Court acquits all defendants in Panama Papers case

A Panama court has acquitted all those accused of money laundering in the so-called Panama Papers, a leak of documents from the Mossack Fonseca company that exposed connections between world leaders and offshore companies.

Among the 28 acquitted is Jurgen Mossack, one of the company’s founders. The case against the second co-founder, Ramon Fonseca, who died a month ago, was also dropped. The prosecutor had sought 12 years in prison for them on charges of helping clients launder money and evade taxes.

The Panama Papers, based on an analysis of internal Mossack Fonseca documents, were published in 2016. The documents showed that the company helped the powerful make tens of millions of dollars.

According to the case materials, the company’s services were used by associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The documents also mention footballer Lionel Messi and director Pedro Almodávar.

Russian cellist Sergei Roldugin, who calls himself a friend of Putin, also gained fame in connection with this case. He owned several offshore companies worth billions of dollars.