On Wednesday, the government of Panama said it would create an independent body to review the nation's financial practices following the leak of documents from a local law firm that has lifted the lid on how the rich and powerful use tax havens to conceal their wealth.
Reuters reported that President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama said the government will form an independent commission of domestic and international experts mainly to evaluate the current financial practices. The president added that the government, via the foreign ministry department, will share with other nations of the world the measures they have adopted to strengthen the transparency of the financial and legal system.
According to BBC News, the information that was leaked from one of the world's secretive companies, Mossack Fonseca, showed how the law firm's clients were able to launder money. Reports say that Mossack Fonseca helped their clients avoid sanctions and dodge taxes.
Governments across the globe have already started probing possible financial wrongdoings by the rich and powerful after the leak of more than 11.5 million files, named as "Panama Papers" from Mossack Fonseca. Varela reiterated in a brief statement that Panama would work with other nations over the leak, which was published in an investigation made by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalist and several news organizations.
There are more than 100 news organizations who spent a year pondering over the leaked documents with 40 years worth of information connecting to more than 214,000 offshore companies to people in 200 plus countries, reports VOX News. In an obvious sideswipe at the media, President Varela said that serious and responsible governments don't negotiate the adoption of international obligations via the media.
The documents revealed financial arrangements of prominent figures, including peers of Russian president Vladimir Putin; some relatives of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the president of Ukraine; the relatives of the prime ministers of Britain, and the prime minister of Iceland.
Dulcidio De La Guardia, the finance minister of Panama, admitted that the leaked has damaged the reputation of the country. He said the country is still discussing who would be included on the commission.
