European Parliament ‘Panama papers’ inquiry

The European Parliament has voted to set up an inquiry committee into the ‘Panama papers’ revelations of detailed information on offshore companies and their ultimate beneficiaries. The committee is to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application by the EU Commission or member states of EU laws on money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion. It will have 65 members and twelve months to present its report.

The committee’s mandate includes the statement: ‘The Panama papers revelations put into question whether the European legislation for these priorities is adequate and whether member states and the European Commission, as well as financial institutions as entities empowered and obliged by Union law to identify and report on their account holders, have maladministered or have contravened provisions in their implementation of the aforementioned directives. These revelations are an opportunity for the European Union to advance in its agenda to fight tax evasion, tax avoidance and money laundering.’