Montevideo, May 20 (EFE).– The Panama Papers are “the tip of the iceberg” with respect to offshore companies, according to Panamanian financial expert Julio Aguirre, who said Friday that the massive leak of Mossack Fonseca’s documents provided a golden opportunity for countries to become more aware of the situation.

Aguirre, who is in Montevideo for a conference on money laundering prevention, told the media after his talk at the gathering that the Panama City-based law firm’s presence in different countries provided the “best opportunity to show what is happening worldwide.”

For the financial expert, the case gave a glimpse into how Mossack Fonseca’s reach extended internationally – even into Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries – for the creation of offshore companies.

Aguirre, who was part of the working group that succeeded in having Panama removed in early 2016 from the Financial Action Task Force’s money-laundering “gray list,” said the Central American country’s company incorporation laws were a “copy/paste” of other jurisdictions favorable for the creation of offshores, such as the U.S. state of Delaware.

Asked about the lack of transparency surrounding offshore companies, even within a framework of legality, the expert said the problem could be mitigated if countries would overhaul their company incorporation systems so the “final beneficiary” of each entity is clearly defined. EFE