The Panama Papers documents were stolen by a hacker, law firm says
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.
Fonseca told Reuters the emails that have been published were "taken out of context," and the company has filed a complaint with prosecutors in Panama. Several world leaders and celebrities were named in the leaked documents, and the prime minister of Iceland resigned on Tuesday as part of the fallout.
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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.
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