Story perspectives

Journalists Revisit Panama Papers, Exposing Global Financial Secrecy

4/4/2026

Center

Journalists Expose Secrecy

A new series marks a decade after the Panama Papers release by detailing how journalists Bastian Obermayer and Gerard Ryle coordinated unprecedented cross-newsroom collaboration to expose global financial secrecy.
The project required absolute confidentiality and overcame initial skepticism from major outlets.
It shows connections to powerful figures, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The final installment will provide further insights into this transformative investigative effort.

Left

Journalists Uncover Corruption

The Panama Papers, released on April 3, 2016, exposed an offshore network drawn from Mossack Fonseca documents.
The leak implicated global leaders, including former prime ministers from Pakistan and Iceland.
Offshore shell companies are not illegal, but they can facilitate evasion.
Since the leak, governments recovered $2 billion in taxes and enacted regulations such as the US Corporate Transparency Act, though tax competition and lack of unified standards persist.

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Journalists Expose Secrecy

A new series marks a decade after the Panama Papers release by detailing how journalists Bastian Obermayer and Gerard Ryle coordinated unprecedented cross-newsroom collaboration to expose global financial secrecy.
The project required absolute confidentiality and overcame initial skepticism from major outlets.
It shows connections to powerful figures, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The final installment will provide further insights into this transformative investigative effort.

1 / 2