The whistleblower behind the Mossack Fonseca data leak has spoken out for the first time on May 6 since the Panama Papers were released last month.
The source sent a manifesto to German paper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, the news organization the whistleblower released the documents to a year ago.
The paper shared the 11.5 million records from the Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and other news organizations. The data breach named 12 world leaders and 140 other politicians in connection to offshore companies in 21 tax havens. The names included Vladimir Putin, Argentine president Mauricio Macri, soccer superstar Lionel Messi, and the Prime Minister of Iceland.
Why the Panama Papers Were Released
The source, identified as only “John Doe” wrote “John Doe’s Manifesto,” which explains the reasons why the documents were released.
“Income inequality is one of the defining issues of our time. It affects all of us, the world over,” said the whistleblower.
The source claimed the Panama Papers provide a compelling answer to the questions of why income inequality persists, saying the data leak shows “massive, pervasive corruption.”
The whistleblower said shell companies are often linked to the crime of tax evasion, but it is much more than that.
“They are used to carry out a wide array of serious crimes that go beyond evading taxes,” said the source.
The whistleblower decided to release the data because Mossack Fonseca’s “founders, employees and clients should have to answer for their roles in these crimes.”
The source said only some of the wrongdoings have come to light, and that “It will take years, or possibly decades, for the full extent of the firm’s sordid acts to become known.”
In the manifesto the source said law firm Mossack Fonseca, and its founders and employees—although publicly pleading ignorance—knowingly violated international myriad laws worldwide over and over.
