PANAMA: Panama lashes out at EU over tax haven ‘outrage’

Panama on Thursday lashed out at the European Union for keeping the country on its tax haven blacklist despite its efforts to crack down on tax evasion.

President Jose Raul Mulino said he had asked his foreign minister to summon European ambassadors “to show the government’s dissatisfaction with this new outrage.”

The EU earlier this week declared 11 jurisdictions as non-cooperative for tax purposes, particularly when it comes to sharing information.

They are American Samoa, Anguilla, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Russia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu.

The Caribbean island of Antigua and Barbuda was removed from the list, which was created in 2017, a year after the Panama Papers scandal, to crack down on tax evasion.

The leak of 11.5 million files from the law firm Mossack Fonseca in Panama City in 2016 rocked the world, exposing how the rich and famous used offshore accounts to stash hundreds of millions of dollars from tax authorities.

The scandal dealt a severe blow to Panama’s reputation as an offshore financial hub, prompting it to implement several reforms, including penalizing tax evasion.

Mulino told reporters there was “no justification” for his country’s continued blacklisting by the EU.

“We do not launder money as a state policy, much less finance terrorism, nor are we in a position to sponsor international scoundrels,” he said.

He warned that companies from countries that blacklisted Panama would not be able to bid for public works contracts in the Central American country and would also not receive Panama’s support in international forums.

Panama will take up a rotating seat on the UN Security Council in January.

Since taking office on July 1, the right-wing Mulino has made it his mission to have Panama removed from tax blacklists.

In 2023, the Financial Action Task Force, an intergovernmental organization that combats money laundering and terrorism financing, removed Panama from its gray list.

20 March 2025

CAREY OLSEN: Carey Olsen advises LongGame Ventures on launch of longevity biotech fund

Press Release from Carey Olsen, Thursday 20 March, 2025. Carey Olsen has supported LongGame Ventures, a first-time fund manager, on the successful launch of its longevity biotech fund, LongGame Fund

Read More
14 May 2024

IRELAND: Central Bank of Ireland Expands Anti-Money Laundering Regime

Cryptocurrency companies in the Republic of Ireland will have to comply with anti-money laundering rules, the country’s central bank has warned. Cryptocurrency traders in Ireland will no longer be

Read More
20 January 2024

US: SEC enhancing digital initiatives in bid to boost regulatory compliance

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is further streamlining requirements and processes for regulatory compliance as it strives to chart the Philippine corporate sector’s path toward a digital-first

Read More
26 April 2024

CARIBBEAN: Caribbean countries set a threshold of 2 lakh dollars for Citizenship by Investment programs

Citizenship by Investment (CBI) schemes offer foreign citizens citizenship or resident rights in exchange for local investments or a flat fee in many countries. Citizenship by investment allows affluent

Read More