In Panama, a court has acquitted 28 people charged with money-laundering in cases linked to the Panama Papers and Operation Car Wash scandals. The court did not provide the names of the acquitted individuals. Precautionary measures against all defendants were lifted, and one criminal process was canceled due to the death of a defendant. Ramon Fonseca, co-founder of Mossack Fonseca, died in May. Mossack Fonseca came into the spotlight in 2016 after leaked documents revealed accounts in tax havens linked to prominent individuals. The judge imposed fines on witnesses who did not comply with summonses and stated that evidence from Mossack Fonseca’s servers did not follow the chain of custody. Regarding Operation Car Wash, the court ruled that it could not be proven that illicit money from Brazil entered Panama to conceal crimes. Operation Car Wash, a major anti-corruption probe originating in Brazil, led to the imprisonment of numerous Latin American political and business leaders, including former presidents, due to sprawling corruption schemes across the region.
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Panama court clears 28 individuals linked to Panama Papers, Operation Car Wash
