The Panama Papers is probably the most important leak of financial data in history and — thanks to the internet — the intricate web of global cash flow is now exposed for all to see.
The documents that recently landed online contain more than 2.5 million files and were filtered and analyzed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Additionally, 112 reporters spanning 58 countries contributed to the informational effort, sorting and organizing the documents.
With the recent publishing of the huge amount of data, a tiny part of the curtain was lifted, showcasing the intertwined way in which individuals, companies, and offshore ventures cooperated.
The challenge for journalists and investigators is to demonstrate that the companies that appear in the leaks had used the offshore operations to hide profits, or worse, wash dirty money overseas.
"The revolution will be digitized," John Doe, the anonymous whistleblower behind the Panama Papers, says.
Doe mentions that income inequality is one of the major issues that a contemporary society has to face, and claims that the data dump can make it easy to understand who the culprits are.
The documents were extracted from the servers of Mossack Fonseca, a law firm from Panama, at the start of April. The massive unveiling caused an uproar that has led to political consequences, such as the resignation of Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson.
Gunnlaugsson chose to step down because it was revealed that he had been involved in offshore dealings.
You can browse through the Panama Papers' searchable database as you would through a corporate registry. Inside, large numbers of people and enterprises from all continents are bundled together, with business ties that stretch from Zimbabwe to Australia.
The ICIJ encourages citizen journalism, so feel free to connect the dots yourself.
"In the end, thousands of prosecutions could stem from the Panama Papers," Doe notes.
He makes clear that he is ready to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to expose and correct the wrongs of the financial elite.
Seeing how the papers contain outstanding volumes of information on private entities and more than a million spreadsheet entries, we can expect future investigations and prosecutions to make the headlines for years to come.
