Lava Jato defendant says call for jail “unbelievable”

On the last day of the trial in the Lava Jato case , Jürgen Mossack , co-founder of the defunct firm Mossack Fonseca and one of the 32 defendants for alleged money laundering, addressed criminal judge Baloisa Marquínez .

Mossack, , considered that the prosecution attributes a “non-existent” crime to him, that Mossack Fonseca created more than 250,000 companies for lawful purposes, that his firm was a pioneer in applying due diligence to its clients and that they want him to go to prison, at 75 years of age, is “unbelievable”.

“I have seen during these days, because I show my face, I sit in front… I have seen that you have listened very patiently to both the prosecution and the defense. I believe that you have paid much attention to everything. I thank you for your patience. I am sure that in the end you will make the wisest decision possible,”

In order for Mossack to have a chance to speak, his lawyer Guillermina McDonald (who also defends the co-founder of the firm, Ramón Fonseca Mora , and Edison Teano and Sandra Naranjo de Cornejo ) asked the judge to listen to her client for “five minutes”, to which Marquínez agreed.

His partner Ramón Fonseca did not personally go to Judge Marquínez’s room and followed the development of the trial electronically.

 For both, the prosecution requested up to 12 years in prison, the same as for 26 other defendants.

Mossack said he has practiced as a lawyer since 1973 and has never had “runs with the law of any kind”, except for a traffic ticket for speeding.

He reiterated that he is not “responsible” for the charges against him, but that he is responsible for other things, “such as providing employment for some 650 families between Panama and abroad, as well as having established, together with my partner and the staff from my office, some 250,000 companies, of which some accounts have been mentioned during the trial and which apparently may have been used for illegal purposes by some end customers”.

“We were a law firm that did things well for many years and now the prosecution wants me to be sentenced to eight years in prison for a non-existent crime at the age of 75, that, Madam Judge, is implausible,” he said.