Panama Struggles to Shed Its Image as a Magnet for Shady Deals
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A police officer stood guard at the entrance of the Mossack Fonseca law firm office in Panama City in April.CreditCarlos Jasso/Reuters
In August of last year, Panama sought to shed its image as a magnet for shady deals and narco traffickers by paying at least $2 million to host the world’s largest anticorruption conference, now taking place in Panama City.
At the time, it seemed like good idea.
Now, some prominent Panamanians aren’t so sure. Eight months after agreeing to host the conference, the nation was deeply embarrassed when confidential records leaked to journalists revealed that a single Panamanian law firm had created thousands of offshore companies, allowing the wealthy to hide income, some of it from illicit activities. The records became widely known as the “Panama Papers,” a term that so upsets Panamanian officials that some can’t bring themselves to utter it in public…
Panama Struggles to Shed Its Image as a Magnet for Shady Deals
