Panama Papers: The Panama Papers case, one of the world’s biggest scandals of tax evasion and money laundering, is very old. Years ago, the disclosure of this case created a stir in many countries around the world. The scale of the case and its scope can be gauged from the fact that after the tax scandal came to light, even the governments of some countries were in danger. However, even after that, it took years for the trial to begin.
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Trial of 27 people is starting
According to a report by news agency AFP, the trial in the Panama Papers case is about to begin. The trial of at least 27 people in this case is starting today. The trial of the case is starting in a court in Panama. The names of Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca Mora are also included in this trial. Mossack and Mora are the founders of the law firm Mossack Fonseca. This company was at the center of the entire Panama Papers scandal and is now closed.
The network spreads to more than 200 countries
The Panama Papers case was exposed through the efforts of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). After a long investigation, ICIJ and German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung published the documents for the first time on 3 April 2016. The published documents belonged to the law firm Mossack Fonseca, in which a web of tax evasion and money laundering was woven, whose scope extended to more than 200 countries of the world. The names of many prominent politicians, businessmen and influential people of the world were revealed in the papers.
The world’s biggest disclosure was so big
The papers revealed about 2.25 lakh tax havens, which were being used by influential people of the world to evade taxes, defraud the government treasury and circumvent international sanctions. The papers contained cases of various tax evasions from the 1970s to 2016. The entire data was in about 2.6 terabytes. It is said to be the biggest disclosure of tax evasion and money laundering till date. The papers contained the names of 128 influential people from around the world, some of whom were from India as well.
These influential people are in trouble
After his name came up in this case, the Prime Minister of the island, Sigmundur David Gunlaugsson had to resign. The name of former Prime Minister of neighbouring country Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, also appeared in the papers, after which he was permanently banned from contesting elections. Names of former British Prime Minister David Cameron, legendary footballer Lionel Messi, then President of Argentina Mauricio Macri, Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar also came up in the leak.
The main accused could get only this much punishment
The most surprising thing in this entire case is that the web of tax evasion was woven in such a way that it became very difficult to legally prove the names of influential people who came to light in the disclosure wrong. For example, the case of Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca Mora, the founders of Mossack Fonseca, the company that was at the center of the entire episode, can be seen. In whatever action has been taken against both of them till now, they have had to stay in jail for only two months.
International trial could not be conducted due to these reasons
Before the trial against Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca Mora starting today, an arrest warrant was issued against both of them in Germany, but both could not be arrested. Germany had issued the warrant on charges of tax evasion and running a criminal organization. The problem is that Panama’s extradition laws prevent them from being handed over to Germany. In such a situation, it is not possible for them to get punishment in Germany. The case in which they had to go to jail in Panama is a case of bribery related to a Brazilian company Obedbrecht. Both are currently on bail in this case and the trial starting today is going to continue till April 26. The prosecution has demanded a jail sentence of 12 years for both of them.
