April 23 2016
Panamanian authorities launched a new raid Friday on an address linked to the law firm at the heart of the Panama Papers scandal, local media reported. Prosecutors focused on organized crime “carried out a raid on a storage property belonging to the firm Mossack Fonseca,” La Prensa newspaper said, publishing a photo of people putting documents into a vehicle.
Officials in the public ministry confirmed to AFP that a raid “is under way” but did not provide further details. It was the second raid in as many weeks on Mossack Fonseca in Panama. On April 12, the same prosecutorial unit swooped on the firm’s main offices for a search that lasted 27 hours.
Officials said after that first raid that no evidence was uncovered to support charges. They added that the firm kept its records on more than 100 servers located at different addresses. Mossack Fonseca is a discreet law firm based in Panama and founded by two local, well-connected lawyers specialized in creating and fronting offshore companies for the world’s wealthy.