Keystone-SDA
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June 29, 2024 – 07:38
(Keystone-ATS) A Panamanian court on Friday acquitted 28 people accused of money laundering in connection with the Mossack Fonseca law firm, the epicenter of the Panama Papers scandal. According to the judge, it is not possible to establish with certainty the authenticity of the evidence.
The prosecutor in charge of the fight against organized crime had requested the maximum sentence of twelve years in prison for money laundering against the two directors of the firm, Jürgen Mossack, 76 years old, and Ramon Fonseca, 71 years old, who died in the meantime in a capital hospital.
The judge, however, considered that the evidence collected on the law firm’s servers “did not respect the chain of custody” and did not allow it to be established with “certainty” […] their authenticity and integrity”.
“In addition, the judge determined that the other evidence was not sufficient and conclusive to determine the criminal responsibility” of the defendants, the statement said. The judge ordered “the lifting of the interim measures” that weighed on the defendants.
Shell companies
The case broke in 2016 after the publication of an investigation, known as the “Panama Papers”, carried out by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (CIJI).
Drawing on the leak of 11.5 million documents from the Mossack Fonseca study, it revealed that heads of state and government, leading politicians and figures in finance, sports and the artistic world have hidden properties, businesses, capital and profits from the tax authorities.
To this end, they created opaque companies, through the Panamanian cabinet, to open bank accounts and create shell companies in several countries, in order to hide money, in some cases coming from illegal activities. , according to the consortium’s investigation.
Among the personalities mentioned are Russian President Vladimir Putin, the former heads of government of Iceland Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and the United Kingdom David Cameron (current head of British diplomacy), the former Argentine President Mauricio Macri, as well as Argentine football star Lionel Messi and Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar.
The scandal led to the closure of the Mossack Fonseca firm and Panama’s image was seriously damaged.
