The Justice Department on Tuesday announced charges against four people relating to the Panama Papers investigation — the first charges to be announced in the scheme.
Ramses Owens, Dirk Brauer, Richard Gaffey, and Harald von der Goltz were charged with wire fraud, tax fraud, money laundering, and other offenses in connection with their roles in a criminal scheme perpetrated by Panama-based global law firm Mossack Fonseca for nearly 40 years.
Leaked in 2015, the Panama Papers were 11.5 million documents detailing financial and attorney-client information for more than 214,000 offshore holdings in tax havens that defrauded the United States.
Named in the leak were 12 current or former world leaders, 128 politicians and public officials, and hundreds of celebrities, businessmen, and other wealthy individuals of more than 200 countries.
The Panama Papers were the culmination of a yearlong investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, and more than 100 other news organizations.
The Justice Department said Brauer was arrested in Paris, von der Glotz in London, and Gaffey in Medfield, Mass.
Owens, a 50-year-old Panamanian attorney, remains at large.
Brauer is a 54-year-old German investment manager for Mossfon Asset Management, Gaffey is a 74-year-old U.S.-based accountant, and von der Glotz is an 81-year-old German who also was formerly a U.S. resident.
“Law firms, asset managers, and accountants play key roles enabling entry into the global financial system,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski in a statement. “The charges announced today demonstrate our commitment to prosecute professionals who facilitate financial crime across international borders and the tax cheats who utilize their services.”
Late last month, Deutsche Bank’s head office and other locations in Frankfurt, Germany, were raided as part of the probe into the Panama Papers. The German bank has been suspected of helping the clients of Mossak Fonseca set up the offshore holdings.
