Panama Papers (North America)
[1][2] The files were uncovered and exposed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and other news organizations.
[1] The documents, some dating back to the 1970s, were created by, and taken from, Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca,[3] and were leaked in 2015 by an anonymous source.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has denied any involvement in the affair, saying he had "entirely and completely been transparent about mine and my family's finances.
"We have an extensive due diligence process... RBC works within the legal and regulatory framework of every country in which we operate," said a bank spokesman.
[15] The administration of President Luis Guillermo Solís suggested that some of the activity unveiled by the leaked documents points to attempts to evade taxes.
More than thirty Costa Rican law firms are mentioned in the Panama Papers as referring clients to Mossack Fonseca, resulting in the creation of more than 360 shell companies.
[16] Finance Vice Minister Fernando Rodríguez said Costa Rica will push to sign a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with Panama.
[22] The Panama Papers linked Ken Emrith, a member of the opposition United National Congress (UNC), to a bribery scandal in Brazil using Panamanian shell companies that were used to transfer millions of US dollars to offshore bank accounts.
Speaking in Parliament, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said the leaked documents tied this offshore company to key players in the Petrobras scandal in Brazil, including the convicted Joao Procopio [pt], and Jose Luiz Pires of Queluz, who had dealings with Swiss PKB Privatbank [de] AG.
[25] According to ICIJ investigative partner Trinidad Express, Emrith was a close associate of Jack Warner and also owns half the shares in Proteus Holding SA, an investment he declines to answer questions about because he says he has a responsibility of confidentiality to fellow shareholders.
[26] The Express also says that OAS used a Namibian port development project as camouflage for a $1 million payment from Procopio shell company Santa Tereza Services Ltd to Emirth.
[30] On 18 February 2020, Harald Joachim von der Goltz, an 82-year-old former businessman and former U.S. resident who was a client for Mossack Fonseca, pleaded guilty to nine counts, including charges of conspiracy to evade taxes and commit money laundering and wire fraud.
[31] On February 28, 2020, a Massachusetts accountant, Richard Gaffey, became the second person to plead guilty to charges related to the Panama Papers.
[41] Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton condemned "outrageous tax havens and loopholes ... in Panama and elsewhere"[42] at a Pennsylvania AFL–CIO event.
[50] Copies of at least 200 American passports – indicating that their owners applied for banking services – have been discovered in the Papers, but no US politicians have yet been named in the leak.
