‘Panama Papers’ trial: Court Acquits 28 Defendants

A Panamanian court has cleared 28 individuals of money laundering charges linked to the now-defunct law firm Mossack Fonseca, which was at the center of the “Panama Papers” trial scandal involving international tax evasion.
The acquitted individuals include the firm’s founders, Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca, the latter of whom passed away in May while in a Panamanian hospital.
In a trial that took place in April in the country’s capital, the prosecution sought a 12-year prison sentence for the duo, the maximum penalty for money laundering.
Nevertheless, Judge Baloisa Marquinez absolved the pair and 26 others after determining that the evidence obtained from the law firm’s servers did not adhere to due process, casting doubt on its “authenticity and integrity,” according to a court statement.
The judge also stated that “the remaining evidence was not adequate and conclusive to establish the criminal liability of the defendants,” as per the court statement.
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The leaked documents from Mossack Fonseca in 2016 exposed how numerous wealthy individuals worldwide hid assets in offshore companies, leading to numerous investigations across the globe.
The Panama Papers, released in April 2016, revealed a massive leak of financial documents totaling 11.5 million files from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The leak exposed how wealthy individuals, public officials, and entities used offshore tax havens to hide assets and evade taxes.
Among those implicated were former British premier David Cameron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, football star Lionel Messi, Argentina’s then-president Mauricio Macri, and Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, to name but a few.
We are pleased with the judge’s decision, justice has been served,” said Guillermina McDonald, the attorney representing Mossack and the other accused individuals, in a statement to AFP.
However, she expressed some sadness over the absence of Mr. Ramon Fonseca, who was unable to witness the outcome of the trial.
The “Panama Papers trial commenced eight years after the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) initiated the publication of the “Panama Papers” on April 3, 2016.
The investigation, which was based on 11.5 million leaked documents from Mossack Fonseca, exposed how prominent figures worldwide concealed properties, companies, assets, and profits to avoid taxes or engage in money laundering.
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To achieve this, they established companies through the firm, opened bank accounts, and set up shell foundations in various countries to conceal funds, some of which were derived from illegal activities, as per the investigation.
The scandal resulted in the closure of Mossack Fonseca and significantly impacted Panama’s reputation as an offshore tax haven.
Panamanian prosecutors had alleged that Mossack and Fonseca helped create opaque companies in which executives of the German multinational Siemens deposited millions of euros outside the company’s official accounts.
They were also charged with helping divert money from a massive fraud in Argentina.
“Justice has been done, we are extremely satisfied with the ruling handed down by the judge,” Guillermina McDonald, lawyer for Mossack and other defendants, told AFP.
However, “we are a little sad because along the way we lost Ramon Fonseca, and he has not been able to see this result”, she added.
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