PANAMA CITY: A Panamanian court on Friday acquitted 28 people charged with money laundering at the center of the “Panama Papers” scandal, the court said.
Judge Baloisa Marquinez “acquitted 28 people accused... of money laundering” relating to the now-defunct Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, the court said in a statement.
Among those acquitted were the firm’s founders, Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca. The latter died in May in a Panamanian hospital.
During the trial, which was held in Panama City in April, the prosecution asked for 12 years in prison for the duo, the maximum sentence for money laundering.
However, Marquinez found that evidence collected from the law firm’s servers had not been gathered in line with due process, raising doubts about its “authenticity and integrity.”
The judge also ruled that “the rest of the evidence was not sufficient and conclusive to determine the criminal responsibility of the defendants,” the court statement said.
Leaked documents from Mossack Fonseca in 2016 revealed how many of the world’s wealthy stashed assets in offshore companies, triggering scores of investigations around the globe.
Others implicated included former British premier David Cameron, football star Lionel Messi, Argentina’s then-president Mauricio Macri and Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, to name but a few.
Panamanian court acquits 28 defendants in ‘Panama Papers’ trial
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Panamanian court acquits 28 defendants in ‘Panama Papers’ trial
- Prosecution asked for 12 years in prison for Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca, the maximum sentence for money laundering
- The duo were founders of now-defunct Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca
Italy arrests nine over alleged Hamas funding through charities
- The Palestinian group has been designated by the European Union as a terrorist organization
- Prosecutors said those arrested diverted to Hamas-linked entities around $8.24 million raised over the last two years
ROME: Italian prosecutors said on Saturday they had arrested nine people on suspicion of financing Hamas through charities based in Italy, in an operation coordinated by anti-mafia and anti-terrorism units.
The suspects are accused of “belonging to and having financed” the Palestinian group, which the European Union designates as a terrorist organization, prosecutors in the northern Italian city of Genoa said in a statement.
Those arrested allegedly diverted to Hamas-linked entities around 7 million euros ($8.24 million) raised over the last two years for ostensibly humanitarian purposes, prosecutors said. Police seized assets worth more than 8 million euros.
The investigation began after suspicious financial transactions were flagged and expanded through cooperation with Dutch authorities and other EU countries, coordinated through the EU judicial agency Eurojust.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked the authorities for “a particularly complex and important operation” which had uncovered financing for Hamas through “so-called charity organizations.”
The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meloni’s support for Israel during its war with Hamas in Gaza has triggered large and repeated street protests in Italy.
Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed more than 71,000 people, according to the enclave’s health ministry. It was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
