A judge has acquitted 28 people accused of money laundering in an international case known as the Panama Papers, including the co-founder of a law firm that authorities say was at the center of a conspiracy to hide money linked to illegal activities.

Jürgen Mossack founded Mossack & Fonseca with then associate Ramón Fonseca, who died in May. Mossack was acquitted on Friday along with others after a Panamanian judge found that the evidence against Mossack didn’t comply with the chain of custody after authorities raided the office of the now defunct firm.

Prosecutors had accused Mossack, Fonseca and others of creating offshore companies and using complex transactions to hide money from illegal activities related to the so-called car wash corruption scandal involving Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, which pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to a charge related to using shell companies to hide millions of dollars in bribes paid worldwide to win public contracts.

The judge noted that other evidence in the Panama Papers case “was not sufficient and conclusive to determine the criminal responsibility of the accused.”

  • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    And that judge will retire to his villa where his children and grandchildren will constantly visit. There will be no talk of politics, or the issues of the world. The man has his bubble and will never see the consequences of his actions.

  • Passerby6497@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Mossack was acquitted on Friday along with others after a Panamanian judge found that the evidence against Mossack didn’t comply with the chain of custody

    Uh oh, looks like the door to the evidence locker got left open and random people who are totally not related to MF and the people who they hid money for got in and rustled everything up. Looks like we gotta aquit them. Aw shucky dee, we’re really sorry all. Looks like those pesky richers are going to go free with no consequences, no one could see this coming.

      • TheFriar@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        The most insane ruling—until overturning chevron.

        Yippee. Things are going so well.

        • Crackhappy@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          It’s rather disturbing that Germany and Japan may be the last major powers with an actual functioning democracy. The irony.

          • TheFriar@lemm.ee
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            4 months ago

            Well with the anti immigrant sentiment surging in Germany, I dunno how much longer that will be the case.

      • Pips@lemmy.sdf.org
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        4 months ago

        I don’t know why the article isn’t explicit but this was a Panamanian judge, not an American one. Most of the Panama Papers prosecutions of the actual law firm were in Panama.

  • Got_Bent@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I don’t know why we’re even remotely concerned with some businessmen, well respected in their communities, conducting perfectly reasonable financial transactions when just last week, I saw a BROWN person in an orange grove, taking all the jobs from “the blacks” and forcing them into poverty!

    Heavy /s though with use of actual sound bites from our burgeoning overlords.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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      4 months ago

      Don’t forget about how drag queens are going to destroy the economy by turning our children trans.

    • ANIMATEK@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I was just about to download it but 40% on RT… Man, that’s rough 😂 I think I pass.