Argentina’s Macri to repatriate $1.3 million from Bahamas

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – President Mauricio Macri said Monday that he will repatriate $1.3 million in savings from the Bahamas and use the money to buy Argentine treasury bonds because he is confident the struggling economy will recover and thrive.

Macri said the money was deposited in Merrill Lynch accounts in Switzerland and the U.S., but it was transferred to the Bahamas after Swiss private bank Julius Baer Group bought the Merrill Lynch overseas wealth management unit from Bank of America.

Macri, who was Buenos Aires mayor, won the presidency last year on a promise to jumpstart Argentina’s economy and root out endemic corruption.

He recently set up a blind trust to handle his financial holdings in response to criticism over his role in two offshore companies that emerged in the “Panama Papers” leak. Macri, the son of one of Argentina’s wealthiest people, said the companies were family businesses and he was a figurehead without compensation.

A federal prosecutor has requested authorization to investigate whether Macri “maliciously” omitted his role in the offshore companies in his annual tax declarations. Macri said he is open to being investigated and has nothing to hide.