PANAMA CITY – Panamanian investigators on Friday raided a property used by Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the center of a massive leak of offshore financial data, an official from the local prosecutor’s office said.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a statement with more details would be sent in due course.
Leaks from the Panama-based law firm, dubbed the “Panama Papers,” have embarrassed several world leaders and shone a spotlight on the shadowy world of offshore companies.
Panamanian media reported that investigators left a Mossack Fonseca storehouse with bags full of shredded papers.
Mossack Fonseca, which specializes in setting up offshore companies, has said it broke 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 from the firm.
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.
