The Tax Times: Federal Agents & Prosecutors Now Gearing Up to Utilize "Panama Papers" in Their Prosecutions of Mossack Fonseca's Employees!

On June 25, 2016 we posted Federal Agents & Prosecutors Gearing Up to Utilize "Panama Papers" in Their Prosecutions where we discussed that Federal agents and prosecutors are "chomping at the bit" to exploit the Panama Papers and launch prosecutions, a senior federal law enforcement official told NBC News, but want to be sure that the way the huge data dump about offshore money was obtained doesn't jeopardize their cases.

The official, who is familiar with ongoing discussions about the document trove, said agents from every three-letter agency are lining up to crunch the data to bolster existing cases and build new ones against organized crime syndicates, drug cartels, foreign corrupt regimes and even suspected Hezbollah terror cells in Latin America and possibly the U.S. That includes the FBI, the IRS and other Treasury agents, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Now U.S. federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into whether individuals at Mossack Fonseca & Co., the law firm at the center of the “Panama Papers” scandal, knowingly helped its clients launder money or evade taxes, according to people familiar with the matter.

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A spokeswoman for Mossack Fonseca directed all inquiries to the firm’s website, which says the firm “has never been accused or charged in connection with criminal wrongdoing.”

The investigation, led by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office and the Justice Department’s main office in Washington, is focused on whether individuals within Mossack Fonseca worked with clients to knowingly facilitate criminal activity, according to people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors are considering charges that could include conspiracies to launder money, evade taxes, and hide bribes to foreign officials, the people said.

The Investigation is Focused on a Handful of

Lower-Level Mossack Fonseca Employees,

but Prosecutors plan to Expand Their Scope,

people familiar with the matter said.

The Investigation is Still in Early Stages!

To bring any charges, U.S. prosecutors would have to prove that Mossack Fonseca’s lawyers knew they were helping clients conduct illegal activities or were willfully blind.

Prosecutors also will have to ensure that the evidence they use from the Panama Papers isn’t protected by attorney-client privilege.

In our April 25, 2016 post entitled DoJ Launches Criminal Investigation of Hundreds of US Taxpayers Named in Panama Papers Leak! we discussed that Mossack Fonseca Company Services is currently attempting to fight a subpoena brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada seeking information on at least 123 companies that it created.

In 2015, a federal judge in Nevada ruled that Mossack Fonseca was subject to the U.S. court’s jurisdiction due to the existence of M.F. Corporate Services in Nevada, which the judge said was a Las Vegas-based “alter ego” for the firm.

As we further discussed in our June 25, 2016 post Nevada & Wyoming Asked to Provide Information on Entities Linked to the “Panama Papers” Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) has asked the Nevada Secretary of State to provide specific information on over 1,000 Nevada business entities that have been linked to the so-called “Panama Papers” scandal. Nevada's law allows it to demand a list of beneficial owners of any entity registered in Nevada and suspected of illegal activities. Senator Wyden has also requested that the Wyoming Secretary of State provide specific information on the 24 Wyoming business entities that are linked to the scandal.

Lets just say that this is not an ideal time to be a Mossack Fonseca client with undeclared offshore income and is now it is also not a good time for Mossack Fonseca employees who may have been involved with or willfully blind to tax evasion, money laundering or other unlawful acts.

Do You Have Undeclared Income From An Entity

Formed By Mossack Fonseca ?