Rodrigo Rato, the former minister and IMF managing director who was briefly placed under arrest last Thursday, is reported to have amassed a personal fortune of at least €27 million (£19.5 million), including dozens of companies and a 44 per cent share of a luxury hotel in Berlin.

Mr Rato, who was economy minister in Spain’s Popular Party (PP) governments between 1996 and 2004 before a three-year stint as IMF chief, is being investigated on suspicion of concealing his wealth and tax evasion.

According to information leaked to the Spanish media by court sources, Mr Rato used a web of companies and over 70 bank accounts.

The systems were created to avoid paying tax and having funds embargoed as a result of his implication in separate criminal cases, related to his time as director at Bankia, the bank of which he was director for two years until it had to be nationalised. It was eventually bailed out in 2012, to the tune of €22 billion.

The judge overseeing the investigation, Enrique de la Hoz, has ordered the freezing of up to 78 bank accounts in Mr Rato’s name.

Read the Full Article: Source – The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/11548742/Former-IMF-boss-Rodrigo-Rato-accused-of-concealing-27-million-euro-fortune.html