Ramón Fonseca Mora
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Ramón Fonseca Mora (14 July 1952 – 8 May 2024) was a Panamanian novelist, lawyer and co-founder of Mossack Fonseca, a former law firm based in Panama with more than 40 offices worldwide. He was minister-counselor of Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, and president of the
Panameñista Party The Panameñista Party is a nationalist political party in Panama. It was the third largest party by number of adherents with 256,138 members (as of February 2016). Founding and early history The party is the oldest continuously operating pa ...
until he was dismissed in March 2016, due to the Brazilian
Operation Car Wash Operation Car Wash (, ) was a landmark anti-corruption probe in Brazil.Kurtenbach, S., & Nolte, D. (2017). Latin America's Fight against Corruption: The End of Impunity. GIGA Focus Lateinamerika, (03). Beginning in March 2014 as the investiga ...
anti-corruption probe. In 2016, Mossack Fonseca was raided by police on suspicion of money-laundering, bribery and corruption. Fonseca and his partner Jürgen Mossack were arrested and jailed on 10 February 2017. They were initially refused bail because of flight risk, but were released on 21 April 2017 on US$500,000 bail each, after a judge ruled they had cooperated with the investigation. In March 2018, the firm shut down in the wake of its involvement in the
Panama Papers The Panama Papers () are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) published beginning April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. These document ...
affair. Numerous lawsuits including serious allegations of collusion with despotic regimes, mafia, and global criminals are ongoing.


Early life

Fonseca was born on 14 July 1952 in Panama and studied law and political science at the University of Panama and the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
. He stated that as a young man, "he hoped to save the world", and considered joining the priesthood. But, he revealed in a 2008 television interview that, "I didn't save anything, I didn't make any change. I decided then, as I was a little more mature, to dedicate myself to my profession, to have a family, to get married and have a regular life … As one gets older, you turn more materialistic."


Career

In 1977, Fonseca and Jürgen Mossack founded the law firm Mossack Fonseca in
Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...
. It went on to become the world's fourth-largest offshore law firm, with more than 40 offices all over the world. In March 2018, the firm shut down in the wake of its involvement in the
Panama Papers The Panama Papers () are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) published beginning April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. These document ...
affair. He was also a member of the
Panameñista Party The Panameñista Party is a nationalist political party in Panama. It was the third largest party by number of adherents with 256,138 members (as of February 2016). Founding and early history The party is the oldest continuously operating pa ...
. Fonseca was also an award-winning novelist. He wrote four novels, along with plays and short stories. He was awarded the Ricardo Miró Prize, the national literary award in Panama, twice, for novels ''Dance of the Butterflies'' (1994) and ''Dream City'' (1998).


Criminal investigations


Panama Papers

Following the
leak A leak is a way (usually an opening) for fluid to escape a container or fluid-containing system, such as a Water tank, tank or a Ship, ship's Hull (watercraft), hull, through which the contents of the container can escape or outside matter can e ...
of 11.5 million Mossack Fonseca documents by an anonymous whistle-blower to the German newspaper ''
Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of ''SZ'' is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and ...
'' in 2016, it was revealed how offshore tax regimes were exploited for tax purposes. While offshore entities are not in themselves illegal, the documents showed how some of the more than 214,000 shell companies set up by Mossack Fonseca were used for illegal purposes, including fraud and tax evasion. The documents were shared with the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C., with ...
. As a result, more than 150 inquiries and criminal investigations were launched in more than 70 countries worldwide. On 20 October 2020, prosecutors in
Cologne, Germany Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urba ...
issued international arrest warrants for Fonseca and his German-born law partner, Jürgen Mossack. Charges against them include accessory to
tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...
and forming a criminal organization, with the firm noted as central to the investigation. The charges against Fonseca were dropped when he died in May 2024.


Money laundering in Brazil

According to court papers filed on 15 October 2019, Mossack and Fonseca "are the subjects of an FBI Investigation in the
Southern District of New York The Southern District of New York is a federal judicial district that encompasses the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. Federal offices or agencies operating in the distri ...
" and are "defending criminal charges against them in Panama." In February 2017, both Fonseca and Mossack were arrested in connection with an investigation into money laundering and corruption in Brazil, known as
Operation Car Wash Operation Car Wash (, ) was a landmark anti-corruption probe in Brazil.Kurtenbach, S., & Nolte, D. (2017). Latin America's Fight against Corruption: The End of Impunity. GIGA Focus Lateinamerika, (03). Beginning in March 2014 as the investiga ...
. They were released on bail the following April.


Personal life

Fonseca had six children. He was previously married to Elizabeth Ward Neiman, who became the Ambassador of the Republic of Panama to the Netherlands on 9 September 2020. his son, Eduardo Fonseca Ward, was the former ambassador to the UAE. Fonseca died at a hospital in
Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...
due to
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
on 8 May 2024, at the age of 71.


Works

* 1976: ''Las cortes internacionales de justicia'' * 1977: ''Reflexiones de derecho judicial'' * 1985: ''Compañías panameñas'' * 1988: ''Panamá, un viejo lugar bajo el sol'' * 1994: ''La danza de las mariposas'', won the Ricardo Miró Prize, Panama's national book award * 1995: ''La isla de las iguanas'' * 1996: ''La ventana abierta'' * 1997: ''Ojitos de ángel'' * 1998: ''Soñar con la ciudad'', won the Ricardo Miró Prize * 2000: ''4 mujeres vestidas de negro'' * 2007: ''El desenterrador'' * 2012: ''Míster Politicus'', "articulates the tangled processes that unscrupulous officials use to gain power and achieve their detestable ambitions""The saga of Mossack Fonseca"
''The Hindu'' 20 April 2017


In popular culture

In 2016,
Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...
announced he would produce a film about the Panama Papers affair. The
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
'' The Laundromat'' premiered at the
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
on 1 September 2019. Fonseca and Mossack tried to block the film's release on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
by filing a defamation lawsuit against Netflix in October 2019, arguing that the ongoing FBI investigation and possible trial in New York as well as their defence against criminal charges in Panama could be negatively prejudiced by the way they are portrayed in ''The Laundromat''. A judge ruled that the case was filed in the wrong court, transferring it to Los Angeles. With a court decision still pending, the film was made available for streaming by Netflix on 18 October 2019. In the film, Fonseca is portrayed by
Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received numerous accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fonseca Mora, Ramon 1952 births 2024 deaths Alumni of London Business School Panamanian novelists Panamanian male writers Male novelists 20th-century Panamanian lawyers People named in the Panama Papers People from Panama City 21st-century Panamanian lawyers