Mossack Fonseca

El pasado martes 1 de marzo, en el Colegio Nacional de Abogados de Panamá, se hizo la presentación oficial de la Revista Lex, en su edición 2016.

Por tercer año consecutivo, Mossack Fonseca es patrocinador de esta revista, que para este año incluye 12 artículos en materia de ética, derecho societario, inmobiliario, propiedad intelectual, arbitraje, penal y ambiental, entre otros, de la mano de destacados profesionales.

El evento contó con la participación de el Dr. Darío Sandoval – Shaik Presidente de la Comisión de Publicaciones Jurídicas del Colegio Nacional de Abogados, Licdo. Jose Alberto Álvarez -Presidente del Colegio Nacional de Abogados de Panamá y en representación de Mossack Fonseca el Licdo. Carlos Sousa – Gerente de Mercadeo y Ventas.

Mossack Fonseca - On February 18, 2016, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced that Panama is no longer on the gray list of non-cooperative countries. As per the FATF, the gray list is comprised of jurisdictions with “strategic deficiencies in anti-money laundering / countering the financing of terrorism measures”.

The FATF agency review group recognized the significant progress made by Panama in improving its anti-money laundering (AML)/countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) measures, and noted that they have established legal and regulatory frameworks to accomplish their commitments in their action plan regarding the strategic deficiencies that the FATF had identified in June 2014. As a result of the FATF’s findings, Panama is no longer subject to their monitoring process.

In May of 2014, Former Panama Finance Minister Frank De Lima said in a forum organized by the publication ANPanama that the country would be included on the gray list, without having the time necessary to make any substantive changes.

It only took a year and a half for Panama to complete the complex legal and regulatory (e.g., Law 23 of April 17th, 2015) changes necessary to exit the gray list. As part of the new law and regulations, an administrator was appointed who is responsible for supervising the nonfinancial individuals and companies who are obligated to comply with the law and the professionals already subject to supervision with regard to money laundering, terrorism financing, and the financing of weapons of mass destruction.

Over 21 correspondent banks in Panama were dropped due to their inclusion on the FATF gray list.

In addition, the country has been training the personnel who work in the relevant supervisory institutions on the implementation of the measures required by the FATF.

Markets are constantly evolving and this has created the need for comprehensive and innovative solutions for each client. The Mossack Fonseca Group has other business units that facilitate and complement the services we offer. These units are independent but consistent with the Group’s platform, which enables our customers to find tailor-made solutions and a single contact point.

E-volusoft

E-volusoft is a company created to respond to the growing demand that exists today for digital storage solutions and the electronic management of documents and images.

E-volusoft provides a full line of products in three (3) main areas:

1)    Documanager and Secure Cloud: Document digitization and storage

2)    Software i2: Analyzing and displaying information in order to simplify investigations

3)    Anti-Money Laundering and Fraud seminars

Andreina junto a su hermana Gabriela Espino.

Este domingo arribará a Panamá Andreina Espino, hermana de la actriz venezolana Gaby Espino.

Es la primera vez que Espino visita la tierra istmeña y participará como embajadora de la compañía Mossack Fonseca en el evento Blogger & Influencer Week Panamá 2016', que se realizará desde hoy, hasta el sábado 27 de febrero.

El evento reunirá a los mejores bloggers e influencers del mundo, cada uno contará su experiencia de crear contenidos de temas interesantes que impacten de forma positiva a la sociedad.

Andreina contará su experiencia como responsables de todo el diseño de sitios web, comercio electrónico, aplicaciones móviles de su hermana Gaby Espino.

Hace dos años estas hermanas impresionaron al público, con el gran parecido físico, cuando Gaby colgó una imagen en su cuenta de twitter.

Andreina es fundadora de Brainwave Advertising, una agencia de mercadeo digital, en Miami, Florida.

Mossack Fonseca - Jersey is "the right place with the right people" to establish itself as the go-to location for innovative global banking, a recent event hosted by Jersey Finance heard.

Hugh Harper, a Partner at EY, delivered the keynote address at Jersey Finance's Annual Review breakfast event on January 28. Harper took the opportunity to discuss new research that outlines the potential for Jersey to adopt a new approach to banking. Citing the cooperation between Jersey's finance industry, regulator, and government, combined with the jurisdiction's unique advantage of a stable banking sector, he outlined how Jersey's commitment to a digital economy could help it create a sustainable, highly digitized banking model. The full 'Future of Banking' report is expected to be finalized by the second quarter of this year.

During an introduction to the event, Geoff Cook, the CEO of Jersey Finance, described 2015 as another solid year for the finance industry, highlighting the upward trend in industry employment. He highlighted ongoing efforts to differentiate Jersey from other international financial centers, stating: "We remain focused on strengthening Jersey's competitive position through innovation and research and, alongside the major Future of Banking project to be finalized this year, we will be producing a new report entitled 'Jersey's Value to Europe', which will clarify Jersey's role in contributing to jobs and growth within the EU. A new piece of work to clarify the finance industry's contribution to the local Jersey economy will be completed too."

"The growth we have seen across our funds, private wealth and capital markets sectors, together with the investment we are making in diversifying and enhancing our banking platform, stands us in very good stead, and we are seeing growing interest from fund managers and family offices in establishing a presence in Jersey. All this is filtering through to the local economy, with firms in the industry predicting a rise in employment for local people over the coming year and the industry recruiting more local students than ever before."

"There will always be regulatory, market, and political challenges but the quality and diversity of Jersey's finance industry positions us very strongly indeed."

Mossack Fonseca - El Grupo de Acción Financiera (GAFI) autorizó la salida de Panamá de su lista gris, en la que había sido incluida desde junio de 2014. Así lo informó este jueves el ministro de Economía y Finanzas, Dulcidio De La Guardia a través de su cuenta de Twitter.

Una delegación de Panamá, encabezada por De La Guardia, se encuentra en Francia participando en la plenaria del GAFI, que culmina este viernes 19.

El titular del MEF calificó la decisión como un "triunfo" para Panamá, destacando el trabajo conjunto del sector público y privado. "Esto permitió la aprobación y aplicación de una nueva regulación que coloca a Panamá a la vanguardia en materia de la lucha contra el blanqueo de capitales", expresó.

A principios de año, un equipo técnico del GAFI realizó una visita de tres días a Panamá para verificar el "in situ", el cumplimiento de las normas contra el blanqueo de capitales, financiamiento de terrorismo y la proliferación de armas de destrucción masiva.

Entre las medidas implementadas por el Gobierno de Panamá se encuentra la creación de la Intendencia de Regulación y Supervisión de Sujetos No Financieros, y la reglamentación de la Ley 23, que adopta medidas para prevenir el blanqueo de capitales.

El Grupo Revisor debía presentar un informe con los resultados durante la plenaria.

Panama has asked the Group of 20 States (G20) to acknowledge its right to develop its own model for the automatic exchange of information―without involving adverse actions―based on the sovereign right of each country to adopt a position relative to its unique situation―even if such position is not the same as that of the majority of the jurisdictions.

The request made by Panama to the G20 occurred prior to the scheduled meeting of the finance ministers of the G20 to be held February 26-27 in Shanghai. The deputy vice minister of foreign affairs, Farah Diva Urrutia, met with the ambassadors of the G20 countries who are stationed in Panama.

According the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Panama is proposing to develop its own, unique model of information exchange.  This model will be based on the condition of reciprocity, protection of the basic guarantees for users of the Panamanian platform of services, mutually beneficial tax agreements, and the existence of a legal framework protecting confidentiality and assuring that the information is used in a proper manner―similar to the FATCA program instituted by the United States.

International organizations such as the G20 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have put pressure on Panama to sign a multilateral exchange of information agreement. To date, over 90 countries have committed to exchanging information with each other, but, at the same time, several have not agreed to multilateral, unrestricted exchanges.

Panama’s position on the exchange of information was set forth by Juan Carlos Varela, the President of Panama, at the UN General Assembly last year. President Varela stated that Panama is committed to the exchange of information by means of bilateral (not multilateral) exchanges (with certain conditions), and he reserved its right to choose with whom to negotiate such agreements.

Nuestros colegas de Mossack Fonseca Colombia estuvieron en el evento en Medellín, donde asistieron 350 personas de los gremios en temas tributarios mas importantes del pais como son los contadores, revisores fiscales y abogados tributarios organizada por la la Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (DIAN).

Fundada en 1977, el grupo de Mossack Fonseca es una empresa global que proporciona servicios de contabilidad, fideicomiso y legal integral.

Con más de 500 miembros en cada continente, grupo Mossack Fonseca ofrece excelentes servicios basados en más de 35 años de experiencia. Como parte de su valor añadido, el grupo ofrece asesoramiento personalizado y una experiencia en línea de clase mundial a través de un Portal virtual del cliente que está disponible 24 horas al día. Nuestra aplicación cliente información Portal web permite a los clientes de las empresas en línea, verificar el estado de las empresas y pagar las facturas, además de otras transacciones.

Edificio Mosfon

Oficina central,

54th street, Marbella

Panamá, República de Panamá

Tel: (507) 205.5888

Sitio web: http://www.mossfon.com/

Mossack Fonseca - China’s central bank allowed individual investors to purchase all types of bonds over bank counters beginning 14 February 2016. Individuals with annual incomes of more than 500,000 yuan ($76,500), 3 million yuan of financial assets, and over two years of securities investment experience can now buy any bonds they like over the counter. Previously, only certificate treasury bonds were available to individuals.

The new policy aims to boost the bond market and direct financing. China’s bond market boomed in 2015 due to government policies aimed at diversifying corporate financing channels. Approximately 22.3 trillion yuan of new bonds were issued last year, almost double the sum in 2014.

House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R – Texas) has disclosed that, under his leadership, the Committee will immediately draft US international tax reform legislation, while laying the framework for more comprehensive tax reform in 2017.

On February 12, 2016, Mr. Brady delivered the keynote address at the Tax Council Policy Institute's 17th Annual Tax Policy & Practice Symposium, and confirmed that, "in the months ahead and beyond, the Ways and Means Committee will be the center of the tax reform discussion and debate. … The code we have is too costly, complex and unfair. It is abundantly clear that now is the time to overhaul our tax system from top to bottom".

Chairman Brady’s proposed changes include:

• Making the tax code simpler, fairer, and flatter
• Replacing the current world-wide tax system with a permanent, modern territorial-type system
• Closing loopholes, eliminating special rules and limiting deductions, exclusions and credits
• Providing businesses both large and small with a competitive tax system, including a fair and competitive tax rate
• Encouraging businesses to locate their operations in the United States rather than incentivizing (effectively) the shift of jobs overseas

Mr. Brady confirmed that the Committee will move forward immediately to draft international tax reform legislation – "as we plan for that finish line in 2017, developments in the global environment demand our immediate attention."

Deseamos aclarar las infundadas publicaciones que han salido en ciertos medios de prensa durante los últimos días:

• Mossack Fonseca & Co. al cumplir su función de Agente Residente no es responsable del actuar comercial de las sociedades que constituye, no tenemos ningún tipo de vinculación comercial, así como tampoco tenemos la facultad de administrar o de captar fondos para ninguna de ellas; por ende, las aseveraciones relacionadas a la supuesta posesión de un apartamento en Brasil, a la constitución de compañías para actuar ilícitamente a través de ellas, y el supuesto involucramiento en delitos de lavado de dinero son absolutamente falsas y temerarias.

• La oficina del representante de Brasil ha sido requerida para suministrar información al respecto de este caso como parte de las investigaciones, información que se ha entregado y se ha colaborado en todo lo que está a nuestro alcance para aclarar este inconveniente en el menor tiempo posible. Los empleados de esta oficina, que colaboraron con dichas investigaciones se encuentran actualmente en libertad.

• No hemos prestado en el pasado ni prestamos en el presente servicios de asesoría o intermediación de ningún tipo para la compra, préstamo o financiación de bienes inmuebles ni de cualquier otro tipo, lo cual ratifica que no somos parte de este mal entendido, al cual erróneamente hemos sido vinculados.

• Es importante recalcar que Mossack Fonseca cumple y ha cumplido siempre con la verificación de debida diligencia de nuestra clientela, en estricto apego a la normativa vigente en cada país. Por esta razón, reiteramos nuestra disposición para cooperar con las autoridades cuando así nos sea requerido, disposición esta la cual de manera proactiva ya se ha hecho de su conocimiento.

• Finalmente, Mossack Fonseca no apadrina ilícitos; muy por contrario, nos complacen los avances que en materia de prevención del lavado de dinero y delitos conexos, se están verificando en nuestros países.

Carlos Sousa

Director de Relaciones Públicas

MOSSACK FONSECA & CO.

The administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), Jorge Barakat, announced that in 2016 the AMP (sometimes referred to as SEGUMAR) will open an office in Los Angeles to serve the U.S. West Coast, and in 2017 they will move the SEGUMAR East Coast office from New York to Miami in order to provide better and more effective access to maritime policies and services linked to and developed from the Miami area market.

Established in 1977, the Mossack Fonseca Group is a leading global company which provides comprehensive legal, trust and accounting services.

With over 500 staff members across every continent, the Mossack Fonseca Group provides excellent services based on more than 35 years of experience. As part of its added value, the Group offers personal advice and a world-class online experience through a virtual Client Portal which is available 24 hours a day. Our web-based Client Information Portal application allows clients to reserve companies online, verify the status of companies, and pay invoices, in addition to other transactions.

Our service and research-oriented professionals specialize in trust services, wealth management, international business structures, and commercial law, among other areas.

Our product and service portfolio is constantly updated and renewed, enabling the Group to find the appropriate solution for your business. We offer research, advice and services for the following jurisdictions: Belize, The Netherlands, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, Malta, Hong Kong, Cyprus, British Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Panama, British Anguilla, Seychelles, Samoa, Nevada, and Wyoming (USA).

Our law firm has specialized attorneys experienced in all areas of law such as shipping, immigration, contracts and intellectual property, as well as commercial law in general. We also assist clients in physically relocating to Panama and supporting them with regard to all of the steps required, from handling immigration matters and buying or renting property to establishing their business in Panama.

Through organizations such as Corporations, Private Foundations and Trusts, we assist our clients in their estate planning asset protection needs. Trust operations can protect assets from diverse threats, including political unrest, reckless heirs and more.

Each client has specific and definite requirements, and our solutions are always designed to meet the needs of one of them.

Contact Info:
Organization: Mossack Fonseca
Address: 54th Street, Marbella, Panama, Republic of Panama
Phone: (507) 205-5888
Website: http://www.mossfon.com/

Specialized structures in selected jurisdictions are gaining more ground as business transactions become more complex and regulated.

Onshore and midshore jurisdictions offer our clients a wide variety of benefits for asset holding, estate planning, trading and many other services. They comply with annual reporting and payment of taxes at different rates and frequencies, depending on the jurisdiction and are ideal in the use of double tax treaties.

We can assist the client in the incorporation of onshore and midshore companies in jurisdictions such as the Netherlands, New Zealand and Malta, among others.

Established in 1977, the Mossack Fonseca Group is a leading global company which provides comprehensive legal, trust and accounting services.

With over 500 staff members across every continent, the Mossack Fonseca Group provides excellent services based on more than 35 years of experience. As part of its added value, the Group offers personal advice and a world-class online experience through a virtual Client Portal which is available 24 hours a day. Our web-based Client Information Portal application allows clients to reserve companies online, verify the status of companies, and pay invoices, in addition to other transactions.

We offer these services optimally fulfilling the conditions and times established in contracts Escrow. We follow comprehensive risk management policies, safely and accurately providing solid and tailored solutions for our clients.

Escrow services can help facilitate payments related to property transactions, mergers and acquisitions and access to capital, among other functions.

Established in 1977, the Mossack Fonseca Group is a leading global company which provides comprehensive legal, trust and accounting services.

Our service and research-oriented professionals specialize in trust services, wealth management, international business structures, and commercial law, among other areas.

Our product and service portfolio is constantly updated and renewed, enabling the Group to find the appropriate solution for your business. We offer research, advice and services for the following jurisdictions: Belize, The Netherlands, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, Malta, Hong Kong, Cyprus, British Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Panama, British Anguilla, Seychelles, Samoa, Nevada, and Wyoming (USA).

Mossack Fonseca & Co. wishes to express its position with regard to inaccurate information contained in certain print and online publications. Our firm has been mistakenly connected with matters in which we have no involvement whatsoever.

We clarify that:

• Mossack Fonseca is a leading international company with a presence in over 40 countries and with close to 40 years of history in the legal industry. We operate through our own and representative offices. All our offices maintain the highest due diligence standards that comply with all international laws and regulations.
• Mossack Fonseca Brazil is an independent entity of Mossack Fonseca & Co. Panama. As an entity, it represents our brand and sells international companies that our group incorporates through the different licenses that we hold in several jurisdictions. That said, our Brazil office operates with its own administration, resources, and staff that are independent of our group.
• Information has been required of our Brazil representative office as part of an investigation that the public prosecutor is carrying out in certain cases currently being processed in that country. Our Brazil office has expressed through its legal representatives that it is ready and willing to cooperate with all authorities that request information through the pertinent channels.
• The request for acquisition of the company in question was received by an independent intermediary professional, Ademir Auada, who in turn services final clients.
• At the time the request for said company incorporation was received (2005), the respective due diligence verification was carried out in compliance with the required standards. As a result of such review, no adverse outcomes or any link whatsoever with politically exposed persons were found.
• Mossack Fonseca & Co., like similar companies, renders registered agent services in the various jurisdictions where it incorporates companies upon request by clients. Such service does not represent any business link with the companies so formed, nor does it imply any administrative or fund raising power from clients. By virtue of the provisions set forth in the laws of such jurisdictions, registered agents incur no liability whatsoever for any business activities of the companies that they form.
• We have a department that conducts thorough due diligence programs to verify the legitimacy of each of our clients in accordance with the legal standards in force.
• The vast majority of our clients are regulated entities, such as premier banks, attorneys, accountants, other law firms, trust companies, etc.―all of them well-known and reputable business companies and firms.
• We have not rendered in the past and do not currently render advisory or intermediation services of any kind for the purchase, loan or financing of any real property―nor do we render real property advice in any part of the world, except in regard to real property located within the Republic of Panama.
• We are always willing to cooperate with all authorities that require information through legally established channels and in compliance with the requirements of the respective legislation.

As to the other points mentioned in the media, we would further clarify as follows:

• Link to companies because of their physical addresses: By law, all Panamanian corporations must have a resident agent that must be an attorney at law or a law firm. All companies incorporated by such resident agents have the physical address of such resident agent’s office.
• In Brazil, it is completely legal to incorporate or use offshore companies for any transaction, whether regarding real property or other legal purposes, provided that they comply with all Brazilian laws.

We shall continue on our nearly 40-year path of servicing the international business, banking, legal and financial communities and we shall maintain our resolve to become ever more efficient and useful to the business world.