The law firm Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee ( Alcogal ) issued a statement in which it rejects the link made by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists ( ICIJ ) in the "Pandora Papers" of this firm Panamanian with the supposed registration of anonymous companies of dubious origin and the way they handle damage control.

"Alcogal rejects the conjectures, inaccuracies and falsehoods of the publications made on October 3, 2021, by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ, for its acronym in English)," the firm begins by stating in a statement addressed to the country after the publication of the Pandora Papers .

The Panamanian law firm rejects the accusations, stating that they have a solid professional track record.

"Our internal audit did not find any evidence of non-compliance in any of the cases mentioned by the ICIJ. In fact, since our founding in 1985, we have never faced charges related to improper activities, much less have we been convicted of any type of illegal activity in the jurisdictions where we work. "

Falsely linking the law firm to people who have not been their clients

Alcogal emphasizes that the ICIJ publication is plagued with inaccurate, outdated information and projects the wrong image about the activities of our firm.

"In some cases, the aforementioned persons were never our clients. In other cases, the indicated companies were not created by Alcogal. Current due diligence requirements are confused with cases or situations that occurred before the entry into force of the laws of current due diligence and that, at the time they occurred, were clearly framed within the legal standards applicable at that time. That is, they ignore the legal reality of each case and the fact that the applicable standards have evolved. Alcogal has been at the forefront of this evolution and, in fact, has promoted expanded due diligence, "they note.

They highlight in point three of their statement that they cooperate with the authorities and have been active promoters of reforms to the system and that they have adopted them swiftly.

"It has always cooperated immediately, proactively and effectively with all requirements of the competent authorities (regulators, supervisors, judicial, tax authorities, or of any other nature), and reiterates that it will continue to do so. Throughout our trajectory we have been available of the competent authorities to clarify any situation or provide any information or documentation that is required, "says the firm.

The firm expresses that they always act in accordance with the rules and that they have a robust compliance department. "As a firm, we have always promoted improvements in the regulations of Regulatory Compliance and Due Diligence in Panama and they reiterate that they do not provide financial services or advice on tax matters in relation to our international corporate services."

"The publications made today (Sunday) clearly show that both ICIJ and other organizations that contacted us only did so as a mere formality: they had already decided who would be guilty and who would be innocent in their particular way of understanding the processes of due diligence. With a prejudice already adopted - even coined in a brand (Pandora Papers) - the only interest was to confirm their own beliefs, "the Alcogal statement concludes.

It should be noted that the ICIJ was also the creator of the Panama Papers report and the new Pandora Papers investigation revealed that 14 active world leaders hid their fortune to avoid paying taxes.