Brussels, 06/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - The threats of legal action against the media made by Mossack Fonseca, the Panamanian law firm at the centre of the “Panama Papers” scandal, are an illustration of the danger posed by the trade secrets protection directive, in the view of Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO).
After a vast array of information was made public by the press, shining a fierce, bright light on the shadowy world of offshore finance and tax havens, Mossack Fonseca has issued a warning to the media, stating “We trust that you are fully aware that using information/documentation unlawfully obtained is a crime, and we will not hesitate to pursue all available criminal and civil remedies”.
In the wake of the Panama Papers, CEO has once again made its voice heard, repeating that the trade secrets protection directive - to be put to the vote in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday 14 April - gives companies like Mossack Fonseca “new legal ammunition to prosecute journalists and news organisations publishing their internal documents and information”. CEO, a leading a coalition of civil society organisations, adds that the draft directive “creates excessive rights to secrecy for businesses” and it calls on Parliament to reject it (see EUROPE 11521).
CEO also takes the examples of whistleblower Antoine Deltour and journalist Edouard Perrin who were charged in relation to the LuxLeaks scandal which erupted in November 2014 at the same time as the Juncker Commission was taking office. If the trade secrets protection directive is passed, these two individuals will no longer be isolated cases, CEO says. Citizens, journalists and scientists who reveal the underhand dealings of companies “could now face legal threats, years in prison and heavy fines worth hundreds of thousands of euros”, warns CEO. (Original version in French by Maëlle Didion-intern)