Investigations have been opened
into possible money laundering in relation to the so-called
'Panama Papers' case concerning offshore accounts and companies,
the Italian finance police said Tuesday.
"The finance police have been instructed to acquire data
and information concerning the contents of the list and start
the necessary procedures to obtain it," the Turin force said.
The investigation is part of an existing probe into alleged
money-laundering launched in 2015 and centring on companies
registered in Panama with links to the law firm at the centre of
the new global scandal, the finance police added.
The Panama Papers scandal broke on Monday following the
leaking of around eleven million documents held by the
Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca to German newspaper
Suddeutsche Zeitung, which shared them with the International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Weekly L'Espresso got access in Italy.
The documents allegedly name numerous world leaders and
famous personalities, including Russian President Vladimir
Putin, the late father of British Prime Minister David Cameron
and soccer player Leo Messi.
Holding offshore accounts is not illegal, but such accounts
are often linked to tax evasion and other illegal activity.
L'Espresso said it had found about 1,000 Italian clients
in its analysis of the documents.
Deputy economy minister Enrico Zanetti said all necessary
checks will be carried out.
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