The Panama Papers include a collection of 11 million secret financial documents that illustrate how some of the world’s richest people hide their money.
Those on trial include the owners of the Mossack-Fonseca law firm that was at the heart of the 2016 massive document leak.
The trial of 27 people charged in connection with the worldwide Panama Papers money laundering started on Monday in a Panamanian criminal court.
The often-delayed trial opened on Monday, with lawyers Juergen Mossack, Ramón Fonseca and other former employees of the firm facing money-laundering charges.
Mossack was present in the courtroom; lawyers for Fonseca said he was in a hospital in Panama.
Both Mossack and Fonseca have Panamanian citizenship, and Panama does not extradite its own citizens.
They alleged the scheme dates to 2000 and involved sham foundations and shell companies in Panama, Hong Kong and the British Virgin Islands. »