The
law firm at the heart of the "Panama Papers" global tax evasion scandal
that brought down two world leaders announced Wednesday it would shut
down operations, citing negative press and what it called unwarranted
action by authorities.
"Reputational
deterioration, the media campaign, the financial consequences and
irregular actions by some Panamanian authorities have caused irreparable
damage, resulting in the total ceasing of public operations at the end
of this month," Mossack Fonseca said in a statement.
But it added a smaller group would continue working to address requests from authorities and other public and private groups.
Last
August, co-founder Jurgen Mossack acknowledged the firm had closed most
of its offices abroad after its damaged credibility caused business to
flounder.
April
3, 2016 marked the beginning of the "Panama Papers" scandal -- a leak of
11.5 million files from Mossack Fonseca's digital archive that revealed
how wealthy and influential figures across the world had created
offshore businesses to safeguard assets.
The
information was obtained by German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, who
shared it with the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists. It was released as a searchable database, with revelations
continuing to be unearthed to this day.
Icelandic
prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson was forced to resign after
it was revealed his family had offshore accounts -- while former
Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for life from
office after being implicated in the documents.
Other
figures implicated included former British premier David Cameron,
football star Lionel Messi, Argentina's President Mauricio Macri,
Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, Nigeria's Senate President Bukola
Saraki to name but a few.
At
least 150 investigations were opened in 79 countries to examine possible
tax evasion and money laundering, according to the US-based Center for
Public Integrity.
AFP
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