In a note, the Private Secretariat of former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe recalls that before becoming Head of the Government of Haiti, Laurent Lamothe was an international businessman and specifies:

"In 1998, 14 years before becoming Prime Minister, he participated as a shareholder in the creation of the company 'Global Voice Group', a multinational company which brings together 12 companies operating in 45 countries in Africa and the Caribbean and operating in the areas of telecommunications, data management, cybersecurity, software, prepaid accounts, investment and real estate.

The choice of the jurisdiction of registration of these subsidiaries is a decision that falls to the Board of Directors of the Group within the framework of its strategic vision and in the greatest legality.

In addition, it should be noted that 'Lightfoot Ventures' is a real estate company and not a telecom company which, moreover, has never operated in Haiti as indicated in the report [of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on tax evasion].

Upon his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs in October 2011, to avoid any potential conflict of interest, Laurent Lamothe voluntarily resigned from the Board of Directors of Global Voice Group, its subsidiaries and withdrew from day-to-day operations of the company to place itself entirely at the disposal of its country until December 2014 [...]

The Secretariat invites public opinion to distance itself from any attempt to confuse and amalgamate interested parties concerning the name of Laurent Lamothe following the publication of the ICIJ on the confidential information published in the case known as the "Pandora papers" involving internationally renowned personalities."

IH/ iciHaiti