The leaking of private documents from Panamanian law
firm Mossack Fonseca in April 2016 served to undermine the
legitimacy of offshore financial centres. Marcus Leese, Ogier
Partner, explains how Guernsey has rebuilt trust in the
aftermath.
In early 2016 several million client-related documents were
stolen from a Panamanian law firm. The documents were subsequently
passed to the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists, who proceeded to publicise the theft and to
selectively release small elements of the stolen material
(seemingly on the basis of what it judged to be the most salacious
and embarrassing of the material).
The popular press reported these events widely – aware of
the popularity of any story which conflates money, the powerful
and/or famous, and the offshore world. The usual and expected
public outrage was generated. This became widely known as the
Panama Papers.
