Former co-owner of Panama Papers law firm convicted of aiding and abetting tax evasion
A German court has convicted the former co-owner of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca — the subject of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ Panama Papers investigation — for aiding and abetting tax evasion.
Cologne’s regional court sentenced Christoph Zollinger, a Swiss-Panamanian dual national, to one year and nine months’ probation, according to ICIJ’s German partner ZDF. A spokesperson for the court confirmed to ICIJ that the probation period will last for three years.
German prosecutors accused Zollinger and accomplices of establishing offshore companies based in Panama and other tax havens in exchange for payment, which the court determined was done “on a massive scale” and “in a factory-like manner.”
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