(MENAFN- Live Mint) "Panama Papers Scandal: Twenty-seven people are set to go on trial on Monday for money laundering in connection with the \"Panama Papers\" tax evasion scandal, which revealed how many of the world's wealthy stashed assets in offshore companies 2016 revelations rocked governments, exposed high-profile personalities, triggered scores of investigations around the world and dealt a blow to Panama's reputation as an offshore financial hub defendants due to go on trial in a Panamanian criminal court include Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca Mora, the founders of the now-defunct law firm at the centre of the scandal leaked trove of 11.5 million files from their company Mossack Fonseca implicated influential figures including billionaires, politicians and even sports stars Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson was forced to resign after it was revealed his family had offshore accounts Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for life from office after being implicated in the documents implicated included former British premier David Cameron, football star Lionel Messi, Argentina's then-president Mauricio Macri, and Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, to name but a few files were leaked to a German newspaper, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists of those caught up in the scandal put forward reasons to explain their offshore presence and said they did not act illegally so, Mossack Fonseca said in 2018 that it would close due to \"irreparable damage\" to its reputation has adopted new legislation since the scandal broke out, but the Central American country remains on a European Union tax haven blacklist fact that part of its laws against money laundering did not exist when the Panama Papers revelations emerged could complicate efforts by the judiciary to achieve convictions Panama, the crime of tax evasion has only been punishable since 2019 and for amounts greater than $300,000 annually 2023, Mossack and Fonseca were tried in Panama for alleged money laundering in Brazil's \"Car Wash\" corruption scandal involving construction group Odebrecht prosecution requested up to 12 years in prison for both in that case. The sentence has not yet been announced latest trial is expected to run until April 26, according to the judiciary.

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