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 so-called 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 March 2018, the firm announced it was shutting down.[3]

Jürgen Mossack
Mossack in 2009
Born	Jürgen Rolf Dieter Mossack[1] 20 March 1948 Fürth, Bavaria, Germany
Nationality	Panamanian, German[1]
Alma mater	Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua
Known for	co-founder of Mossack Fonseca
Parent(s)	Erhard Mossack

Early life

Mossack was born in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany, on 20 March 1948.[4] 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 shows that he approached the CIA while later living in Panama, volunteering to become a US intelligence asset in Panama.[5]

When Jürgen Mossack was 13 he moved with his father and the rest of his family to Panama.[6] Once in Panama, Erhard Mossack offered his services to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for spying on Communist activity in Cuba.[7][8] 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.[9][10]

Mossack received a bachelor's degree in law from Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua in 1973.[7][11]

His brother, Peter Mossack, was the Panamanian Consul in Frankfurt.[12]

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.[7][9] 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 the Panama Papers affair.[3]

Mossack served on Conarex, Panama’s council on foreign relations, from 2009 to 2014.[7][13] On 7 April 2016, he announced that given the leak he was resigning from Conarex.[14][15]

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.[11] 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.[7]

Criminal investigations

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.”[6]

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."[16]

News stories in April 2016 established that the Panamanian consul in Frankfurt was using the [email protected] email address and questioned whether he should be doing so.[17] Mossack's brother Peter served as Honorary Consul of Panama in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, from 2010 to 16 April 2016.[18][19][20][21]

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.[22]

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.[23] 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.[24] Both Mossack and Fonseca were arrested in February 2017 and were released on bail the following April, after each paying $500,000 in bail.[25]

Personal life

Mossack has one son and four daughters. Mossack is married to Leydelises Pérez de Mossack,[26] herself a legal professional.[27]

In 2017, Mossack was noted as a collector of gold coins, and as a member of the International Maritime Association and the Club Union of Panama.[28]

In popular culture

In 2016, Steven Soderbergh announced he would produce a film about the Panama Papers affair.[29] The comedy-drama The Laundromat premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 1 September 2019.[30] 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.[31] A judge ruled that the case was filed in the wrong court, transferring it to Los Angeles.[32] With a court decision still pending, the film was made available for streaming by Netflix on October 18, 2019. In the film, Mossack is portrayed by Academy Award winner Gary Oldman and Fonseca by Antonio Banderas.[33]

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. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
3. Slawson, Nicola (2018-03-14). "Mossack Fonseca law firm to shut down after Panama Papers tax scandal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
4. "Mr. Jurgen Mossack Lawyer Profile on". Martindale.com. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
5. Das sind Jürgen Mossack und Ramón Fonseca 4 April 2016, www.welt.de, accessed 23 October 2019
6. 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.
7. Hamilton, Martha M. (April 3, 2016). "Panamanian Law Firm Is Gatekeeper To Vast Flow of Murky Offshore Secrets". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
8. Tobin, Andrew. "Law firm at heart of 'Panama Papers' leak owned by Nazi's son". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
9. Graham, David A. (4 April 2016). "What Is Mossack Fonseca, the Law Firm in the Panama Papers?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
10. Süddeutsche Zeitung. "Panama Papers: Wie Mossack Fonseca Geld versteckt". Süddeutsche.de. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
11. "Jurgen Mossack : Mossdack Fonseca & Co, Panama". Chambersandpartners.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
12. Brother of MF co-founder resigns as consul to Germany 16/04/2016 www.newsroompanama.com, accessed 23 October 2019
13. "Vicepresidente y Canciller Varela se reúne con el Consejo Nacional de Relaciones Exteriores". 21 Dec 2010. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
14. "The Latest: Venezuela to Probe Citizens in 'Panama Papers'". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
15. 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.
16. "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 2019-11-04.
17. "Mossack Milking Varela Connection for own Benefit". Panamá América. April 15, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
18. "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.
19. "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.
20. "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.
21. "Ministerialblatt (MBl. NRW.) Ausgabe 2016 Nr. 25 vom 11.10.2016 Seite 607 bis 666". recht.nrw.de. Ministerium des Inneren des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
22. "German arrest order for Panama Papers lawyers faces hurdle" Associated Press 2020-10-21
23. Hennigan, Tom (October 7, 2017). "Operation Car Wash: Brazil's endemic corruption laid bare". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
24. "Mossack & Fonseca deeply entrenched in Foreign Service". April 8, 2016.
25. "Detained partners of law firm at the heart of Panama Papers scandal granted bail". DW.COM. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
26. "El otro secreto de los papeles de Panamá". elmundo.es (in Spanish). 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
27. "Esposa de Mossack pide a Panamá garantías judiciales en caso". Revista Estrategia & Negocios (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-04.
28. "The saga of Mossack Fonseca" The Hindu 2017-04-20
29. McNary, Dave (2016-07-07). "Panama Papers Movie in the Works From Steven Soderbergh". Variety. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
30. Brooks, Xan (2019-09-01). "The Laundromat review: Gary Oldman spins lies to Meryl Streep in sparkling comedy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
31. Spencer, Samuel (2019-10-18). ""The Laundromat" on Netflix: What are the Panama Papers". Newsweek. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
32. "Netflix's 'The Laundromat' Goes On as Court Transfers Lawsuit". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2019-10-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
33. "The Panama Papers". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 2019-11-04.