Number of intermediaries working with Mossack Fonseca 2016, by country
Mossack Fonseca – additional information
Mossack Fonseca is a Panama-based law firm that provides services such as incorporating companies in offshore jurisdictions. The law firm works with intermediaries which include other banks, law firms and middlemen who serve to set up companies, foundations and trusts for customers in offshore locations and tax havens. The company became known to the wide public in April 2016, following a leak of documents revealing financial data of public figures and politicians worldwide.
As of April 2016, the country with the highest number of these intermediaries was Hong Kong S.A.R., followed by the United Kingdom and then Switzerland. Hong Kong S.A.R. had 2,212 intermediaries cooperating with Mossack Fonseca and the United Kingdom had 1,924.
The British Virgin Islands, a former colony, but still an overseas territory of the United Kingdom which is located in the Caribbean, is home to majority of the companies which have been located in offshore locations. The islands are also considered to be the leading offshore financial center worldwide.
In 2013, Luxembourg was the country with the most billionaires per capita. Hong Kong was second on the list and Switzerland was ranked number three. Of the banks which have received the highest number of requests to open offshore companies by Mossack Fonseca, as is to be expected, the majority of them were located in many of the richest countries around the world, namely Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monaco.