Panama Papers case, aggravates country’s reputation as a center for money laundering – Telemetro

The escape of large amounts of data from a law firm in Panama suggesting that politicians, athletes and artists hid billions of dollars in assets threatened on Sunday to damage the country’s reputation as a haven for money laundering.

Panama, a small country of only 4 million people, has a booming sector of financial services, including revenue from its famous canal, which represents almost 80% of gross domestic product.

It also has one of the best rates of sustained economic growth in Latin America, low inflation and uses the dollar as its currency.

Successive governments have endeavored to present the country as a financial center like Singapore business, which boosts banking business and investment.

However, severe difficulties have been found to modify the generalized image of Panama as a tax haven that helps launder the proceeds of rich and powerful with impunity.

After being subjected to close scrutiny in recent years from other countries, especially the United States, Panama has relatively cleaned up its image, enough to leave the ” blacklist “of suspected money laundering states.

In February, was also out of a “gray list” of nations with lax financial laws, but there is consensus that still has deficiencies in combating money laundering.

The revelations Sunday, published under the title “ Shares of Panama or Panama Papers “, could put this progress at risk.

Although the investigation of the media brought to transactions that are not necessarily illegal light, it is politically difficult to accept the Panama tardiness in applying the rules of international transparency.

Despite foreign pressure, Panama has dragged its feet in responding to requests for exchange of financial information made by other countries and lift its banking secrecy.

“ Panama has become the duller place on earth ” he said director of the Center for Fiscal Policy of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Pascal Saint-Amans, the French chain Tele Sunday.

Transparency International, an organization of control of corruption, in 2015 Panama ranked 72nd out of a total of 168 countries in its ranking on transparency (1 being the most transparent and 168 less).

Last month, Vice President and Foreign Minister of Panama, Isabel De Saint Malo, told BBC radio that his country is “ fully committed “with the exchange of financial information.

The hierarch was also questioned specifically about the firm based in Panama which is at the center of scandal data leakage, Mossack Fonseca, and its role in the massive bribery case occurred in Brazil state oil company Petrobras.

“I think that should be clarified,” he admitted in the interview on March 7.

He said, however, that the financial sector in his country “is governed by the highest international standards.”