Eight years after the global financial scandal of the “Panama Papers” was revealed, the first trial against 27 defendants has begun in Panama City.
The co-owner of the now liquidated Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, the German-born lawyer Jürgen Mossack, also appeared in court.
The trial in Panama is scheduled to last three weeks.
The defendants are accused of money laundering by setting up 215,000 shell companies in tax havens in which politicians, celebrities and athletes are said to have concealed their assets.
In the spring of 2016, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and other media outlets from the Network of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) disclosed the business of the shell companies founded in Panama. As a result of a huge data leak, 11.5 million documents were leaked to the newspaper. Almost 400 reporters from over 80 countries took part in the research.
Among other things, the names of 140 politicians and close confidants appeared. In Iceland, the publication led to the resignation of the prime minister. The Prime Minister of Pakistan was removed from office.
Additional income in the millions
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The ICIJ received the highest award in US journalism, the Pulitzer Prize, in 2017 for the revelations of the “Panama Papers”. The revelations triggered tax investigations in many countries and subsequently led to millions in additional tax revenue.
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