Jurguen Mossack (left) and Ramon Fonseca (right), founders of the law firm Mossack Fonseca at the centre of the international tax evasion scandal known as the “Panama Papers”, have been acquitted by the courts.
INTERNATIONAL – Eight years after the revelations of the “Panama Papers”, the Panamanian justice system delivered its verdict this Friday, June 28, concerning some thirty people accused of money laundering in connection with the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. Due to lack of sufficient evidence, Judge Baloisa Marquinez “ acquitted 28 people accused of violating the economic order”, the court said in a statement.
Among the acquitted defendants are the founders of the firm, Ramon Fonseca, who died on May 9 in a Panamanian hospital at the age of 71, as well as Jürgen Mossack. During the trial, the prosecutor in charge of the fight against organized crime, Isis Soto, requested the maximum sentence – 12 years in prison – against them.
The judge ruled that the evidence collected from the law firm’s servers “did not respect the chain of custody” and did not allow to establish with “certainty (…) their authenticity and their integrity”. “Furthermore, the judge determined that the remaining evidence was not sufficient and conclusive to determine criminal liability.” of the defendants, the press release indicates.
Mossack Fonseca leaks 11.5 million documents
The case broke in 2016 after the publication of an investigation, known as the « Panama Papers »conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (Ciji).
Drawing on the leak of 11.5 million documents from the Mossack Fonseca firm, it revealed that heads of state and government, leading politicians and figures from finance, sports and the arts hid properties, businesses, capital and profits from the tax authorities.
To this end, they created opaque companies, through the Panamanian firm, to open bank accounts and create shell companies in several countries, in order to hide money, in some cases from illegal activities, according to the consortium’s investigation.
Among the figures mentioned are, among many others, Russian President Vladimir Putin, former heads of government of Iceland Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and of the United Kingdom David Cameron (current head of British diplomacy), former Argentine President Mauricio Macri, as well as soccer 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 affected.
“A great injustice has truly been committed”
During the trial, the prosecution accused Mr Mossack and Mr Fonseca of having facilitated, through their law firm, the creation of opaque companies in which executives of the German multinational Siemens deposited millions of euros outside the company’s real accounts. This “box B” was allegedly used to hide money related to the payment of commissions.
The prosecution also alleged that the Panamanian firm was used to store money from a large-scale fraud in Argentina.
“Justice has been done, we are extremely satisfied with the judge’s decision”Guillermina Mc Donald, lawyer for several defendants including Jürgen Mossack, welcomed the acquittal to AFP after the announcement. During the trial, she had reported “flaws” in the proceedings, and that his clients should therefore be acquitted if “no punishable act was accredited”.
“A great injustice has truly been committed, not only against me, but also against all the people who worked with me, and there are many.”said Jürgen Mossack at the end of the hearing. “Both my partner (Mr. Fonseca, deceased, editor’s note) and all the people who worked with me were serious, honest and correct people”he said.
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