OFF THE CUFF: May Public release of Panama Papers

POLITICIANS, companies. And high rollers from many fields will be running for cover on May 9, the date that International Consortium of Journalists researchers (ICIJ) has promised to make public the  Mossack Fonseca  files.

It will be a busy and profitable time for PR hacks and spin doctors as they seek ways to blunt the revelations. To date excuses have largely revolved around the theme “nothing was illegal”

The database made available to world public opinion will include information on more than 200,000 companies, trusts and foundations based in 21 tax havens “from Hong Kong to Nevada in the United States”, said the International Consortium of Journalists researchers (ICIJ).on Wednesday April 27.

In its statement, the ICIJ said that the public distribution planned for May 9 “is the next stage in our research, conducted for a year” and that it will continue to publish more cases in the coming weeks and months

Since early April, the ICIJ coordinated the limited distribution of documents labeled The “Panama Papers” through a hundred international media which caused a worldwide scandal encouraging numerous investigations and the resignation of Prime Minister of Iceland and a Spanish minister and embarrassing admissions by British Prime   Minister David Cameron.

Nearly 11.5 million leaked documents Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca revealed the large-scale use of offshore companies to hide assets from tax authorities.