‘Panama Papers’ law firm co-founder Ramon Fonseca dies

PANAMA CITY: Ramon Fonseca, who co-founded the now defunct law firm linked to the Panama Papers scandal, died overnight in hospital, his lawyer said on Thursday morning.

“He had been hospitalized since the start of April,” Fonseca’s lawyer Guillermina McDonald said in a phone call to a news agency, without saying for what Fonseca was being treated. He did not share details about the funeral arrangements.

“Because of this he was not able to attend the hearing,” McDonald said, referring to a court proceeding that took place at the start of April to evaluate Fonseca’s involvement, alongside some twenty other people, in alleged money laundering. A verdict and sentence in the case have yet to handed out.

Fonseca’s niece Carolina Fonseca said on X: “His presence and his fascinating theories accompanied us on this platform. Rest in peace, dear uncle, you will always live in our hearts.”

Fonseca’s law firm, Mossack Fonseca, entered the spotlight in 2016 after leaked confidential documents exposed accounts housed in tax havens linked to individuals including Argentine president Mauricio Macri, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and Argentine football star Lionel Messi.