Mossack Fonseca labeled criminal organization
PANAMA’S Attorney General Kenia Porcell described the Mossac Fonseca law firm as a criminal organization on Thursday, Feb,9.
She was speaking at a press conference after Ramón Fonseca Mora and Jürgen Mossack the founders of the law firm Mossack Fonseca were questioned by prosecutors for money laundering as part of a wide ranging investigation against the firm, over Lava Jato the multi-billion dollar Brazilian bribery scandal.
“The information collected allegedly identifies the Panamanian firm as a criminal organization that is dedicated to hiding assets, money from suspicious origins, and creating corporate and financial structures directly associated with the law firm,” said Porcell in a late afternoon press conference.
“The alleged relationship of the Panamanian law firm in the commission of crimes in Brazil also stands out,” she added.
Previously, the headquarters of the firm, in Marbella, was raided by a team led by Public rosecutor Ricaurte González. The partners of the firm, Ramón Fonseca and Jürgen Mossack, were summoned to the Office of the Second Prosecutor against Organized Crime for questioning.
Porcell reported that charges have been filed against four people, “among them the principal partners.”
She thanked prosecutors Rodrigo Janot (Brazil), Pablo Sánchez (Péru), Galo Chiriboga (Ecuador) and Néstor Martínez (Colombia), as well as the Justice Departments of Switzerland and the United States for assisting with the investigation.
The prosecutor said that this case is not related to the investigation carried out by the Public Ministry since last April that coincided with publications by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The record of that investigation is in the Judicial Branch, and the Public Ministry has requested its return.
Regarding statements by Fonseca, who said that President Juan Carlos Varela had told him that he received donations from Odebrecht, the prosecutor said that “these are statements or comments that will have to be formalized before being presented to the competent authorities.”
