Panamanian court acquits 28 people tied to 'Panama Papers' scandal

NEWS WIRES

29 June 2024 at 3:25 am·1-min read

More than two dozen people accused of money laundering in connection with the “Panama Papers” tax evasion scandal were acquitted by a Panama court Friday, including both founders of the now-infamous law firm Mossack Fonseca. The judge ruled that evidence taken from the law firm’s servers had not been collected in line with due process.

A Panamanian court on Friday acquitted 28 people charged with money laundering in relation to the now-defunct law firm Mossack Fonseca, the hub of the global tax evasion scandal known as the "Panama Papers".

Among those acquitted were the firm's founders, Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca, the latter of whom 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, Judge Baloisa Marquinez acquitted the pair and 26 others after finding that evidence taken from the law firm's servers had not been gathered in line with due process, raising doubts about its "authenticity and integrity," a court statement said.

(AFP)

The Telegraph
Woman charged after video allegedly showed prison officer having sex with inmate
A woman has been charged after a video emerged that allegedly showed a prison officer having sex with an inmate in a jail cell.
The Independent
A pair of siblings were stabbed and the sister’s dying words were that the killer was a man from Detroit. Thirty-four years later, he’s been arrested.
Pamela Sumpter, was raped and stabbed, and her brother John Sumpter was stabbed to death, at their Georgia home on July 15, 1990
Associated Press
Ukraine's convicts offered release at a high price: Joining the fight against Russia
At a rural penal colony in southeast Ukraine, several convicts stand assembled under barbed wire to hear an army recruiter offer them a shot at parole. In return, they must join the grueling fight against Russia. Ukraine is expanding the draft to cope with acute battlefield shortages more than two years into fighting against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
INSIDER
It took a woman 3 years and cost her $200K to kick a tenant out of her LA home. She says she cried when she saw the bloody mess he left.
Alison Weinsweig told BI about her three-year ordeal with a tenant, which ended in over $200,000 in losses, a legal battle, and blood-stained floors.
CNN
A year ago, she drank battery acid to escape life under the Taliban. Today, she has a message for other Afghan girls
Arzo survived a suicide attempt but now faces a new threat that could send her family – and millions like them – back to Afghanistan and a life that has become so intolerable for women and girls that some would rather die.
CNN Business
One of the world’s richest men wants to transform India’s biggest slum
When Masoom Ali Shaikh arrived in Mumbai in 1974 as a young man from northern India, the patch of land where he set up shop was “just a creek with no proper road and garbage all around,” he said.
The Guardian
Life at the heart of Japan’s lonely deaths epidemic: ‘I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried’
Some 68,000 people are expected to die alone and unnoticed in Japan this year, police say, as the population continues to age
The Hill
Ex-Trump official lauds Supreme Court ruling on Jan. 6 riot cases: ‘Absolutely right’
Former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker (R) said the Supreme Court was “absolutely right” in blocking the Department of Justice (DOJ) from charging Jan. 6 rioters with obstruction. Whitaker, who served as former President Trump’s acting attorney general for three months in 2018 after Jeff Sessions vacated the role at the president’s request, said he…
People
Mom, 23, Who Disappeared with 2 Kids May Have Been 'Coerced to Travel' to Religious Facility in Mexico: Police
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said on Facebook that Martha Unger and her two daughters, ages 1 and 2, were reported missing from their home this week
The Independent
An NYPD cop getting her nails done for a wedding among 4 killed after driver crashed into Long Island salon
Police say Steven Schwally, 64, had been speeding through the parking lot when he drove through the window at the Hawaii Nail & Spa in Deer Park
People
A Mother Served Her 19-Year-Old Son an Eviction Notice. Now He's Accused of Strangling Her to Death
Conner Kobold is charged with the murder of his mother, Shanelle Burns
Associated Press
Video shows NY officer fatally shooting 13-year-old on ground. Police say he pointed a replica gun
Video released late Saturday shows an officer in upstate New York fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy who had been tackled to the ground after he ran from police and pointed a replica handgun at them. The teen was killed a little after 10 p.m. Friday in Utica after officers in the city about 240 miles (400 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan stopped two youths in connection with an armed robbery investigation, police said. The body camera video released by police captures an officer saying he needs to pat them down to ensure they don't have any weapons in their possession.
Deadline
Man Who Posed As Hollywood Agent Charged With Three Sexual Assaults
Los Angeles police have charged a photographer with sexually assaulting three young men aspiring to be models. The police are searching for witnesses to the alleged crimes and for more potential victims. Police claim William Isaac Thomas Jr., 49, presented himself as an industry expert to young men. After being hired as their agent, he …
The Independent
Mother and her children may have been ‘coerced’ to travel to ‘religious rehab’ in Mexico
Martha Unger, 23, and her daughters, Madilynn Grace Unger, 2, and Haylie Faith Unger, 1, vanished from their Kansas home on Friday
People
Law Enforcement Source Says Arrests Should Be Made After Matthew Perry's Death: Here's What Could Happen Next
Matthew Perry died in October 2023 at the age of 54 from acute effects of ketamine, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner
The Independent
His wife has been missing for a week. Now he’s charged with using her credit cards to buy cleaning supplies
Zachariah Rasch, 42, bought $6,000 worth of items with Crystal Rasch’s credit cards, including gloves, stain remover and carpet cleaners
CNN
‘What’s going to happen for us?’ These gay military veterans wonder what Biden’s new pardon means for them
After President Joe Biden pardoned American veterans who were convicted under a military law that banned gay sex for more than 60 years, Mona McGuire and Karla Lehmann have been left wondering whether the announcement will affect service members, like them, who accepted less than honorable discharges rather than face court martial – a lasting stain on their military records.
Storyful
Police Halt Patrol Vehicle to Let Skunk Mother 'Wrangle Her Babies' Across Street
Officers in Baker County, Oregon, paused their patrol car to let a family of skunks get across a roadway in the area, video posted on Friday, June 28, showed.Footage posted to Facebook by Baker County Sheriff’s Office shows the skunk family crossing the road as officers are heard speaking on radio.“We gave this hard-working mama plenty of space while she was doing her best to wrangle those babies! You never know what you
The Guardian
London Pride: Sadiq Khan leads 32,000 marchers through capital
Annual LBGTQ+ celebration takes place with march between Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square
The Telegraph
Police arrested Palestine protesters before Pride parade
Police arrested more than 30 pro-Palestinian activists in a pre-emptive operation designed to prevent disruption during Saturday’s Pride parade.

Latest stories