The Bahamas Government today described as “disconcerting” the so-called “Panama Papers” alleging that a number of world leaders and other prominent people used a law firm in Panama to develop offshore companies to evade taxes.
The leaked documents from the Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama reveal that several Caribbean countries were used in establishing the offshore companies.
In a statement, Financial Services Minister, Hope Strachan, said the leak of the documents is disconcerting.
“This leak challenges the work and validity of international financial centres. We are following the development of this investigation closely,” she said, adding that “the Bahamas is a compliant jurisdiction, operating under international regulatory standards.
The first casualty of the leak documents is Iceland’s embattled Prime Minister, Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, who tendered his resignation in the wake of a mounting political crisis over his family’s offshore investments.
