PANAMA PAPERS – CUTREMUR PLANETAR
PANAMA PAPERS - A WORLDWIDE EARTHQUAKE

Summary/Abstract: The features of tax havens have always attracted capital recyclers as until recently the havens could keep secret over transactions, so that the owner of a firm incorporated into a tax heaven should not be associated to any capital flow. Modern banking and communication systems in the countries hosting tax heavens allow fast dissemination of capital, which can be used by capital recyclers during all stages of money laundering: placement, layering and integration. Panama Papers is the largest information leakage in the world, which helped unravel several offshore businesses in Panama, whose managers are ministares, presidents, kings, footballers, television stars among others. Over 11.5 million documents belonging to Mossack Fonseca law firm were handed over to the media. Contextually, this company set 214,448 companies for its clients throughout the world. This is only the start in the public disclosure on the way in which this law firm „helped” several powerful financial magnates ranked among the first 100 in Forbes, as well as national political leaders involved in international power schemes to protect and maximize profits, and to evade taxes according to the tax legislation in their countries. This immense world scandal caused by the disclosures revealed the shady role of the offshore companies in concealing world financial flows. The impact of this financial megascandal in Romania, with well-known political implications goes still unnoticed, even if during 2003 - 31 March 2016, 286 individuals and companies sent E50.5 million from Romania to Panama and brought back E21,7 million. The national public opinion does not show interest for this matter, probably as a response to societal immunity to corruption scandals marking almost every political stage in the history of the country and the monopoly of the political and financial leaders in the past 26 years.

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