Start of the hearing in Panama in the money laundering case “Lava Jato” with 32 defendants

The ordinary hearing for the alleged money laundering case known as “Lava Jato” began at the Supreme Court of Justice in Panama City, with 32 individuals facing charges.

Among the defendants are Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca, partners of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which gained international attention when the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published leaked information from the company.

The leaked information revealed the alleged use of companies created by Mossack Fonseca to facilitate tax evasion by individuals worldwide.

Fonseca claimed that the information was obtained through cyber hacking.

Mossack stated during the hearing, as broadcasted by Panamanian TVN that there is no precedent for a crime in this case or any other, and he believes this will be demonstrated throughout the trial.

In the hearing held at the Second Court for the liquidation of criminal cases, presided over by Judge Baloisa Marquínez, Senior Prosecutor Isis Soto highlighted that the first witness confirmed the existence of an unsupervised company that was not subject to due diligence.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office emphasized in a statement that the investigation, initiated in 2016 and consisting of 291 volumes, gathered evidence from international judicial assistance provided by Brazil.

These elements helped establish the crimes preceding the money laundering activities.

The investigation also revealed the existence of bank accounts in Panama and the tracing of funds linked to a Panamanian law firm specialized in creating corporations that allegedly facilitated the movement of illegal funds.

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