Government moves in advance of Pandora’s Box revelations

The Government of Panama has used an American law firm to contact the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), given the possibility that the name of the country is “defamed” by the alleged massive leak of documents linked to one or more law firms and the publication of a journalistic investigation labeled “The Panama Papers.”

The note, sent by J. Erik Connolly, of the American law firm firm Benesch, Friendlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP, makes it clear that the communication  “should not be interpreted or understood as an attempt to stop the investigation and publication of relevant topics. ”, And emphasizes the respect of the Government of Panama for freedom of the press and the work of the ICIJ.

However, the letter warns that “whatever the perception that the ICIJ had of Panama in 2016, in terms of due diligence requirements and the supervision of law firms, it does not resemble the Panama of today”.

It also adds that the name of the previous investigation, Panama Papers, resulted in a “defamatory mark” that the country still carries, which is why it seeks to “open a dialogue with ICIJ” to prevent something like this from being repeated, five years later.

The ICIJ announced on, Saturday, October 2, that the new investigation, entitled Pandora Papers, is the “most extensive exposition of financial secrecy” that the consortium has carried out.

In the first line of the long note, the US law firm identifies itself as a representative of the Government of Panama to address the issue. In a footnote, he details that the firm works “in the event that the ICIJ or other US media publishes a defamatory article or articles and a lawsuit must be filed on behalf of a member of the government.”

La Prensa contacted the Foreign Ministry press office to find out if the ICIJ has responded to the note sent. At press time, there was no response.