"Panama Papers" trial: Court acquits all defendants
Lawyer María de los Angeles Baloísa Marquínez justified her decision based on the fact that the evidence collected on the servers of the law firm did not fit into the chain of investigation. There were doubts about "authenticity and integrity". The other evidence was not sufficient and conclusive to establish the criminal responsibility of the 28 accused.
The prosecution had demanded twelve years of imprisonment. They accused Mossack and Fonseca of helping to found opaque companies in which executives of the Siemens Corporation deposited millions of Euros outside the official accounts of the company. In addition, they were charged with helping to launder money from a massive fraud case in Argentina.
An international investigative team around the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" had published its research under the title "Panama Papers" in April 2016. The research, based on the analysis of 11.5 million documents from the law firm, revealed the names of prominent figures, politicians, and athletes who were alleged to have hidden their assets from the tax authorities. According to the research team, both illegal tax avoidance strategies and tax evasion and money laundering crimes were uncovered.
Mossack is a lawyer from Fürth, Germany, who holds Panamanian citizenship. In the 1960s, his family emigrated from Germany to Panama. Mossack studied law in Panama and worked in various law firms in Panama City and London.
In the 1980s, he founded the law firm Mossack-Fonseca with the Panamanian Fonseca, specializing in mailbox companies. In 2018, the firm announced that it would cease operations due to "irreparable" damage to its image.
Lawyer Guillermina McDonald, who represents Mossack and other defendants, expressed satisfaction with the verdict. She told the AFP news agency: "Justice has been done."
Mossack himself criticized the proceedings after the verdict. "It's really a great injustice that has happened," he declared. "Both my partner and all the people who worked with me were serious, honest, and correct people."
The publications on the "Panama Papers" led to investigations all over the world and a debate about tax havens and money laundering. According to estimates cited by "Der Spiegel", more than 1.3 billion dollars in fines and taxes were collected after the publication of the "Panama Papers". After the "Panama Papers", Panama initiated reforms to protect its financial system and improve its international image.
- The Letterbox company Mossack-Fonseca, co-founded by German lawyer Karl Eduard Siemens' son-in-law, Ramón Fonseca, from Panama, was at the heart of the 'Panama Papers' scandal.
- The Court of law in Panama found the Defendants, including Mossack and Fonseca, not guilty of the charges related to tax avoidance and money laundering, as presented by the Public prosecutor's office in Germany.
- The German company SZ (Süddeutsche Zeitung) and their international collaborators released the 'Panama Papers' in April 2016, highlighting practices such as tax avoidance and money laundering activities by high-profile individuals and corporations, including Siemens AG.
- The 'Panama Papers' revealed the involvement of defendants in the creation of offshore companies, like the one named Baloísa Marquínez, allegedly used for tax evasion and hiding illicit funds, primarily in Panama, but also in places like Argentina.
- The press release from the Court of law in Panama stated that the evidence collected, mainly from the Letterbox company's servers, carried doubts regarding authenticity and integrity, which could not be resolved throughout the entire process.
- Mossack, a German citizen and co-founder of the Letterbox company based in Panama, criticized the legal proceedings, asserting that he and his fellow defendants were genuinely honest and professional individuals.
- After the 'Panama Papers' scandal, the Panamanian Government initiated reforms intended to strengthen the country's financial system and improve its image on the international stage.
- The German and International authorities responded to the 'Panama Papers' revelations by launching several investigations into tax evasion activities and money laundering, resulting in substantial fines and taxes being extracted from the implicated entities and individuals.
