PARIS: France will put Panama back on its list of countries that do not cooperate in efforts to track down tax dodgers, finance minister Michel Sapin said in the wake of the Panama Papers revelations.
“France has decided to put Panama back on the list of uncooperative countries, with all the consequences that will have for those who have transactions” with the central American state, Sapin told parliament.
Panama “wanted to have us believe that it could respect major international principles,” Sapin said. “That’s how it managed to avoid being on the blacklist of tax havens.”
In December the finance ministry warned that it was “very attentive” to changes in France’s relations with Panama, faulting a poor response to requests for information.
The so-called Panama Papers, a massive leak of secret offshore financial dealings implicating world leaders and celebrities, has prompted several countries to open investigations.
