Moving in on key Panama Papers suspects

Mossack Fonseca the former Panama Law firm behind the Panama Papers scandal that sent tidal waves throughout the world’s financial centers, engulfing, politicians, sports and entertainment celebrities and tax dodgers at large, is back in the focus of organized crime investigators.

Panama’sSecond Special Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime on Tuesday, May 22  announced that  it has carried out search and seizure proceedings, and is  investigating 10 accused, charged with alleged money laundering, as part of the investigation to establish the forensic  nexuses of Mossack Fonseca and the handling of money “of illicit origin” of Brazil.

A press release from the Public Prosecutor’s Office says that until now eight of the 10 accused have been located. “With the support of the security forces, we intend to find the whereabouts of the two accused who were not in their domicile, “says the official notice.

The investigation by The Second Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime under  Rómulo Bethancourt.is supported by the Office of the Brazilian  Federal  Prosecutor.

“The investigation is not directed against the professionals of the law nor at the good exercise of this profession. It is the elements gathered in the file that mark the line of our investigation. We act in accordance with the norm, without distinction of ethnicity, social position or profession to which those who act against the law are dedicated, “the entity said in its press release.

In the Mossack Fonseca-Lava Jato investigation, the central figures are Jürguen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca Mora, founders of the law firm; as well as Edison Teano, a collaborator of the law firm, and María Mercedes Riaño, who was in charge of the company in Brazil.