Ecom’s Guatemala Coffee Unit Head Arrested on Tax Fraud Charges

The Attorney General’s Office of Guatemala coordinated three raids late last week, resulting in the arrest of Luis Fernando Quintanal, the head of Export Cafe, a unit of Swiss trading giant Ecom Trading, the agency said in a statement on its website dated July 5.

• Quintanal, one of three people detained, is accused of tax fraud and money laundering.
• Allegedly, offshore entities were created to simulate purchases to reduce taxes by a total of 92 million quetzals ($12 million).
• The incident is a “particular event that only concerns Quintanal and has not affected the company’s operations,” which continue as normal, ...