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| Mossack Fonseca worker arrested in Switzerland | Mossack Fonseca worker arrested in Switzerland |
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| An information technology worker at the Geneva offices of Mossack Fonseca, the offshore law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal, is behind bars after being arrested on the order of Swiss magistrates. | An information technology worker at the Geneva offices of Mossack Fonseca, the offshore law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal, is behind bars after being arrested on the order of Swiss magistrates. |
| “A procedure has been opened by the public ministry of Geneva following a complaint made by Mossack Fonseca”, a spokeswoman for the city prosecutor confirmed on Wednesday afternoon. She said further information would follow in due course. | |
| The employee was placed under provisional detention several days ago, the Swiss newspaper Le Temps is reporting, under suspicion of having “extracted a very large volume of confidential information” from the law firm, during “a recent period”, according to a source. | The employee was placed under provisional detention several days ago, the Swiss newspaper Le Temps is reporting, under suspicion of having “extracted a very large volume of confidential information” from the law firm, during “a recent period”, according to a source. |
| A search is understood to have been conducted at the Mossack Fonseca Geneva office and IT equipment has been seized. | A search is understood to have been conducted at the Mossack Fonseca Geneva office and IT equipment has been seized. |
| The arrested employee is reportedly denying the charges against them, which are said to include “extraction of data”, “unauthorised access to an IT system” and “breach of trust”. | |
| The case is being overseen by magistrate Claudio Mascotto, who has already intervened over the Panama Papers. In April he oversaw a swoop on the Geneva Freeport, during which an £18m Modigliani painting allegedly looted by the Nazis was seized. The identity of the true owners of Seated Man with a Cane, currently the subject of a legal battle, was revealed by the Mossack Fonseca leak. | |
| Early last year, an individual using the alias John Doe approached the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung offering data from the internal files of Mossack Fonseca. | |
| The whistleblower has not revealed their identity but has offered to cooperate with law enforcement. | The whistleblower has not revealed their identity but has offered to cooperate with law enforcement. |
| Published on 3 April 2016, the Panama Papers revealed the tax haven screen companies used by 12 heads of state, more than 100 politicians and their relatives, political donors, companies put under sanction by the United States and Europe, convicted criminals, and drugs and arms dealers. | |
| Over half of the 214,000 companies whose details were leaked in the cache of 11.5m documents were incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. | Over half of the 214,000 companies whose details were leaked in the cache of 11.5m documents were incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. |
| The data was passed to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in Washington and shared with media organisations around the world including the Guardian and the BBC. | The data was passed to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in Washington and shared with media organisations around the world including the Guardian and the BBC. |