• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers

2

College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind

3

An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948

1

New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers

2

College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind

3

An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948
leaks

Former EU Antitrust Chief Is Named in Bahamas Tax Haven Leaks

By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 22, 2016, 3:59 AM ET
TechCrunch Disrupt London 2014 - Day 1
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 20: Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission on stage during the 2014 TechCrunch Disrupt Europe/London at The Old Billingsgate on October 20, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for TechCrunch)Anthony Harvey Getty Images for TechCrunch
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

A new set of tax haven leaks has brought unwelcome attention to Neelie Kroes, the European Commission’s former antitrust chief between 2004 and 2010 and, after that, its digital commissioner for four years.

Unlike the more detailed Panama Papers leaks, the leaks from the Bahamas only cover companies’ names, dates of creation, addresses and, in some cases, directors.

However, that’s enough for a storm to have erupted over the naming of Kroes as a director of a Bahamian company, originally set up to buy assets from Enron, between 2000 and 2009. The Dutch politician never declared this offshore directorship to the European Commission.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which revealed the information along with Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung, Kroes’s lawyer said she “did not declare her directorship of the company because it was never operational,” and her appearance in the records was a “clerical oversight which was not corrected until 2009.”

Kroes denied she had ever been compromised by private-sector ties and would “take full responsibility” for the “oversight.”

However, she may have breached the Commission’s code of conduct on two counts—holding a directorship (whether “gainful” or not) at the time she was a commissioner, and not naming the Bahamas-registered company as an interest in the decade leading up to her role in the Commission.

The company, Mint Holdings, is still active. Another of its directors, the Jordanian businessman Amin Badr-El-Din, said it had been set up as a special purpose vehicle to “manage the acquisition of international energy assets, principally from Enron,” with the aim of becoming “the world’s premier gas company,” but the deal fell through in 2000.

Kroes isn’t the only politician to be embarrassed by the new leaks. According to The Guardian, British home secretary Amber Rudd has also been shown to be involved with two companies in the offshore tax haven.

For more on leaks, watch our video.

Since leaving the Commission, Kroes has become a lobbyist for Uber.

She recently got into an argument with her former colleagues over Apple’s $14.5 billion Irish tax bill—she said current antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager had made the wrong call, but the Commission pointed out that she was misrepresenting the nature of the case, and highlighted her Silicon Valley ties.

About the Author
By David Meyer
LinkedIn icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in

LeBron James took a pay cut to maybe live in New York and commute to Philly by chopper, risking double taxation as NYC also tries to ban helicopters
Real EstateSports
LeBron James took a pay cut to maybe live in New York and commute to Philly by chopper, risking double taxation as NYC also tries to ban helicopters
By Catherina GioinoJuly 27, 2026
16 minutes ago
A Nobel economist challenged Elon Musk to donate his entire $1T fortune by 2036. Musk’s reply: ‘I am actually going to do something along these lines’
SuccessElon Musk
A Nobel economist challenged Elon Musk to donate his entire $1T fortune by 2036. Musk’s reply: ‘I am actually going to do something along these lines’
By Sydney LakeJuly 27, 2026
43 minutes ago
Photo of Netanyahu
PoliticsIsrael
Netanyahu blasts NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani for ‘fomenting hate’ over ‘bogus’ Gaza war crimes charges
By The Associated Press and Lisa MascaroJuly 27, 2026
52 minutes ago
Photo of truck driver
North AmericaCanada
U.S.—Canada bridge opens to traffic in Detroit amid Trump tariffs strain
By The Associated Press, Mike Householder and Ed WhiteJuly 27, 2026
1 hour ago
Bank of America, Chipotle, Dell, and Uber are chipping in on Trump Accounts for their workers’ kids—but most companies are sitting it out
Personal FinanceDonald Trump
Bank of America, Chipotle, Dell, and Uber are chipping in on Trump Accounts for their workers’ kids—but most companies are sitting it out
By Courtney Vinopal and HR BrewJuly 27, 2026
1 hour ago
Palantir spent $17.2 million flying its CEO Alex Karp around in 2025. It’s part of a private-jet boom sweeping the C-suite
C-Suitepalantir
Palantir spent $17.2 million flying its CEO Alex Karp around in 2025. It’s part of a private-jet boom sweeping the C-suite
By Sam Klebanov and Morning BrewJuly 27, 2026
1 hour ago

Most Popular

New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers
Retail
New York City women are making up to $30,000 per month by renting out their closets to strangers
By Sarah GlodekJuly 27, 2026
14 hours ago
College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind
Economy
College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 26, 2026
1 day ago
An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948
Success
An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 25, 2026
2 days ago
The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
Real Estate
The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 25, 2026
2 days ago
I've been teaching college students for decades. Most of them can no longer finish a book
Commentary
I've been teaching college students for decades. Most of them can no longer finish a book
By Austin SaratJuly 26, 2026
1 day ago
One-third of Seattle's downtown is empty: Here's how America's boomtown turned into one of the toughest places to find a job
Real Estate
One-third of Seattle's downtown is empty: Here's how America's boomtown turned into one of the toughest places to find a job
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 27, 2026
13 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.