Legal Implications of the Panama Papers

The “Panama Papers” leak continues to shine light on the hidden world of money laundering, tax evasion, kleptocracy, evasion of international sanctions, and a host of other potentially fraudulent activities. This leak of more than 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca disclosed the identity of the “true” owners of approximately 214,000 shell companies and billions of dollars of assets.

By identifying the real owners of these entities—ranging from close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin to members of China’s elite to British Prime Minister David Cameron to Argentine President Mauricio Macri—the  disclosures are expected to help authorities catch terrorists, tax cheats, corrupt politicians and drug lords.

The information from Mossack Fonseca’s leaked files also reveals the intricacy of the schemes employed to conduct business around the world as well as to hide assets.

As the Panama Papers’ revelations work their way through the system, U.S. legislators will most certainly be looking for ways to make it tougher to hide assets offshore and impose new disclosure requirements for those who want to conduct business legitimately outside the United States.

Join Jon Barooshian and Matthew Morris for a discussion of these issues. Jon Barooshian is a white collar defense attorney who specializes in tax controversies and government and internal investigations and is a partner in Massachusetts based law firm Bowditch & Dewey, LLP.  Matthew Morris is also a partner at Bowditch & Dewey, LLP and focuses his practice on corporate and individual income tax controversies; probate administration; and tax consequences for trusts, estates and beneficiaries. 

1. An overview of tax evasion and money laundering schemes and potential criminal and civil sanctions for those who run afoul of the laws currently in place
2. Business owners and individuals will gain an understanding of their reporting obligations when conducting business with offshore companies
3. Discuss pending legislation resulting from the Panama Papers revelation and the potential legal consequences for those who may otherwise believe they are compliant