<p> Police have raided the headquarters of the Panama law firm whose leaked documents have unleashed a global scandal over how the world's elite use offshore companies to hide their wealth.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Organised crime police surrounded Mossack Fonseca's headquarters in Panama City yesterday as the offices were being searched, along with several other branches.<br /><br />Prosecutors said the raids had taken place "with no incident or interference," but gave no details on the results of the searches.<br /><br />The fallout from the so-called Panama Papers, which law firm Mossack Fonseca claims were stolen when hackers from abroad breached its system, has spread around the world.<br /><br />A year-long probe by a consortium of investigative journalists examined the papers, which come from around 214,000 offshore entities and cover almost 40 years.<br /><br />The world's business, political and even sports elite have been thrown onto the defensive.<br /><br />Iceland's prime minister was forced to resign after it emerged he owned shares in the country's banks through an offshore company during the financial crisis.<br /><br />Leaders in Britain and Ukraine have faced questions over their taxes, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to divert attention from his entourage by claiming it is all a US plot against him.<br /><br />China has been censoring online forums and media to stifle discussion of the papers, which showed relatives of eight of its political top brass also owned offshore companies.<br />And wealthy citizens in Australia, France, India, Mexico, Peru, Spain and elsewhere face probes over suspected tax avoidance after their names figured in some of the 11.5 leaked million documents.<br /><br />Panama has hit back at the apparent blemish on its image as an important financial crossroads.<br /><br />It warned France earlier yesterday, before the raid on the law firm, of unspecified diplomatic measures if France does not remove it from a blacklist of tax havens.<br /><br />Paris put Panama back on its national list of uncooperative jurisdictions, after removing it in 2012, in the wake of the leaks.<br /><br />France is also urging the European Union and all member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to follow suit.<br /><br />Such an international designation would deal a heavy blow to Panama's vital financial services sector, which the government has been trying to make more transparent.</p>
<p> Police have raided the headquarters of the Panama law firm whose leaked documents have unleashed a global scandal over how the world's elite use offshore companies to hide their wealth.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Organised crime police surrounded Mossack Fonseca's headquarters in Panama City yesterday as the offices were being searched, along with several other branches.<br /><br />Prosecutors said the raids had taken place "with no incident or interference," but gave no details on the results of the searches.<br /><br />The fallout from the so-called Panama Papers, which law firm Mossack Fonseca claims were stolen when hackers from abroad breached its system, has spread around the world.<br /><br />A year-long probe by a consortium of investigative journalists examined the papers, which come from around 214,000 offshore entities and cover almost 40 years.<br /><br />The world's business, political and even sports elite have been thrown onto the defensive.<br /><br />Iceland's prime minister was forced to resign after it emerged he owned shares in the country's banks through an offshore company during the financial crisis.<br /><br />Leaders in Britain and Ukraine have faced questions over their taxes, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to divert attention from his entourage by claiming it is all a US plot against him.<br /><br />China has been censoring online forums and media to stifle discussion of the papers, which showed relatives of eight of its political top brass also owned offshore companies.<br />And wealthy citizens in Australia, France, India, Mexico, Peru, Spain and elsewhere face probes over suspected tax avoidance after their names figured in some of the 11.5 leaked million documents.<br /><br />Panama has hit back at the apparent blemish on its image as an important financial crossroads.<br /><br />It warned France earlier yesterday, before the raid on the law firm, of unspecified diplomatic measures if France does not remove it from a blacklist of tax havens.<br /><br />Paris put Panama back on its national list of uncooperative jurisdictions, after removing it in 2012, in the wake of the leaks.<br /><br />France is also urging the European Union and all member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to follow suit.<br /><br />Such an international designation would deal a heavy blow to Panama's vital financial services sector, which the government has been trying to make more transparent.</p>