Ramon Fonseca, one of the founders of the now-defunct law firm at the center of the Panama Papers scandal, died in hospital overnight. Fonseca, the co-founder of Mossack Fonseca, was under investigation a few weeks ago for the involvement of the law firm he headed in the case.
“He’s been hospitalized since the beginning of April,” Fonseca’s lawyer, Guillermina MacDonald, said in a phone call with Reuters, without giving a specific reason for the hospitalization.
“Because of this, he couldn’t go to trial,” Macdonald explained, as a judicial inquiry was carried out in early April to assess Fonseca’s alleged involvement with twenty others in money laundering cases. So far no punishment has been given in this case.
Carolina Fonseca, daughter-in-law of Ramon Fonseca, expressed in X about her uncle’s death: “His presence and his fascinating theories joined us on this stage. Rest in peace, dear uncle, you will always be in our hearts.
Fonseca’s law firm, Mossack Fonseca, gained notoriety in 2016 when classified documents released by the International Federation of Investigative Journalists revealed accounts in tax havens linked to individuals including Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the L star.
The ‘Panama Papers’ refers to the 11.5 million documents released from the law firm. Relationships between financial information and legal advisors regarding opening accounts abroad or in tax havens to hide assets.
With the release of the documents, the involvement of a dozen heads of state, 128 politicians and hundreds of celebrities from more than 200 countries in sports, arts, business and other fields became public.
The investigation was carried out by more than 400 journalists from several countries and the results were presented simultaneously by 109 media outlets in 76 countries in April 2016.
Mossack and Fonseca were also prosecuted over the ‘Lava Jato’ operation in Brazil, where they are still awaiting sentencing.
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