Source of Panama leak offers authorities help in prosecutions

The whistle-blower, who is identified only as "John Doe," made the offer in a sweeping manifesto entitled "The Revolution Will Be Digitized," which was published Friday in Suddeutsche Zeitung, the German newspaper that received the 12 million or so documents last year.
In the 1,800-word essay, the writer denied published reports that tied the leak to an intelligence agency or government. The motivation for releasing the documents from the law firm Mossack Fonseca was exasperation about the "systemic corruption" that has allowed the problem of income inequality to worsen, according to the essay.
"Shell companies are often associated with the crime of tax evasion, but the Panama Papers show beyond a shadow of a doubt that although shell companies are not illegal by definition, they are used to carry out a wide array of serious crimes that go beyond evading taxes," the writer said. "I decided to expose Mossack Fonseca because I thought its founders, employees and clients should have to answer for their roles in these crimes, only some of which have come to light thus far. It will take years, possibly decades, for the full extent of the firm's sordid acts to become known."
A spokeswoman at Mossack Fonseca declined to comment Friday. After an initial round of articles based on the documents, the law firm posted a statement on its website saying its work was being misrepresented; that it conducts due diligence on its clients on an ongoing basis; that it denies services to clients who don't comply with information requests or have been sanctioned by authorities; and that it cooperates with authorities in investigations.
The manifesto was also published on the website of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the Washington-based non-profit that worked with the German newspaper to publish stories about the alleged abuses revealed by the leaked documents. Stories focused on how the structures allowed the wealthy and powerful to conceal assets and, in some cases, hide criminal activity like money laundering and tax evasion or hide artistic works of disputed ownership.

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