Indonesian Paper and Palm Oil Tycoon Secretly Bought Historic Munich Building for 350 Million Euros.
- Controversial Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanoto secretly bought a historic building in Munich for almost 350 million euros through a Luxembourg-registered company.
- The investment, in mid-2019, came months after the European Commission agreed to phase out the use of palm oil in EU biofuels by 2030 citing concerns it drives deforestation in major producers such as Indonesia.
- Tanoto’s companies have been accused of causing widespread deforestation in Indonesia, human rights abuses, and a plethora of questionable profit-shifting practices that have deprived Indonesia of hundreds of millions in tax revenues.
- Tanoto’s son, Andre, also bought an iconic building in Düsseldorf for a little under 50 million euros at around the same time, using a similar secret Luxembourg corporate structure.
Sources
https://www.occrp.org/en/openlux/indonesian-paper-and-palm-oil-tycoon-secretly-bought-historic-munich-building-for-350-million-euros
https://www.rgei.com/about/governance-leadership