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Federal authorities in New York have announced a raft of conspiracy and tax fraud charges against four men in the first US prosecution related to the so-called Panama Papers.
- Two Germans, an American and Panamanian were charged with conspiracy and other counts
- The defendants allegedly "shuffled millions of dollars through off-shore accounts" since 2000
- Scheme involved shell companies in British Virgin Islands, Panama and Hong Kong
The 11-count indictment unsealed in Manhattan stems from what prosecutors described as an "intercontinental money-laundering scheme" involving a global law firm based in Panama.
Two Germans, one American and one Panamanian citizen were charged with conspiracy and other counts.
It was not immediately clear whether they had defence attorneys.
The Panama Papers include a collection of 11 million secret financial documents that illustrate how some of the world's richest people hide their money.
The records were first leaked to the Suddeutsche Zeitung, a major German newspaper, and were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which began publishing collaborative reports with news organisations in 2016.
Federal prosecutors said Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca conspired to circumvent US laws to maintain the wealth of its clients and conceal tax dollars owed to the IRS.
They said the scheme dated to 2000 and involved sham foundations and shell companies in Panama, Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands.
US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said the defendants, "shuffled millions of dollars through off-shore accounts" and had, "a playbook to repatriate untaxed money into the US banking system".
"Now their international tax scheme is over … and these defendants face years in prison for their crimes," Mr Berman said in a statement.
AP
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, international-financial-institutions, banking, world-politics, company-news, business-economics-and-finance, united-states, panama