The Panamanian lawyer Ramon Fonsecaone of the heads of the law firm Mossack – Fonsecaprotagonist of the “Panama Papers“He died due to health problems while awaiting sentencing in the trial for this scandal that shocked the world in 2016.” Last night Mr. Fonseca died, He was hospitalized, that’s why he didn’t attend the trial.“, he claimed Guillermina Mc Donaldlawyer of the extinct firm.
In 2016, an investigation by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) exposed the businesses offshore politicians, businessmen, athletes and international celebrities. For this reason, Fonseca, 71, faced a possible sentence of 12 years in prisonmaximum penalty for money laundering.
The death of Ramón Fonseca
McDonald did not give details about the causes of death, although he did clarify that, because Fonseca “did not attend the trial” because “was hospitalized“. The lawyer died at the age of 71 in a hospital in Panama City.
Fonseca and his colleague, Jürgen Mossack – born in Germany but resident in Panama for decades -, created the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca in 1977. In 2016the law firm was on everyone’s lips for its links with the “Panama Papers“, the investigation that uncovered how politicians, businessmen, athletes and international celebrities evaded taxes and had businesses offshore.
The prosecution requested for each of the firm’s partners 12 years in prison, the maximum penalty for money laundering. During the trial, which began on April 8 and whose hearings ended in Panama City on the 19th of that month, Fonseca did not attend because he was hospitalized, according to what the lawyer stated at the time.
“Every judicial process carries an enormous weight for the person accused.. Much more so in the circumstances in which this process took place,” said Fonseca’s lawyer, Daika Indira Levyafter confirming the death of his client.
What are the “Panama Papers”?
He April 3, 2016 he International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published the “Panama Papers“. The investigation was based on the leak of 11.5 million internal documents from the Panamanian studio Mossack Fonsecathe largest in the history of journalism and one of the ones that had the greatest impact worldwide.
The journalistic work revealed how world personalities from politics, sports and culture hid properties, companies, assets and profits for evade taxes or launder money. The leaked files included emails, company lists, beneficiaries, proceedings, scriptures and company registers offshore exchanged between Mossack Fonseca and its clients, in the last 40 years.
The investigation began when an anonymous source shared the material with the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and shared by ICIJ with more than 370 member journalists of the organization in 76 countries. The information included data from bank accounts and 214,488 companies offshore connected to more than 200 countries.
The firm led by Fonseca was in charge of create opaque societiesin order to open bank accounts and create shell foundations in different countries to hide and/or launder moneycoming in some cases from illicit activities. Until the mechanism was uncovered in 2016, most of these firms remained hidden in jurisdictions considered tax havens due to their low or no taxation and the anonymity of their owners.
Although the constitution of these entities is legal, this modus operandi It had been used for decades for tax evasion or, in the worst case, to launder or hide money from organized crime. Until its definitive closure in March 2018, the Panamanian studio offered services for the creation and opening of companies in the jurisdiction chosen by the client.
Among the most prominent personalities linked to this global scandal are; the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin; the former prime minister of Iceland, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson (who resigned over the case); the former prime minister of Great Britain, David Cameron; the former Argentine president Mauricio Macri; and, from the world of sports, the Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi.
Source: Ambito
