario de Bachi Núñez (El Independiente)
- “Filtración” de Seprelad revela que gobierno de Abdo remitió informe fraguado a EE. UU. (La Nación)
- Editor's note: La Nación newspaper is owned by Sarah Cartes, Horacio Cartes' sister.
Aftermath
- Organización internacional divulga informe sobre investigación de Seprelad a Cartes (Última Hora)
- “Tiki” niega lazos comerciales y de amistad con Darío Messer (Diario Vanguardia)
- Avión que llevó cigarrillos de Tabesa estaría vinculado con terroristas (ABC Color)
- Senadores buscan ir a Estados Unidos para tratar informes sobre lavado (ABC Color)
- Lilian Samaniego habla de lavado de dinero en el Congreso (ABC Color)
- Fiscalía remite oficios pidiendo datos de periodistas y experto dice que es “una clara persecución” (ABC Color)
- Pedido de fiscalía sobre datos de periodistas es preocupante, sostiene abogado (ABC Color)
- Fiscalía envía oficio a Última Hora con tono de amedrentamiento (Última Hora)
- Paraguay authorities order two outlets to disclose authors of anonymous articles (Committee to Protect Journalists)
- Supuestas filtraciones sobre Cartes son refritos, asegura Ovelar (La Nación).
- Editor's note: La Nación newspaper is owned by Sarah Cartes, Horacio Cartes' sister.
- Ovelar refuta refrito de Abc: “Quedaron sin agenda y tienen que rearmarse” (HOY)
- Editor's note: The HOY newspaper was at one point owned by Horacio Cartes.