Lawyer and one of the main defendants in the Panama Paper case, Jurguen Mossack, speaks to reporters upon his arrival at the court of justice in Panama City on April 8, 2024. - A Panama court on June 28, 2024, acquitted 28 people accused of money laundering related to the defunct Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, the epicentre of the international"Panama Papers" scandal, Panama's judicial body reported.
During the trial, which was held in Panama City in April, the prosecution asked for 12 years in prison for the duo, the maximum sentence for money laundering.However, Judge Baloisa Marquinez acquitted the pair and 26 others after finding that evidence taken from the law firm’s servers had not been gathered in line with due process, raising doubts about its “authenticity and integrity,” a court statement said.
Those implicated included former British premier David Cameron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, football star Lionel Messi, Argentina’s then-president Mauricio Macri and Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, to name but a few.Panamanian prosecutors had alleged that Mossack and Fonseca helped create opaque companies in which executives of the German multinational Siemens deposited millions of euros outside the company’s official accounts.
The investigation, based on 11.5 million leaked documents from Mossack Fonseca, revealed how personalities from around the world hid properties, companies, assets and profits to evade taxes or launder money.