Panama's attorney general late on Tuesday raided the
offices of the Mossack Fonseca law firm to search for any evidence of illegal
activities, authorities said in a statement.
The Panama-based law firm is at the center of the
"Panama Papers" leaks scandal that has embarrassed several world
leaders and shone a spotlight on the shadowy world of offshore companies.
The national police, in an earlier statement, said
they were searching for documentation that "would establish the possible
use of the firm for illicit activities." The firm has been accused of tax
evasion and fraud.
Police offers and patrol cars began gathering around
the company's building in the afternoon under the command of prosecutor Javier
Caravallo, who specializes in organized crime and money laundering.
Mossack Fonseca, which specializes in setting up
offshore companies, did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Earlier, founding partner Ramon Fonseca said the
company had broken no laws, destroyed no documents, and all its operations were
legal.
Governments across the world have begun investigating
possible financial wrongdoing by the rich and powerful after the leak of more
than 11.5 million documents, dubbed the Panama Papers, from the law firm that
span four decades.
The papers have revealed financial arrangements of
prominent figures, including friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin,
relatives of the prime ministers of Britain and Pakistan and of China's
President Xi Jinping, and the president of Ukraine.
(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Writing by Anna
Yukhananov; Editing by G Crosse and Ryan Woo)
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