Mossack Fonseca has ties with many different countries and financial experts
Keystone
A vast trove of data linking shell companies with tax havens has highlighted the role played by Swiss banks and financial intermediaries in concealing the fortunes of the wealthy from prying eyes.
More details from the so-called Panama Papers were released on Monday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The documents were leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
The papers show that 1,339 Swiss lawyers, financial advisors and other middlemen had set up more than 38,000 offshore entities over the last 40 years. These entities listed 4,595 officers – or administrators – that are also connected to Switzerland.
While the use of offshore entities is not in itself illegal, the revelations from the Panama Papers have already resulted in a raid by Swiss prosecutors on European football’s governing body UEFA and an official investigation by the authorities in Geneva.
But some Swiss lawyers have hit back, saying that the documents provide no proof of wrongdoing. Swiss Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has also gone on record to say Swiss law does not need changing with regards the regulation of offshore entities.
Earlier on Monday, 300 economists signed an open letter denouncing offshore trusts and shell companies as serving “no economic purpose” other than to provide a veil of secrecy for the wealthy. The letter urged world leaders to crack down on the secretive offshore financial world.
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Mapping the Panama Papers middlemen
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We have mapped here all intermediaries worldwide linked to the Panama Papers. While the use of offshore entities is not in itself illegal, the revelations from the Panama Papers have already resulted in a raid by Swiss prosecutors on European football’s governing body UEFA and an official investigation by the authorities in Geneva. On Monday,…
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Panama Papers put Swiss lawyers in tight spot
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For anti-corruption campaigners, the media-driven exposé provides the missing link between such financial intermediaries and the murky activities of the rich and powerful. Furthermore, they claim that the emerging details highlight loopholes in regulations that are supposed to clamp down on financial crimes. But lawyers bridle at the suggestion that they are doing the dirty…
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The recent Panama Papers scandal has prompted the body that self-regulates Swiss lawyers to check up on members that have dealings with politically exposed person (PEPs) or offshore trust funds.
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“Offshore firms are not illegal,” Maurer told the Swiss tabloid Blick on FridayExternal link. “That many are founded in Switzerland has to do with the importance of our financial centre.” “I have a good feeling about it because we have a strict money laundering law. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) External linkhas it…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.