Panama Papers Defendants Acquitted in Landmark Ruling

A Panamanian court has acquitted all 28 defendants in the high-profile Panama Papers and Lava Jato (Car Wash) scandals, citing insufficient and improperly handled evidence. The accused included Jürgen Mossack and the late Ramón Fonseca, co-founders of the defunct law firm Mossack Fonseca, which was at the center of the 2016 leak exposing global tax evasion via offshore accounts. Judge Baloisa Marquínez ruled that the evidence against the defendants did not comply with chain of custody protocols and was not conclusive enough to determine guilt. The trial, which combined charges from both scandals, lasted 85 hours and involved testimony from 27 witnesses. The acquittal marks a significant development for Panama, whose international reputation suffered due to the revelations from the Panama Papers leak.