Panama Papers

Germany issues arrest warrants for founders of Panama Papers firm – report

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Mossack Fonseca founders Juergen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca, suspected of tax evasion and associating with criminals, will be arrested if they enter the European Union, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports

Germany has issued international arrest warrants for the two founders of the firm at the center of the tax haven scandal exposed by the Panama Papers data leak, German media reported.

Mossack Fonseca founders Juergen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca, suspected of tax evasion and associating with criminals, will be arrested if they enter the European Union, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported late Monday, October 19.

The two men hold Panamanian passports and are currently in the Caribbean archipelago which does not have any extradition treaties, the newspaper said.

However investigators hope that Mossack, who has family in Germany, may surrender to officials in order to negotiate a reduced sentence and avoid US charges.

Must Read

The Panama Papers, a massive data leak in April 2016, exposed widespread tax avoidance and evasion using complex structures of offshore shell companies and caused an international outcry.

At least 150 investigations have been opened in 79 countries to examine potential tax evasion or money laundering, according to the American Center for Public Integrity.

In 2018, Mossack Fonseca said it would close due to “irreparable damage” to its reputation. Panama’s government meanwhile continues to petition the international community to remove it from several tax haven blacklists. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!