PM Belated Reaction Deemed Negligent

The belated reaction of the Public Ministry to the case involving the law firm belonging to former presidential advisor Ramon Fonseca Mora shows all signs of a cover-up as well as of negligence, according to experts. The ten-day delay in the PM’s response to the Panama Papers leak, which  uncovered the use of offshore companies incorporated by Mossack Fonseca in alleged tax evasion and money laundering schemes, has done irreversible damage to the image of the country.

Lawyer and ombudsman Italo Antinori was scathing in his assessment of the investigation of the scandal-hit law firm, dubbing it as negligent and deficient. In his opinion, the PM’s actions are belated and likely mean that relevant documentary evidence will have been “tampered with or destroyed” by people at the law firm. In a televised interview on the Telemetro channel, Mr. Antinori went on to highlight how in countries such as El Salvador and Peru, local judicial authorities acted swiftly by raiding the firm’s local offices. By contrast, in Panama the PM has been unresponsive and rather focused on shooting the messenger.

In her defense, Attorney General Kenia Porcell emphasized how “what matters now is that we are carrying out the relevant investigation into the alleged crimes”. Eleven full days into the scandal that hit the Panamanian law firm, Ms. Porcell went on to say that the PM will seek evidence of criminal actions in the allegations contained in documents published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.   

In a brief interview to the media, the Attorney General went on to add that “in Panama, fiscal evasion is not a crime [sic]. What we are investigating is whether offshore companies were employed in illicit, criminal acts.” Ms. Porcell said that the Public Prosecutor against organised crime would keep investigating for as long as was deemed necessary, and that multiple experts will have to be involved given the complexity of the case. “We have informally requested the support of other Attorney Generals” she stated, adding that “up to now we have had no official communication, only informal exchanges with our counterparts in Peru, Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica” on the progress of their respective investigation.

District Attorney Javier Caraballo, who is in charge of this complex investigation, informed that all electronic information found at the principal offices of Mossack Fonseca in Panama City had been “retrieved and secured”, during a search effort lasting 27 hours.

Mr. Caraballo went on to explain that the vast majority of the archives at the law firm offices were digitalized in nature – adding up to over 100 virtual servers – which meant the search was especially lengthy. He also pointed out that, given the absence of damning evidence thus far, the PM didn’t see it fit to order the preemptive detention of either firm founder Ramon Fonseca Mora or any other firm executive. In his statement, Mr. Caraballo noted the cooperative stance of the firm’s personnel.

Arm-twisted into action

According to former Panamanian Vice-President Arturo Vaillarino, the PM has acted belatedly and nowhere near as thoroughly as it has done in less high-profile cases. That’s a view echoed by Sidney Sutton, a lawyer, who added that the PM only acted because its arm was twisted into action following pressures exerted by the US government. “The Public Ministry has turned itself into an unofficial accomplice of Mossack Fonseca in these alleged crimes”, he claimed.