The Panama Papers documents were stolen by a hacker, law firm says

The Mossack Fonseca office in Panama.
(Image credit: Rodrigo Arangua/AFP/Getty Images)

The 11.5 million documents released in a bundle dubbed the Panama Papers were stolen from the Mossack Fonseca law firm by a hacker, a founding partner of the company said.

Mossack Fonseca has ruled out an inside job, Ramon Fonseca told Reuters, and has a "theory we are following." On Sunday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published the documents, including emails, contracts, and banking statements, saying they detail how the wealthy can use offshore tax companies and accounts to hide assets. Fonseca said the law firm, which specializes in setting up offshore companies, is the victim of a "witch hunt," and has never broken the law, evaded taxes, or laundered money.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.