Arrest warrants issued for founders of Panama Papers firm: report

Yahoo – AFP, October 20, 2020 

Mossack Fonseca's founders, suspected of tax evasion and associating
with criminals, will be arrested if they enter the EU, according to reports

Germany has issued international arrest warrants for the two founders of the firm at the centre of the tax haven scandal exposed by the Panama Papers data leak, German media reported. 

Mossack Fonseca founders Juergen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca, suspected of tax evasion and associating with criminals, will be arrested if they enter the European Union, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported late Monday. 

A spokesman for the Cologne public prosecutor's office confirmed that two international arrest warrants had been issued in connection with ongoing investigations, but did not identify those involved. 

Mossack and Fonesca hold Panamanian passports and are currently in the Caribbean archipelago, which does not have any extradition treaties, the newspaper said. 

However investigators hope that Mossack, who has family in Germany, may surrender to officials in order to negotiate a reduced sentence and avoid US charges. 

The Panama Papers, a massive data leak in April 2016, exposed widespread tax avoidance and evasion using complex structures of offshore shell companies and caused an international outcry. 

At least 150 investigations have been opened in 79 countries to examine potential tax evasion or money laundering, according to the American Center for Public Integrity. 

In 2018, Mossack Fonseca said it would close due to "irreparable damage" to its reputation. Panama's government meanwhile continues to petition the international community to remove it from several tax haven blacklists.

Pope Francis says Church hasn't known 'how to listen'

Yahoo – AFP, Kelly VELASQUEZ,  January 26, 2019

Pope Francis officiates at a mass at the centuries-old Cathedral Basilica of Santa
Maria la Antigua in Panama City on January 26, 2019 during a global youth
gathering (AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

Panama City (AFP) - Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that the Catholic Church was "wounded by sin" in a message addressed to priests and seminarians reeling from sexual abuse scandals and coverups.

In a mass that he officiated at the centuries-old Cathedral of Santa Maria La Antigua in Panama City, Francis warned of the "weariness of hope that comes from seeing a Church wounded by sin, which has so often failed to hear all those cries."

It was the Argentine pontiff's first reference to the sex abuse scandals rocking the Church since he arrived in Panama on Wednesday for a global gathering of young Catholics.

It comes as he prepares to meet senior bishops from around the world in Rome next month to deal with widespread clergy sex abuse of children and young people.

Addressing white robed young seminarians and priests during the mass, the pope said "a subtle weariness" had entered Church communities that "calls into question the energy resources and viability of our mission in this changing and challenging world."

Those changes, he said, "call into doubt the very viability of religious life in today's world."

But he said that the notion that religious communities had nothing to contribute -- that the world "has no room for our message" -- would be "one of the worst heresies possible in our time."

Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said Friday that next month's meeting in Rome would be a unique chance to provide bishops with "concrete measures" to tackle the "terrible plague" of sex abuse by the clergy.

Pilgrims pray on January 26, 2019 in front of the centuries-old Cathedral Basilica of 

Santa Maria la Antigua, in Panama City, as Pope Francis celebrates mass inside

(AFP Photo/Raul ARBOLEDA)

Lunch with the pope

After the mass in the basilica -- home of the first diocese on the American mainland -- the pope and the archbishop of Panama, Cardinal Jose Domingo Ulloa, hosted a lunch for 10 young people of different nationalities attending World Youth Day, a tradition at the global gatherings, held every three years.

The pope's homily to seminarians about the challenges of the priesthood raised the problem of dwindling vocations around the world.

Around the globe, there were 414,969 Catholic priests at the end of 2016, more than 800 less than in 2014, according to the Vatican. There were nearly 700 less people joining the priesthood over the same period.

Francis himself acknowledged at a general audience in August that the scandals of abuse and cover-up by Church leaders has caused a decline in vocations to the priesthood in Ireland.

Later Saturday, the pope was set to preside over an evening vigil with an expected crowd of 200,000 pilgrims at the three-kilometer (two-mile) Metro Park on the outskirts of Panama.

Francis, 82, drew the largest crowd of his five-day visit on Friday evening at a solemn ceremony commemorating Christ's crucifixion in another Panama park.

In a swipe at US President Donald Trump's plans to build a border wall against Central American migrants, the pope told hundreds of thousands of young pilgrims that it was "senseless" to condemn every immigrant "as a threat to society."

He has used his encounter with young people in Central America this week to speak out strongly in defense of migrants, and address other problems affecting the region such as poverty, drug trafficking, violence and what he said was a regional "plague" of murders of women.

Related Article:

Pope in Panama blasts 'fears and suspicions' over migration

Pope in Panama blasts 'fears and suspicions' over migration

Yahoo – AFP, Kelly VELASQUEZ, Denis BARNETT, January 24, 2019

Pope Francis waves after a meeting with Central American bishops in which he
blasted "fears and suspicions" over migration (AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

Panama City (AFP) - Pope Francis said in Panama Thursday that the Church must work to overcome the world's "fears and suspicions" of migration, and pledged his support for "all efforts" to avoid further suffering in crisis-torn Venezuela.

The pope is being kept abreast of developments in nearby Caracas, and was praying for the people of Venezuela, Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said. Francis is supporting "all efforts" to avoid further suffering for the population, he said.

Speaking from Panama in Central America -- the hub for US-bound migrants -- Francis said migrants were simply seeking "the minimum conditions for a better future."

The Argentine pope was addressing Central American bishops on the first day of his visit for a global gathering of young Catholics for World Youth Day.

Earlier, in a speech to government ministers and members of the diplomatic corps at the foreign ministry, he called on political leaders to reject "all forms of corruption."

People strain for a glimpse of Pope Francis, with one holding a poster of Salvadorean 

Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero, slain while celebrating Mass in 1980 (AFP Photo/

Alberto PIZZOLI)

Young people, he said, insisted that those in positions of authority should "lead a life that demonstrates that public service is a synonym of honesty and justice, and opposed to all forms of corruption."

He returned to the theme in his speech to bishops at the nearby 17th Century St Francis of Assisi Church.

Femicide 'plague'

Here, he deplored what he called "the plague" of femicide affecting Latin America.

"The killing of women -- our continent is experiencing a plague in this regard," Francis said, saying this and other problems like drug trafficking, gang violence and the sexual exploitation of minors and young people, were "the fruit of a culture and a society run amok."

A pilgrim carries a Panamanian flag as he walks through the streets of Panama 

City during World Youth Day (AFP Photo/Marvin RECINOS)

"Often families have been broken by an economic system that did not prioritize persons and the common good, but made speculation its 'paradise', without worrying who would end up paying the price."

"And so, we see our young people without a home, without a family, without a community, without a sense of belonging, easy prey for the first charlatan who comes along."

Later Thursday, the pope was to join tens of thousands of young people in formally opening the Catholic jamboree at a palm-fringed park overlooking Panama Bay.

'Fears and suspicions'

Several migrant caravans, mostly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, have been making their way through Central America and Mexico to the US border since last October, amid trenchant opposition from US President Donald Trump.

Francis told bishops that the church, with hospitality and acceptance, can facilitate "dialogue and help overcome fears and suspicions, and thus consolidate the very bonds that migrations -- in the collective imagination -- threaten to break."

A man gives his thumb up as he waits to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis during 

his visit to Panama City (AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

Even before setting foot in Panama on Wednesday, the pope hit out at Trump's plans to build a border wall to keep migrants out, saying the fear of migrants itself "is making us crazy."

Before getting on his plane, the pope underscored his support for migrants by meeting eight immigrants living in Rome.

Thousands turned out to cheer the pope on his way from the Papal Nunciature, where he spent the first night of his five-day visit, to his first official engagement of the day, a courtesy call on President Juan Carlos Varela.

In the narrow streets of the old city, they leaned forward over barriers as the pope's small sedan passed by, waving red and white Panamanian flags.

At the foreign ministry, soberly-suited diplomats posed for selfies with the pope and stretched out to shake his hand as he left the podium after his speech.

A Venezuelan holds a souvenir doll of Pope Francis near a Venezuelan national flag, 

while waiting to see him pass by in Panama City (AFP Photo/Raul Arboleda)

Prayers for Venezuela

On his way from the airport after his arrival on Wednesday, his driver had to swerve sharply at one point when a young man broke through a barrier and ran towards it, waving a Venezuelan flag. The man was quickly detained by security guards.

In crisis-wracked Venezuela, opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido has proclaimed himself president with the support of the United States and several other countries -- including Panama -- setting up a tense standoff with the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

Francis will hold two open-air masses in Panama City. Among the other highlights of his five-day visit will be a trip to the Good Samaritan home for young HIV and AIDS patients on Saturday, after the closing mass.

He will also visit a youth detention center and hear the confessions of inmates, including one serving time for murder.

Rock and roll nuns to perform for pope in Panama

Yahoo – AFP, Roberto CORTIJO, 17 January 2019

Known as "Siervas" or Servants, a band made up of nuns plays catchy Christian
songs that sound indistinguishable from many of their peers in mainstream rock

With millions of YouTube views and hits on Spotify and iTunes, a group of young nun rockers play one of their biggest gigs next week, and thousands of Catholics, including the pope himself, will lap it up.

It may be rock and roll, but Twisted Sister they ain't, and sex and drugs are not an option for the Sisters of the Servants of the Plan of God. They play their brand of melodic rock in their traditional habits.

"We're young sisters," says 37-year-old guitarist Sister Ivonne of the band, which includes members from Chile, Japan, Ecuador, China and Costa Rica.

"This is another form of bringing our evangelical message, showing our strength -- that's to say, it's also music that we like, it shows a lot about who we are."

Known as "Siervas" or Servants, the band plays catchy Christian songs that sound indistinguishable from many of their peers in mainstream rock.

But the appearance is very different, rock's grunge and glad rags giving way to the nuns' tried and trusted black and white habits and veils on stage.

Sister Ivonne (L) says playing in a band with other nuns is "another form of bringing 

our evangelical message, showing our strength"

YouTube hit

With a half-dozen slickly produced videos on YouTube, Siervas has built an international following as it communicates its message of "love, joy, hope."

Their "Trust in God" music video, which features the nuns playing on a helipad atop a Lima skyscraper, went viral on YouTube with nearly two million views.

And now, the Peru-based sisters will play at the World Youth Day celebrations, a gathering of global Catholic youth in Panama presided over by Pope Francis.

The message at the heart of their music? "We want to reach as many people as possible, and if the pope is included in that, we're more than satisfied," said Ivonne, who pens much of the lyrics.

The 11-member band, which performs in Spanish, has previously played for crowds at Francis' visits to Mexico and Peru.

Sister Teresa, a drum player from Chile, plays in a band made

 up of nuns she says takes "the word of God and his consolation 

to the prisons, to the disabled"

Not just music

"We're not just working in music, but we take the word of God and his consolation to the prisons, to the disabled," said Sister Daniela, the drummer from Costa Rica.

Tuesdays, when they are back in Peru, they bring food to the homeless on the streets.

The group will gig at a women's prison during the trip to Panama. They will also play at a children's cancer hospital and schools.

"We go to the women's prisons to listen to them. All they ask is to be listened to and to know God has forgiven them," said Camila, the 22-year-old Peruvian guitarist.

The band, which has so far visited 11 countries, including the United States, was formed in Lima in 2014 when the young musician nuns from different nationalities came together, said 24-year-old Sister Arisa, from Japan.

"It was God's plan that we come together," said Arisa, a violinist.

After months of rehearsal, they held their first concert in the auditorium of the General Command of the Army, helping raise funds for a house for the order in Angola.

Sister Arisa, a violinist from Japan, says that "it was God's plan" that she and 

other nuns form a band

The band has undergone several changes to its lineup since 2014, as sisters leave to fulfill their missionary role.

"Until now we have not been able to talk to the pope, we would love it if he approaches us," said Ivonne, from Chile.

"I wouldn't know what to say, I think I would faint."

Known as "Siervas" or Servants, a band made up of nuns plays catchy Christian songs that sound indistinguishable from many of their peers in mainstream rock

Sister Ivonne says playing in a band with other nuns is "another form of bringing our evangelical message, showing our strength"

Sister Teresa, a drum player from Chile, plays in a band made up of nuns she says takes "the word of God and his consolation to the prisons, to the disabled"

Sister Arisa, a violinist from Japan, says that "it was God's plan" that she and other nuns form a band

VIDEO: These nuns play catchy Christian songs that sound like mainstream rock 'n roll, and are scheduled to play at the World Youth Day celebrations in Panama, an event presided over by Pope Francis pic.twitter.com/xggFs5r8Iq

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 17, 2019

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Women should play a greater role in the training of priests to fight the child abuse 'crisis' that has engulfed the #CatholicChurch, Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet has said https://t.co/UmGvrcnIZI #MarcOuellet

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 16, 2018

China's Xi in Panama on mission to bolster clout in Latin America

Yahoo – AFP, December 4, 2018

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and his Panamanian counterpart Juan Carlos
Varela (R) signed a score of infrastructure, tourism and development cooperation
agreements (AFP Photo/Luis ACOSTA)

China's President Xi Jinping and his Panamanian counterpart Juan Carlos Varela signed a string of cooperation agreements Monday as Beijing aims to extend its political and economic influence in Latin America.

Xi arrived in the Central American country late Sunday, fresh from striking a 90-day truce deal in the trade war with US President Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Argentina.

Xi and Varela signed a score of infrastructure, tourism and development cooperation agreements as Panama became the first Latin American country to partner with Beijing's giant multi-billion dollar global investment initiative known as "Belt and Road."

Xi's visit comes after Panama broke ties with Taiwan last year and switched its allegiance to Beijing. Since Panama's move, two other Central American countries -- the Dominican Republic and El Salvador -- have made the switch.

"Our bilateral relations have had a strong start after only a year and a half," Xi said.

Varela said Xi's visit -- and the investment it brought -- meant Panama would become "the gateway of China to Latin America."

The two countries are also negotiating a free trade agreement.

Xi also met with business leaders and visited the Panama Canal's new Cocoli Locks. China is the canal's second biggest user after the United States.

In a column written for local newspaper Estrella de Panama, Xi said he had "high expectations" for the visit, the first ever by a Chinese leader to the country.

"We must be cooperative partners of mutual benefit and shared profits," wrote Xi.

Beijing hopes Panama can be a logistics hub for the expansion of trade in

Latin America and the Caribbean (AFP Photo/Luis Acosta)

Logistics hub

Beijing hopes Panama can be a logistics hub for the expansion of trade in Latin America and the Caribbean -- an idea the local business community has fully embraced.

"Panama usually generates a lot of interest because of its strategic location in the region and because of the canal," Severo Sousa, president of the National Business Council (Conep), told AFP.

These factors -- along with Panama's political stability, growing economy and deep financial network -- are "very attractive" to China, Sousa added.

"What the Chinese want is very clear, they want to take advantage of the geographical position for their expansion and development in the region," said economist Francisco Bustamante.

"A strong Chinese presence in Panama reaffirms to the world China's rise in the global hierarchy at the expense of the United States," said Carlos Guevara Mann, professor of international relations at Florida State University in Panama.

"Being caught in the rivalry between China and the United States would be extremely problematic for Panama," because "it could lead to reprisals by Washington," warned Mann.

During a visit to the Central American country last month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Varela about China's growing influence in the region.

Tug of war over Taiwan

China and Taiwan have been governed separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949, but Beijing sees the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification.

Beijing and Taipei have been engaged for years in a diplomatic tug-of-war in developing countries, with aid and economic support often used as bargaining chips to gain diplomatic recognition.

Washington, which has accused the Chinese of trying to use aid to drive a wedge between Taipei and its Western Hemisphere partners, recalled its envoy to Panama City in September this year.

Varela, who visited China last year, promptly asked the US to respect his country's sovereignty.

VIDEO: China's President Xi Jinping and his Panamanian counterpart Juan Carlos Varela sign a string of cooperation agreements as Beijing aims to extend its political and economic influence in Latin America pic.twitter.com/tBsUUmxyo0

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 4, 2018

Trump name stripped from Panama hotel in property dispute

Yahoo – AFP, 5 March 2018

View of the hotel entrance sign after the Trump letters were removed,
outside the hotel in Panama City on March 5, 2018

The owner of the Trump Hotel in Panama City said Monday he had succeeded in expelling the management company of the US president's family from the building.

Cypriot businessman Orestes Fintiklis, who owns a majority of the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower in Panama, said it was "a commercial dispute that just spun out of control, and today this dispute has been settled by the judges and the authorities in this country."

Workers removed the Trump logo from the entrance to the luxury complex, where police had been deployed earlier in the day.

"Today Panama has showcased stable institutions, rule of law and investor-friendly legal framework," said Fintiklis in a brief statement to the press.

The row erupted last month when Fintiklis, a Miami-based investor who last year became owner of the majority of units in the building through a company he controls, said he wanted to boot the Trump Organization out before its management contract was up, remove the Trump name and rebrand the building.

In lawsuits lodged in the United States, Fintiklis alleged a decline in occupancy in the hotel. The Trump Organization hit back, claiming Fintiklis was breaching his contractual commitments as owner.

Fintiklis complained to the Panamanian prosecutors' office that Trump Organization employees were barring him access to the units he owns in the sail-shaped complex, which also boasts a casino, shops, a spa and a small private beach.

The complex was inaugurated in 2011 by Trump and Panama's president at the time, Ricardo Martinelli. Martinelli is currently on bail in Miami fighting extradition to Panama, where he is charged with corruption and spying.

The hotel and the majority of the apartments were sold last year to Fintiklis' Ithaca Capital Partners, which is based in Miami.

As part of the deal, the administration of the hotel remained in the hands of the Trump Organization, run by the president's two sons since he took office last year.

Trump Hotels last week accused Fintiklis of "fraud" and using "mafia-style tactics" to force its administration staff out of the disputed building.

There have been reports of physical confrontations between the new owner and his team and the Trump administration staff.

Last month, Panamanian prosecutors announced they were opening an investigation into the case following complaints by Fintiklis that he had been prevented from entering the building.

Accompanied by police and a court order, majority owners of Trump hotel in Panama City take ownership from Trump management #TrumpOceanClub pic.twitter.com/HagJMqupIS

— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 6, 2018

Ecuador's jailed VP stripped of office

Yahoo – AFP, Santiago PIEDRA SILVA, January 3, 2018

In prison for taking kickbacks, Ecuadoran Vice President Jorge Glas has
been stripped of his office (AFP Photo/Rodrigo BUENDIA)

Quito (AFP) - Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno confirmed on Wednesday that Jorge Glas, his vice president jailed for six years for graft, has been stripped of his office.

Glas, 48, automatically lost his title on Wednesday because he was absent from his post for more than the three months permitted under Ecuador's constitution -- because of his incarceration and pre-trial detention.

He is the highest-ranking Latin American politician to be convicted and imprisoned in a regional scandal involving a Brazilian construction group, Odebrecht, which gave bribes to secure public works contracts.

He was given a six-year sentence on December 13 by Ecuador's Supreme Court after being found guilty of receiving $13.5 million in Odebrecht kickbacks. He says he is innocent and will appeal.

But, taking into account his detention since October 2 pending his trial, he has not been able to carry out his duties.

That meant that at midnight Tuesday (0500 GMT Wednesday), Glas had failed to execute his functions as vice president for the three months allowed under the constitution. So he automatically lost his post.

"In line with what the constitution stipulates, the vice presidential functions of Jorge Glas have ended," Moreno told reporters at his palace in the capital, Quito.

He added that, by law, he now had two weeks to present a list of potential replacements for Congress to choose Glas's successor.

Two potential successors

The legislature voted December 17 to open proceedings to fire Glas. But that required rulings from the Constitutional Court and a congressional panel before going to a vote before the entire Congress.

In the end, the constitution's provisions were deemed to have gone into effect before the legislative process had run its course.

Glas has insisted he did not breach the three-month absence rule, arguing that part of his period in custody was vacation time. But that stance was dismissed by the government and Congress.

"Under the law, the three months of absence means that a temporary deficiency (of vice-presidential functions) becomes a definitive one, without the need for any congressional declaration," a constitutional expert, Rafael Oyarte, told AFP.

Two people were seen as best-placed to succeed Glas: current acting vice president Maria Vicuna, and Industries Minister Eva Garcia.

Ecuador's ruling party is split between Moreno and previous president Rafael Correa. Glas was an ally of Correa, who retired to Belgium but returned to his country in late November to battle Moreno for control of the party.

Odebrecht, which was investigated by the US Justice Department, agreed to pay a $3.5 billion fine after admitting to giving $788 million in bribes across 12 countries to secure contracts.

The scandal has ensnared politicians in several countries, including Mexico, Peru, Panama and Venezuela.

Ecuadoran prosecutors said Odebrecht spent $47.3 million in bribes in their country to get public contracts.

From dictator to detainee: Noriega's turbulent past

Yahoo – AFP, May 30, 2017

From dictator to detainee: Noriega s turbulent past

Panama City (AFP) - The late Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who rose to power while working for the CIA, ruled ruthlessly 1983-1989 and was ousted by a US military invasion.

Noriega, 83, died late Monday in a Panama City hospital as he was recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumor.

Here are some notable moments of Noriega's life:

February 11, 1934: Noriega is born to a poor family in Panama City's Guachimango district. He goes on to graduate from a military academy in Peru and embarks on a military career.

1968: Participates in a coup that ousts president Arnulfo Arias, and backs popular strongman general Omar Torrijos. Around this time Noriega reportedly goes onto the CIA's payroll. Torrijos makes him chief of Panama's military intelligence.

1983: Noriega takes command of the National Guard and becomes Panama's de facto ruler, two years after Torrijos dies in a mysterious plane crash.

December 20, 1989: US forces invade Panama to oust Noriega, accusing him of drug trafficking. Noriega takes refuge in the Vatican embassy for 10 days, then surrenders to the US soldiers, who take him to the United States.

1992: A US court sentences Noriega to 40 years prison for drug trafficking. The sentence is later cut to 17 years.

April 2010: Noriega is extradited to France, where he faces charges of laundering $3 million from the Medellin drug cartel through French banks.

July 2010: A French court sentences Noriega to seven years in prison.

December 11, 2011: France extradites Noriega to Panama, where he was sentenced in absentia to three 20-year prison sentences for the murder of opponent Hugo Spadafora and military commander Moises Giroldi, and for killing rebellious soldiers trying to overthrow him in what became known as the Albrook massacre.

January 28, 2017: A Panama court agrees to temporarily release Noriega to house arrest to prepare for surgery to remove a benign brain tumor. The ex-dictator's family and lawyers say he has suffered strokes, respiratory problems, prostate cancer and depression.

March 7, 2017: Doctors remove the brain tumor, but complications lead to cerebral bleeding. Following a second operation doctors put him in an induced coma.

May 29, 2017: Noriega dies at the San Tomas public hospital.

From dictator to detainee: Noriega's turbulent past https://t.co/CRIV6QHl2u pic.twitter.com/AUdThhnbFs

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 30, 2017

Dutch central bank takes action against trust offices post Panama Papers

DutchNews, January 25, 2017

Photo: Pbech via Wikimedia Commons

The Dutch central bank has made formal complaints about a number of trust offices in the Netherlands following the publication of the Panama Papers – millions of leaked documents about offshore entities. 

The head of the bank’s integrity division Willemieke van Gorkum told the Financieele Dagblad on Wednesday that ‘action has been taken against individual institutions’ but declined to say which trusts or how many. 

A number of Dutch banks, trust offices, notaries and tax advisors were referenced too in the leaked documents.

‘We have carried out data research on the basis of the leaked documents and taken action against individual institutions,’ she said. ‘This involves pension funds and insurance companies as well as banks and trust offices. A number of investigations are underway, in cooperation with other regulators such as the AFM.’ 

The FD says the central bank has increased its supervision of trust offices in recent years following mounting criticism of the sector. 

Trust offices in the Netherlands currently manage the affairs of 24,000 companies for their clients, but the identity of the owners is often hard to establish. 

Panama pardons Dutch journalist jailed for libel

DutchNews, December 20, 2016

Panama’s president Juan Carlos Varela has given an official pardon to Dutch journalist Okke Ornstein, who was arrested last month and ordered to spend three years four months in jail. 

The Panama authorities published a list of names of people who are being pardoned on Tuesday. Ornstein will be freed on Friday if he does not object, the Dutch foreign ministry said.

‘It will be terrific if he is free in time to celebrate Christmas with his family,’ said foreign minister Bert Koenders. 

Ornstein was arrested last month on a charge of criminal libel dating from 2012 as he entered Panama where he lives. 

The libel charges followed articles on his blog Bananama Republic about the business practices of Canadian national Monte Friesner who lives in Panama City. The blog has since been closed down.

Denmark pays for Panama Papers data on own citizens

Yahoo – AFP, September 29, 2016

In April, media outlets published details of murky offshore financial dealings
gleaned from 11.5 million leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm --
the so-called "Panama Papers" (AFP Photo/Andreas Solaro)

Copenhagen (AFP) - The Danish tax authority said on Thursday it had paid an anonymous source almost six million kroner (0.81 million euros, $0.9 million) for leaked data from the Panama Papers on hundreds of Danes.

The government justified the payment earlier this month saying it needed to take all necessary measures to catch tax evaders.

"The material contains the number of files on Danes that we expected and the quality is on a par with the sample cases we were given before," Jim Sorensen, a division head at the agency, said in a statement.

The agency would now analyse the material in more detail, he said.

The Danish government said on September 7 that it would pay an amount in the "lower millions" of kroner to the anonymous source for information on between 500 and 600 Danish taxpayers from the Panama Papers.

In April, media outlets published details of murky offshore financial dealings gleaned from 11.5 million leaked documents from a Panamanian law firm -- the so-called "Panama Papers".

The leaks saw a host of high-profile politicians, celebrities and sports stars embarrassed over their assets in tax havens.