Panama Papers leaker says shell companies hide more than tax evasion

WASHINGTON – The person who gave the Panama Papers to reporters offered the first detailed explanation of the motive behind the largest leak of financial data ever.

In an 1,800-word statement, the leaker, identified as “John Doe,” assailed the world of offshore companies as fueled by “massive, pervasive corruption.”

“Shell companies are often associated with the crime of tax evasion, but the Panama Papers show beyond a shadow of a doubt that although shell companies are not illegal by definition, they are used to carry out a wide array of serious crimes,” the leaker wrote.

The person called on authorities worldwide to investigate the Panamanian law firm of Mossack Fonseca and offered to help in the effort.

The source accused authorities of being “spineless,” said they were too conflicted by political interests to take action in the past and said offshore activity has contributed to income disparity.

“For 50 years, executive, legislative and judicial branches around the globe have utterly failed to address the metastasizing tax havens spotting Earth’s surface,” the statement said.

The source has not been identified by Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the Munich, Germany, newspaper that first received the data, because the person expressed fear of retaliation.

Sueddeutsche Zeitung verified the authenticity of the statement Friday.

“For the record, I do not work for any government or intelligence agency, directly or as a contractor, and I never have,” the source wrote. “My viewpoint is entirely my own, as was my decision to share the documents with Sueddeutsche Zeitung and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), not for any specific political purpose, but simply because I understood enough about their contents to realize the scale of the injustices they described.”