Ramón Fonseca Mora

Fonseca was born on 14 July 1952 in Panama{{cite web |author=Nicanor Alvarado |url=http://laestrella.com.pa/panama/politica/ramon-fonseca-mora-vengo-contar-verdad/23927780 |title=Ramón Fonseca Mora: "Vengo a contar mi verdad" |website=Laestrella.com.pa |access-date=4 April 2016 |archive-date=13 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413081845/http://laestrella.com.pa/panama/politica/ramon-fonseca-mora-vengo-contar-verdad/23927780 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.oocities.org/athens/olympus/9427/fonseca.html |title=Ramón Fonseca Mora |website=www.oocities.org |access-date=4 April 2016 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220021324/http://www.oocities.org/athens/olympus/9427/fonseca.html |url-status=live }} and studied law and political science at the University of Panama and the London School of Economics.

He stated that as a young man, "he hoped to save the world",{{cite web |url=https://panamapapers.icij.org/20160403-mossack-fonseca-offshore-secrets.html |title=Panamanian Law Firm Is Gatekeeper To Vast Flow of Murky Offshore Secrets · ICIJ |website=Panamapapers.icij.org |date=3 April 2016 |access-date=4 April 2016 |archive-date=6 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406030508/http://panamapapers.icij.org/20160403-mossack-fonseca-offshore-secrets.html |url-status=live }} and considered joining the priesthood.{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/international/21696497-huge-trove-documents-has-revealed-secrets-offshore-business-presaging-tougher|title=A torrential leak | The Economist|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=9 September 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160906145108/http://www.economist.com/news/international/21696497-huge-trove-documents-has-revealed-secrets-offshore-business-presaging-tougher|archive-date=6 September 2016}} 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."{{Cite web |date=2016-04-03 |title=Panamanian Law Firm Is Gatekeeper To Vast Flow of Murky Offshore Secrets - ICIJ |url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/20160403-mossack-fonseca-offshore-secrets/ |access-date=2024-05-25 |language=en-US}}

In 1977, Fonseca and Jürgen Mossack founded the law firm Mossack Fonseca in Panama City.{{cite news |author=Andrew Buncombe |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/panama-papers-jurgen-mossack-and-ram-n-fonseca-the-lawyers-whose-firm-is-at-the-centre-of-global-a6967011.html |title=Panama Papers: Jurgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca – the lawyers whose firm is at the centre of global controversy | Americas | News |newspaper=The Independent |date=4 March 2016 |access-date=4 April 2016 |archive-date=6 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406064821/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/panama-papers-jurgen-mossack-and-ram-n-fonseca-the-lawyers-whose-firm-is-at-the-centre-of-global-a6967011.html |url-status=live }} 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 affair.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/mossack-fonseca-shut-down-panama-papers|title=Mossack Fonseca law firm to shut down after Panama Papers tax scandal|last=Slawson|first=Nicola|date=14 March 2018|work=The Guardian|access-date=4 November 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=14 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314222823/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/mossack-fonseca-shut-down-panama-papers|url-status=live}}

He was also a member of the Panameñista Party.{{cite news|url=http://www.oocities.org/athens/olympus/9427/fonseca.html|title=Ramón Fonseca Mora|access-date=4 April 2016|website=www.oocities.org|archive-date=20 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220021324/http://www.oocities.org/athens/olympus/9427/fonseca.html|url-status=live}}

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).{{Cite web|url=http://www.ramonfonsecamora.com/blog/?page_id=2|title=Obras – Ramón Fonseca Mora|website=www.ramonfonsecamora.com|access-date=5 April 2016|archive-date=8 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408141714/http://www.ramonfonsecamora.com/blog/?page_id=2|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Mossack Fonseca#Controversies}}

{{Main|Panama Papers}}

Following the leak of 11.5 million Mossack Fonseca documents by an anonymous whistle-blower to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2016, it was revealed how offshore tax regimes were exploited for tax purposes.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-panama-papers|title=What are the Panama Papers? A guide to history's biggest data leak|last=Harding|first=Luke|date=5 April 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=4 November 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=3 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203001240/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-panama-papers|url-status=live}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/|title=The Panama Papers: Exposing the Rogue Offshore Finance Industry|website=ICIJ|date=3 April 2016|language=en-US|access-date=4 November 2019|archive-date=3 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103235535/https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/|url-status=live}} The documents were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. As a result, more than 150 inquiries and criminal investigations were launched in more than 70 countries worldwide.{{Cite web|url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/20161201-global-impact/|title=Panama Papers Have Had Historic Global Effects — and the Impacts Keep Coming|website=ICIJ|date=December 2016|language=en-US|access-date=5 November 2019|archive-date=20 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220021324/https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/20161201-global-impact/|url-status=live}}

On 20 October 2020, prosecutors in Cologne, Germany issued international arrest warrants for Fonseca and his German-born law partner, Jürgen Mossack. Charges against them include accessory to tax evasion and forming a criminal organization, with the firm noted as central to the investigation.[https://apnews.com/article/arrests-tax-evasion-panama-city-panama-jurgen-mossack-c20c5fac6ef5f73aca8d43324288d223 "German arrest order for Panama Papers lawyers faces hurdle"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210124816/https://apnews.com/article/arrests-tax-evasion-panama-city-panama-jurgen-mossack-c20c5fac6ef5f73aca8d43324288d223 |date=10 February 2021 }} Associated Press 21 October 2020

The charges against Fonseca were dropped when he died in May 2024.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-28 |title=Panama Papers trial concludes with all defendants absolved of money laundering charge |url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/panama-papers/panama-papers-trial-concludes-with-all-defendants-absolved-of-money-laundering-charge/ |website=ICIJ |language=en-US}}

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" and are "defending criminal charges against them in Panama."{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/MOSSACKFONSECACOSAetalDocketNo319cv01618DConnOct152019CourtDocket?1571215576|title=Mossack Fonseca & Co., S.A. et al v. Netflix Inc., Docket No. 3:19-cv-01618 (D. Conn. Oct 15, 2019), Court Docket|website=www.bloomberglaw.com|access-date=4 November 2019|archive-date=5 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105011102/https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/MOSSACKFONSECACOSAetalDocketNo319cv01618DConnOct152019CourtDocket%3F1571215576|url-status=live}}

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. They were released on bail the following April.

Fonseca had six children.{{Cite web|url=http://www.fonsecamora.com/preguntas-frecuentes/|title=Preguntas Frecuentes – Ramón Fonseca Mora|language=en-US|access-date=5 November 2019|archive-date=27 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191027144043/http://www.fonsecamora.com/preguntas-frecuentes/|url-status=live}} He was previously married to Elizabeth Ward Neiman,{{Cite web|url=https://www.santaclarabroncos.com/sports/m-crew/2004-05/bios/fonseca_eduardo00.html?view=bio|title=Santa Clara Athletics – Men's Rowing|website=santaclarabroncos.com|language=en|access-date=4 November 2019|archive-date=5 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105011252/https://www.santaclarabroncos.com/sports/m-crew/2004-05/bios/fonseca_eduardo00.html%3Fview%3Dbio|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.panamaamerica.com.pa/variedades/festival-de-debutantes-2007-5-281188|title=Festival de Debutantes 2007|date=6 June 2007|website=Panamá América|language=es|access-date=4 November 2019|archive-date=5 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105011257/https://www.panamaamerica.com.pa/variedades/festival-de-debutantes-2007-5-281188|url-status=live}} who became the Ambassador of the Republic of Panama to the Netherlands on 9 September 2020.[https://diplomatmagazine.eu/2021/01/10/panama-the-country-that-panamanians-return-to-and-foreigners-fall-in-love-with/h-e-ms-elizabeth-ward-neiman-ambassador-of-the-republic-of-panama-photography-by-jeroen-van-der-meyde-090920238/ "H.E. Elizabeth Ward is Panama’s Ambassador to The Kingdom of the Netherlands"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114183817/https://diplomatmagazine.eu/2021/01/10/panama-the-country-that-panamanians-return-to-and-foreigners-fall-in-love-with/h-e-ms-elizabeth-ward-neiman-ambassador-of-the-republic-of-panama-photography-by-jeroen-van-der-meyde-090920238/ |date=14 January 2021 }}Diplomat Magazine 9 September 2020 {{As of |April 2016}} his son, Eduardo Fonseca Ward, was the former ambassador to the UAE.{{cite news|url=https://www.panamaamerica.com.pa/tema-del-dia/mossack-fonseca-deeply-entrenched-foreign-service-1021167|title=Mossack & Fonseca deeply entrenched in Foreign Service|website=www.panamaamerica.com.pa|date=8 April 2016|access-date=20 October 2019|archive-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020082717/https://www.panamaamerica.com.pa/tema-del-dia/mossack-fonseca-deeply-entrenched-foreign-service-1021167|url-status=live}} Mora died at a hospital in Panama City due to pneumonia on 8 May 2024, at the age of 71.{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Brian |date=2024-05-13 |title=Ramón Fonseca, co-founder of law firm in ‘Panama Papers’ leak, dies at 71 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/05/09/ramon-fonseca-panama-papers-dies/ |access-date=2024-05-25 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}[https://www.prensa.com/judiciales/fallece-el-abogado-ramon-fonseca-mora-a-los-71-anos/ Fallece el abogado Ramón Fonseca Mora a los 71 años] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509064555/https://www.prensa.com/judiciales/fallece-el-abogado-ramon-fonseca-mora-a-los-71-anos/ |date=9 May 2024 }} {{in lang|es}}

• 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"[https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/the-saga-of-mossack-fonseca/article14228269.ece "The saga of Mossack Fonseca"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129191739/https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/the-saga-of-mossack-fonseca/article14228269.ece |date=29 January 2022 }} The Hindu 20 April 2017

{{Main|The Laundromat (2019 film)}}

In 2016, Steven Soderbergh announced he would produce a film about the Panama Papers affair.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/panama-papers-movie-steven-soderbergh-1201809594/|title=Panama Papers Movie in the Works From Steven Soderbergh|last=McNary|first=Dave|date=7 July 2016|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=4 November 2019|archive-date=9 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009185310/https://variety.com/2016/film/news/panama-papers-movie-steven-soderbergh-1201809594/|url-status=live}} The comedy-drama The Laundromat premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 1 September 2019.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/01/the-laundromat-review-gary-oldman-spins-lies-to-meryl-streep-in-sparkling-comedy|title=The Laundromat review: Gary Oldman spins lies to Meryl Streep in sparkling comedy|last=Brooks|first=Xan|date=1 September 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=4 November 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=9 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509165616/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/01/the-laundromat-review-gary-oldman-spins-lies-to-meryl-streep-in-sparkling-comedy|url-status=live}} Fonseca and Mossack tried to block the film's release on Netflix 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/laundromat-netflix-what-are-panama-papers-1466000|title="The Laundromat" on Netflix: What are the Panama Papers|last=Spencer|first=Samuel|date=18 October 2019|website=Newsweek|language=en|access-date=4 November 2019|archive-date=5 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105011102/https://www.newsweek.com/laundromat-netflix-what-are-panama-papers-1466000|url-status=live}} A judge ruled that the case was filed in the wrong court, transferring it to Los Angeles.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/movies/laundromat-netflix-panama-papers.html|title=Netflix's 'The Laundromat' Goes On as Court Transfers Lawsuit|agency=Associated Press|date=18 October 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=4 November 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=18 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018160005/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/movies/laundromat-netflix-panama-papers.html|url-status=live}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.netflix.com/title/80127976|title=The Panama Papers|website=www.netflix.com|language=en|access-date=4 November 2019|archive-date=5 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105011100/https://www.netflix.com/title/80127976|url-status=dead}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{official|http://www.ramonfonsecamora.com/ }}

{{Panama Papers leak}}

{{Portal bar|Economics|Law|Panama}}

{{Operation Car Wash}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fonseca Mora, Ramon}}

Category:1952 births

Category:2024 deaths

Category:Alumni of London Business School

Category:Panamanian novelists

Category:Panamanian male writers

Category:Male novelists

Category:20th-century Panamanian lawyers

Category:People named in the Panama Papers

Category:People from Panama City

Category:21st-century Panamanian lawyers