Jürgen Mossack

Jürgen Rolf Dieter Mossack (born 20 March 1948) is a German-born Panamanian lawyer and the co-founder of Mossack Fonseca, a former law firm headquartered in Panama City which had more than 40 offices worldwide. The firm gained global notoriety in 2016 when it found itself at the centre of the Panama Papers affair, which uncovered the activities of the offshore finance industry. According to the leaked papers, Mossack Fonseca set up more than 214,000 shell companies around the world, some of which were found to have been used for illegal purposes, including fraud and tax evasion.[2] In 2016, Mossack Fonseca was raided by police on suspicion of money-laundering, bribery and corruption.[3] Mossack and his partner Ramón Fonseca Mora were arrested and jailed on 10 February 2017.[4] They were initially refused bail because the court saw a flight risk,[5] but were released on 21 April 2017 after a judge ruled they had cooperated with the investigation and ordered them each to pay $500,000 in bail.[6][7] Numerous lawsuits including serious allegations of collusion with despotic regimes, mafia, and global criminals are ongoing.[8]

Jürgen Mossack
Mossack in 2009
Born
Jürgen Rolf Dieter Mossack[1]

(1948-03-20) 20 March 1948
Fürth, Occupied Germany
NationalityPanamanian, German[1]
Alma materUniversidad Católica Santa María La Antigua (LLB)
Known forCo-founder of Mossack Fonseca

In March 2018, the firm announced it was shutting down.[9]

Early life

Mossack was born in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany, on 20 March 1948.[10] His father, Erhard Mossack, was a mechanical engineer who had served as a combat soldier with the rank of Rottenführer (senior corporal) in the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel, during World War II. According to the Center for Public Integrity, U.S. intelligence files show that Erhard had approached the CIA while later living in Panama, volunteering to become a US intelligence asset in Panama.[11]

When Jürgen Mossack was 13 he moved with his father and the rest of his family to Panama.[12] Once in Panama, Erhard Mossack offered his services to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for spying on Communist activity in Cuba.[13][14] Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, said in 2016, when contacted by journalists, that they had documents related to Erhard Mossack but would not share any information, owing to possible security risks.[15][16]

Mossack received a bachelor's degree in law from Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua in 1973.[13][17]

His brother, Peter Mossack, was the Panamanian Consul in Frankfurt.[18]

Career

In 1975, Mossack worked as a lawyer in London before returning to Panama to start a firm in 1977. Mossack's practice only became Mossack Fonseca in 1986, when it merged with the firm run by Ramón Fonseca Mora, a Panamanian novelist, lawyer, and politician.[13][15] They built a global group of 600 employees and 46 subsidiaries, across countries including the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Jersey, Luxembourg, and the US, specifically the states of Wyoming, Florida, and Nevada. In March 2018, the firm shut down in the wake of its involvement in activities cited the Panama Papers affair.[9]

Mossack served on Conarex, Panama's council on foreign relations, from 2009 to 2014.[13][19] On 7 April 2016, he announced that given the leak he was resigning from Conarex.[20][21]

Mossack is a member of the International Bar Association, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the Panama Bar Association, the International Maritime Association, and the Maritime National Association.[17] Mossack's holdings, according to the files obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), include a teak plantation and other real estate, an executive helicopter, a yacht named Rex Maris and a collection of gold coins.[13]

Criminal investigations
Main article: Mossack Fonseca § Controversies

Panama Papers
Main article: Panama Papers

On 3 April 2016, leaked documents from the company's private archive, dubbed the Panama Papers, revealed detailed information on more than 214,000 offshore companies, including the identities of shareholders and directors. Mossack told the Wall Street Journal that the intermediary banks that his firm worked with — and who represent the final recipients of the shell companies — should have done better reviews of their clients: "Our brand needs to be protected. We feel the best way to protect the brand is by doing things ourselves and not rely on others."[12]

News stories in April 2016 established that the Panamanian consul in Frankfurt was using the Panama@mossfon.com email address and questioned whether he should be doing so.[22] Mossack's brother Peter served as Honorary Consul of Panama in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from 2010 to 16 April 2016.[23][24][25][26]

Both Mossack and Fonseca were arrested in Panama in February 2017 and were released on bail two months later, after each paid US$500,000 in bail.[27]

According to court papers filed on 15 October 2019, Mossack and Fonseca "are the subjects of an FBI Investigation in the Southern District of New York" and are "defending criminal charges against them in Panama."[28]

On 20 October 2020, prosecutors in Cologne, Germany, issued international arrest warrants for Mossack and Panamanian Ramón Fonseca. Charges against the two law partners include accessory to tax evasion and forming a criminal organization, with the firm noted as central to the investigation.[29]

Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca have been on trial since 26 June 2023 in a court in Panama City for alleged money laundering. The prosecution has asked for up to 12 years in prison for concealing assets linked to the "Operation Car Wash" case. It also requested sentences for 26 other people and the acquittal of four other defendants.[30]

Money laundering in Brazil

Mossack Fonseca was linked to a corruption scandal in Brazil known as Operation Car Wash, which investigated bribes paid to politicians by companies doing business with the state-run oil company, Petrobras.[31] Investigators began focusing on the law firm after finding an array of apartments in the names of relatives of an imprisoned politician, the New York Times reported.[32]

Personal life

Mossack has one son and four daughters. Mossack is married to Leydelises Pérez de Mossack,[33] herself a legal professional.[34]

Mossack is a collector of gold coins, and a member of the International Maritime Association and the Club Union of Panama.[35]

In 2016, Steven Soderbergh announced he would produce a film about the Panama Papers affair.[36] The comedy-drama The Laundromat premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 1 September 2019.[37] Mossack and Fonseca tried to block the film's release on Netflix by filing a defamation lawsuit against Netflix in October 2019, arguing that the ongoing FBI investigation and possible trial in New York as well as their defence against criminal charges in Panama could be negatively prejudiced by the way they are portrayed in The Laundromat.[38] A judge ruled that the case was filed in the wrong court, transferring it to Los Angeles.[39] With a court decision still pending, the film was made available for streaming by Netflix on 18 October 2019. In the film, Mossack is portrayed by Gary Oldman and Fonseca by Antonio Banderas.[40]

References
  1. "Mossack Fonseca": Die Fließband-Fabrik für Briefkastenfirmen. Tagesschau, accessed 23 October 2019. (in German)
  2. "The Panama Papers: Exposing the Rogue Offshore Finance Industry". ICIJ. 3 April 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  3. Garside, Juliette (11 February 2017). "Mossack Fonseca: Panama Papers law firm bosses refused bail". Retrieved 12 May 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
  4. "Founders of Panama Papers Law Firm Arrested on Money Laundering Charges". icij.org. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  5. "Panama Papers law firm bosses refused bail following bribery arrests". The Independent. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  6. "Panama grants bail to Mossack Fonseca founders in Brazil corruption case". Reuters. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  7. "Detained partners of law firm at the heart of Panama Papers scandal granted bail". DW.COM. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  8. Washington, Jon Swaine Stephanie Kirchgaessner in (4 December 2018). "Panama Papers investigation: four men criminally charged in US". Retrieved 12 May 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
  9. Slawson, Nicola (14 March 2018). "Mossack Fonseca law firm to shut down after Panama Papers tax scandal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  10. "Mr. Jurgen Mossack Lawyer Profile on". Martindale.com. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  11. Das sind Jürgen Mossack und Ramón Fonseca 4 April 2016, www.welt.de, accessed 23 October 2019
  12. Kejal Vyas (7 April 2016). "Co-Founder of Mossack Fonseca Defends Law Firm at Center of 'Panama Papers'". WSJ. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  13. Hamilton, Martha M. (3 April 2016). "Panamanian Law Firm Is Gatekeeper To Vast Flow of Murky Offshore Secrets". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  14. Tobin, Andrew. "Law firm at heart of 'Panama Papers' leak owned by Nazi's son". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  15. Graham, David A. (4 April 2016). "What Is Mossack Fonseca, the Law Firm in the Panama Papers?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  16. Süddeutsche Zeitung. "Panama Papers: Wie Mossack Fonseca Geld versteckt". Süddeutsche.de. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  17. "Jurgen Mossack : Mossdack Fonseca & Co, Panama". Chambersandpartners.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  18. Brother of MF co-founder resigns as consul to Germany 16 April 2016 www.newsroompanama.com, accessed 23 October 2019
  19. "Vicepresidente y Canciller Varela se reúne con el Consejo Nacional de Relaciones Exteriores". 21 December 2010. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  20. "The Latest: Venezuela to Probe Citizens in 'Panama Papers'". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  21. León, Guadalupe (7 April 2016). "Jürgen Mossack renunció al Consejo Nacional de Relaciones Exteriores". La Estrella de Panamá. La Estrella de Panamá. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  22. "Mossack Milking Varela Connection for own Benefit". Panamá América. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  23. "DEPARTAMENTO CONSULAR DE LA DGPE MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES GUIA CONSULAR (actualizada al 6 de abril 2016)" (PDF). MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES. MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES panama. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  24. "DEPARTAMENTO CONSULAR DE LA DGPE MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES GUIA CONSULAR (AGOSTO 2013)" (PDF). MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES. MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES panama. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  25. "DEPARTAMENTO CONSULAR DE LA DGPE MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES GUIA CONSULAR (Febrero 2011)" (PDF). MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES. MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES panama. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  26. "Ministerialblatt (MBl. NRW.) Ausgabe 2016 Nr. 25 vom 11 October 2016 Seite 607 bis 666". recht.nrw.de. Ministerium des Inneren des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  27. "Detained partners of law firm at the heart of Panama Papers scandal granted bail". DW.COM. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  28. "Mossack Fonseca & Co., S.A. et al v. Netflix Inc., Docket No. 3:19-cv-01618 (D. Conn. Oct 15, 2019), Court Docket". www.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  29. "German arrest order for Panama Papers lawyers faces hurdle" Associated Press 21 October 2020
  30. "Concluye juicio en Panamá contra fundadores de Mossack Fonseca por caso "Lava Jato"". SWI swissinfo.ch (in Spanish). 3 July 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  31. Hennigan, Tom (7 October 2017). "Operation Car Wash: Brazil's endemic corruption laid bare". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  32. "Mossack & Fonseca deeply entrenched in Foreign Service". 8 April 2016.
  33. "El otro secreto de los papeles de Panamá". elmundo.es (in Spanish). 10 April 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  34. "Esposa de Mossack pide a Panamá garantías judiciales en caso". Revista Estrategia & Negocios (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  35. "The saga of Mossack Fonseca" The Hindu 20 April 2017
  36. McNary, Dave (7 July 2016). "Panama Papers Movie in the Works From Steven Soderbergh". Variety. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  37. Brooks, Xan (1 September 2019). "The Laundromat review: Gary Oldman spins lies to Meryl Streep in sparkling comedy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  38. Spencer, Samuel (18 October 2019). ""The Laundromat" on Netflix: What are the Panama Papers". Newsweek. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  39. "Netflix's 'The Laundromat' Goes On as Court Transfers Lawsuit". The New York Times. Associated Press. 18 October 2019. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  40. "The Panama Papers". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
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