Panama Papers law firm co-founder Ramon Fonseca dies in hospital, lawyer says
- Lawyer Ramon Fonseca, one of the heads of the now-defunct law firm Mossack Fonseca at the centre of the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal, died while awaiting sentencing
- Documents leaked from his law firm, published in 2016, revealed how many of the world’s wealthy stashed assets in offshore companies
Panamanian lawyer Ramon Fonseca, one of the heads of the now-defunct law firm Mossack Fonseca that was at the epicentre of the global “Panama Papers” scandal, died while awaiting sentencing in his money-laundering trial, his lawyer said Thursday.
During the night, Fonseca “died while hospitalised”, a member of his legal team said, adding that the health concerns were “why he did not attend the trial” that opened on April 8.
No further details were given about the cause of death of Fonseca, 71, who died in hospital in Panama City.
Documents leaked from Mossack Fonseca revealed how many of the world’s wealthy stashed assets in offshore companies, triggering scores of investigations around the globe.
The leak of 11 million financial documents prompted the resignation of the prime minister of Iceland and brought scrutiny to the then-leaders of Argentina and Ukraine, Chinese politicians, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others.
Panamanian prosecutors allege that Mossack, Fonseca and their associates created a web of shell companies that used complex transactions to hide money linked to illicit activities in the “car wash” corruption scandal of Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht.
