Panama Papers and Swiss Leaks tax investigations yield €10.6 million in fines

The audits, which lasted one year and involved a payment of €11.8 million (equivalent to $12.6 million), did not reveal anything new about the state of South American companies’ finances, according to the Panama Papers.

“What was the motivation behind the extensive conduct that carried the penalties of over 10 million euros? That is still unclear,” John Colbert, Spain's chief auditor, told the official, the Efe news agency reported.

In the current situation, the provisions for open auditing in Spain and its member countries were part of the structural reform law, the government has learned.

In recent months, the coming up with the new rules to be implemented by the end of 2015 is complicated by the uncertainty over the much-publicized financial centre of Brisa S.A., which was taken over by a regulatory body last month and whose chief executive has received letters demanding information about the companies’ assets and debt.

Many global politicians, banks and investment managers do not want to find out their tax-loss positions, but through open auditing systems.

In this case, Panama knows what has been done to the smallest companies involved in its clients' tax affairs and was able to conduct inquiries.

The country’s prosecutors also worked on the investigation, relying on information obtained from companies owned by offshore operators and by their auditors.

After its investigations, the Spanish government intervened to release documents about its own audit of tax havens and the returns of several companies registered in that jurisdiction, which for the state amounted to €105 million.

In many cases, companies were found to have filed misleading statements with tax authorities for years. For example, in 2007, a law firm acting for some of the companies' owners transferred €34 million to a trust account and was not informed that the money had been used to purchase Panamanian real estate.

The tax authorities were also unable to find out what happens to the tax money deposited in the trust.