The Latest on the publication by a coalition of media outlets of an investigation into offshore financial dealings by the rich and famous (all times local):
The Panamanian law firm at the center of a big document leak, Mossack Fonseca, served as an official intermediary for a company sanctioned by the U.S. government for its ties to Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, according to U.S. Treasury Department records.
In 2008, the Treasury Department barred American citizens and companies from doing business with Billy Rautenbach, a Zimbabwean businessman, and one of his companies, Ridgepoint Overseas Developments Ltd. The U.S. also sought to freeze Rautenbach’s assets because of what it said were his ties to corrupt Mugabe officials on a large-scale mining project, according to a Treasury Department press release at the time.
According to the Treasury Department’s release, Ridgepoint listed Mossack Fonseca’s office in the British Virgin Islands as its official address. The sanctions meant the company and Rautenbach were barred from U.S. business until 2014.
Mossack Fonseca said in a statement Monday that it never knowingly worked with people with ties to Zimbabwe.
The law firm said, “If for some reason, unbeknownst to us, some company formed by us ended up in the hands of people having such relations for whatever criminal or unlawful purpose, we strongly condemned that situation and took and will continue taking any measures that are reasonably available to us,” the firm said-AP
