Employee at Panama Papers law firm arrested

A computer technician at the Geneva office of the Panama Papers law firm was detained several days ago on suspicion of recently removing large amounts of data, the newspaper Le Temps reported on Wednesday, citing a source close to the case.

A spokesman for the Geneva prosecutor’s office confirmed to Reuters that it had opened an investigation following a criminal complaint by the company, but he declined to comment further.

Mossack Fonseca, a law firm based in Panama, is at the centre of a massive leak of data related to offshore businesses.

The paper said the suspect had denied any wrongdoing but was accused of theft of data, unauthorised access and breach of trust following a complaint lodged by the firm.

The newspaper said there was no evidence the detained man was responsible for the massive Panama Papers data leak in April, which embarrassed several world leaders and shone a spotlight on the shadowy world of offshore companies.

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The paper said the prosecutor had searched the company’s office and seized computer equipment.

It said checks were underway to see if the detained man had stolen data and, if so, how much and when.

The prosecutor’s spokesman declined to comment on that information.

Mossack Fonseca, which specialises in setting up offshore companies, has said it broke no laws, destroyed no documents, and all its operations were legal.

The Geneva prosecutor’s office began a criminal inquiry in early April, shortly after the leaks that revealed many offshore companies set up by lawyers and institutions in the Swiss financial centre.

Reuters