The trial of the “Panama Papers” is due to open on Tuesday, November 15 before the Panamanian courts. Almost six years after the revelations of the consortium of investigative journalists, including the French daily The worldmore than 30 people will be tried for their alleged involvement in this money laundering and tax evasion scandal
In January 2022, the Panamanian judiciary announced that it was initiating proceedings against 32 citizens of the country for the alleged offense of undermining the economic order. This is indeed money laundering in the case known as the “Panama Papers”, a scandal revealed in December 2016causing a global shock wave.
Among the defendants are lawyers Jürgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca Mora. At the time, their firm offered its clients the creation of companies in extraterritorial jurisdictions. These shell companies offered the management of large fortunes while hiding them from the tax authorities.
A leak from Mossack Fonseca
The investigation based on an anonymous leak of 11.5 million documents from the Mossack Fonseca firm has revealed an extraordinary number of personalities, beneficiaries of this kind of process.
Among them, the former Prime Minister of Iceland Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, that of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, and of the United Kingdom David Cameron. But also football star Lionel Messi, Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar and many others.