More Dutch names in new Panama Papers leak

Mossack Fonseca, the Panamanian company that stood central in in the Panama Papers scandal, did not know who its customers were in many cases. A new leak from the company contains 180 new Dutch names, NOS reports.

German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung received 1.2 million documents containing data until the end of 2017 in this new leak. Through the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Süddeutsche Zeitung shared the information with over 100 journalists, including reporters from Financieele Dagblad and Trouw in the Netherlands.

The 180 new Dutch names in the Panama Papers include two great-grand children of V&D founder Anton Dreesmann, an honorary consul, and an Amsterdam real estate magnate. The first Panama Papers leak in 2016 contained over 500 Dutch names.

International rules against financing terrorism and money laundering oblige financial institutions to know who they are doing business with. But after the Panama Papers leaked in 2016, Mossack Fonseca did not know who the owners of many companies were. This was the case with 70 percent of the 28,500 Mossack Fonseca customers on the British Virgin Islands, and 75 percent of the 10,500 letterbox companies in Panama.