10/6/2016 HowhasthePapersaffairaffectedPanama?

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HowhasthePapersaffairaffectedPanama?
ByLuisFajardo
BBCMundo,PanamaCity

8April2016 LatinAmerica&Caribbean

GETTYIMAGES

Althoughaverysmallcountry,Panamaisusedtogettingattention,forreasonsgoodand
bad.

ThisCentralAmericannationhasoftenbeeninthemiddleofeventswithanimpactfarbeyond
itsborders,fromtheengineeringmarvelthatisthePanamaCanaltothecountry'smanypolitical
storms.

Evenso,peopleherehavereactedwithsurpriseandindignationafterseeingtheircountry's
namelinkedtoahashtagthatisshakingtheworld.

Formanylocals,totalkabout#PanamaPapersisinitselfaninjustice,asthenametarnishesthe
wholecountrywithanallegedcomplicityininternationaltaxevasion.

Theyclaimtheaccusationsshouldinsteadbedirectedataminusculesegmentoftheirsociety.

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AFP

REUTERS

Andanyway,theyinsist,thePanamaniancompaniesinvolvedwerenotdoinganythingdifferent
tofirmsinotherfinancialcapitalsacrosstheworld.

Panamavowschangeafteroffshoreleaks

HowdidPanamabecomeataxhaven?

Panamaisindeedalargeandsophisticatedoffshorefinancialcentre,whosecompanieshelp
manage,inonewayoranother,largefortunesfromallcornersoftheplanet.

ButhowdoesallofthatmoneyimpacttheeverydaylifeofnormalPanamanians?

Foravisitor,theprosperityofpartsofthecountryisevidentfromthemomenttheplaneflies
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10/6/2016 HowhasthePapersaffairaffectedPanama?BBCNews

overthecapital,affordingthefirstglimpseofPanamaCityfromabove.

GETTYIMAGES

ThecitycentreissoostentatiousthataTrumpluxuryhoteltower,284metreshighanduntil
2012thetallestbuildinginLatinAmerica,goesalmostunnoticedamongthedozensof
skyscraperscrowdingthehorizon.

SomepeoplesayitremindsthemofDubai,otherssayitlookslikeMiami.

PanamaCityhasdoneagoodjobinattractingcashtothecountry,hometojustfourmillion

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10/6/2016 HowhasthePapersaffairaffectedPanama?BBCNews

peopleandwithrelativelyfewnaturalresourcesotherthanitsgeographiclocation.

Thefinancialsectoriskeytothecountry'swealth,representingaround7%ofGDP.

Andinabusinesswherereputationiseverything,manyfeartheeffectthescandalcouldhave
ontheindustry'sfuturegrowth.

ButRafael,thetaxidriverwhotakesmefromtheairportintothecitycentre,doesnot
necessarilyseeitashisproblem.Heviewsitasaquarrelamongelites.

"Itisawhitepeople'sdance,"hesaysdisdainfully.

Hewillnotgivemehisfullname,objectingthat"youneverknowwhoyouaretalkingto".

Butafterafewminutesofconversation,heacknowledgeshisownlifehasbeencloselyaffected
bythefinancialindustry'supsanddowns.

HesaysheworkedwithoneofthemanyWesternbanksthatcametoPanamaduringthe1970s
boom,whenLatinAmericawasawashinpetrodollarsandthecountryhelpedmanagemanyof
theregion'sfortunes.

Butinthe1980sthepetrodollarsvanished.Panamawasstigmatisedasamoneylaundering
centrefordrugcartels,thebankleft,andheendedupwithoutajob.

Thefinancialsectoreventuallyrecoveredandisnowacentralpartoftheeconomy,togetherwith
thePanamaCanal,helpingthecountrybecomemoreprosperousthanmostofitsneighbours.

Withthiswellbeingthreatened,itisnowonderthatpoliticalandbusinessleadersinPanamatreat
thescandalaslittlelessthananactofforeignaggressionagainstthenation.
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REUTERS

LaEstrella,oneofthemainlocalnewspapers,carriedafrontpageheadlineclaimingthat"The
PanamaPapersareaglobalattackagainstthefinancialsystem".

"ThecriticismPanamaisgettingisunfair.Itismediasensationalism,"GianCastillero,anadviser
totheforeignministry,says.

Thisweek'srevelationsonthemechanismsusedbytherichandfamoustohidetheirfortunes
refertomultiplejurisdictions,heclaims,buttheworldisonlyfocusingonone:Panama.

"ThereisnosupervisionprobleminthegovernmentofPanama,"heinsists,addingthatthe
countryhassubmittedtoseveralinternationalbenchmarkingprocessesonitsstandards.

"Thereisacommitmenttotransparency."

Onsocialmedia,somePanamanianshaveundertakenalikelyquixoticcrusadetochangethe
#PanamaPapershashtagtoonethatislesscompromisingoftheircountry'sreputation.

MoreonthePanamaPapers
Tenthingswehavelearned

Who'sbeencaughtinthescandal?

Taxhavensandthenewpolitics

BBCreportersonglobalreaction

Majorbanks'denials

Howassetsarehiddenandtaxesdodged

PanamaPaperstaxhavensoftherichandpowerfulexposed
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10/6/2016 HowhasthePapersaffairaffectedPanama?BBCNews

ElevenmilliondocumentsheldbythePanamabasedlawfirmMossackFonsecahavebeen
passedtoGermannewspaperSueddeutscheZeitung,whichthensharedthemwiththe
InternationalConsortiumofInvestigativeJournalists.BBCPanoramaandUK
newspaperTheGuardianareamong107mediaorganisationsin76countrieswhichhave
beenanalysingthedocuments.TheBBCdoesnotknowtheidentityofthesource

Theyshowhowthecompanyhashelpedclientslaundermoney,dodgesanctionsandevade
tax

MossackFonsecasaysithasoperatedbeyondreproachfor40yearsandneverbeen
accusedorchargedwithcriminalwrongdoing

Tricksofthetrade:Howassetsarehiddenandtaxesevaded

PanamaPapers:FullcoveragefollowreactiononTwitterusing#PanamaPapersinthe
BBCNewsapp,followthetag"PanamaPapers"

WatchPanoramaontheBBCiPlayer(UKviewersonly)

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