Global money laundering scandal: Names of companies and individuals from BiH to be known by end of April

Mossack Fonseca, one of the most secretive offshore law firms in the world, reveals that for decades it has been unpunishedly helping clients launder money and avoid taxes. Among the documents, for now, several individuals/companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina are mentioned. However, as confirmed for N1, the number is much larger, reports the Patria News Agency.

Miranda Patručić, a journalist with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), is a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which is dealing with the biggest data leak journalists have ever encountered.

"Hundreds of people are involved, and it is very difficult to give a final number because part of the data is not structured in a way that you have a list of people from BiH, Croatia... Searching this data is very complicated and it is very difficult to extract everything you need for complete information. The final list is not here yet," said Petručić.

She confirmed that the list of individuals and companies from BiH and the region will be ready by the end of April.

"We will have a list of the most significant people from the Balkans, and we will publish it with data on which companies and amounts are involved, and what these companies actually did," our interlocutor said.

Among the documents, the names of several individuals/companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina are mentioned, specifically three names of company shareholders and one name of a beneficiary.

"The data is incomplete. It concerns a much larger number than three shareholders or three companies. The problem is that the data on which this number was extracted is a small part of the structured data. There is much more data and people from the region than stated. The stories we have are very important and may lead to investigations," she added.

She said that bankers and company directors are involved in the scandal.

"Data on the ownership of offshore companies is very difficult, almost impossible to obtain. I think this will generate great interest, that people who were not known to have offshore companies until now, and who hold positions, and I think this will attract the attention of investigative bodies," said Miranda Patručić.

More than 400 journalists from around the world worked on this investigative journalism project. The job, she says, was not easy at all.

"A lot of work, sleepless nights, many months of working until midnight. Now I am glad that this has come out, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us," said Patručić.