Panama Papers: ‘Holdout’ Panama rebuked for tax haven

The head of the international body responsible for policing the world’s tax havens that help shelter the rich and powerful last night criticised Panama as a “holdout” state.

Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Organisation for Co-operation and Development (OECD), said that Panama had broken pledges to lift the cloak of secrecy on companies based there that makes the central American country such a popular choice for tax evaders.

He also hinted world governments would be forced into new measures to lead a new crackdown on all tax havens.