Absolución de los 28 imputados por el caso ‘Papeles de Panamá’

Panama Papers Trial: 28 Acquitted in Historic Money Laundering Case

In a shocking turn of events, a Panamanian court has acquitted all 28 defendants in the infamous ‘Panama Papers’ case, a historic leak of documents from the now-defunct Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The leak implicated various personalities from around the world in money laundering activities, but the court’s ruling has set them free.

The Second Liquidating Judge of Criminal Cases, Baloísa Marquínez, delivered the verdict, stating that the evidence gathered from Mossack Fonseca’s servers did not meet the standards of chain of custody required for legal proceedings. The lack of ‘hash’ values to verify the authenticity and integrity of the electronic evidence led to the dismissal of the charges against the accused.

One of the key figures in the case, Ramón Fonseca Mora, co-founder of Mossack & Fonseca, passed away during the trial, leading to the extinction of the criminal action against him. The court also lifted all personal and real precautionary measures against the defendants, including German lawyer Jürgen Mossack, who was absolved of any wrongdoing.

The ‘Lava Jato’ case, a related investigation into money laundering activities in Brazil, was also part of the trial. However, the court could not establish a connection between illicit funds from Brazil and the Panamanian financial system, leading to the acquittal of the defendants in that aspect as well.

The trial, which began in April and concluded in May, involved a massive amount of evidence, with 837 volumes and over 427,000 pages to review. Despite the high-profile nature of the case and the international attention it garnered, the court’s decision to acquit all defendants has raised questions about the handling of the evidence and the validity of the charges.

The Panama Papers trial will go down in history as a landmark case in the fight against money laundering and financial crimes. While the outcome may be disappointing to some, it serves as a reminder of the importance of due process and the need for strong evidence to convict individuals of such serious offenses.