Panama fears “irreparable damage” from Pandora Papers

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The government of Panama fears that the Pandora Papers revelations will again affect its reputation, already seriously damaged by the so-called “Panama Papers,” according to a government letter released by local media on Saturday.

“The damage could be insurmountable,” warns the Panamanian government in the letter, sent through a law firm to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The letter warns that “any publication” reinforcing “a false perception” of the country as a possible tax haven “will have devastating consequences for Panama and its people.”

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The letter also indicates some reforms that Panama has made in recent years to protect its financial system, although it remains on the list of tax havens in France and the European Union. In addition, it indicates that since 2016 the registration of more than 395,000 companies and foundations has been suspended, half of those existing since that year.

The government fears that Panama will once again be the epicenter of a new global scandal linked to tax havens, such as the one that took place in 2016, after the disclosure, also by the ICIJ, of the so-called “Panama Papers”.

That publication, linked to the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, sunk the international image of Panama, even though most of the companies involved were abroad.

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