German police pays €5 million for Panama Papers

Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has confirmed that it is in possession of a copy of the so-called Panama Papers and will use the information to investigate possible tax evasion by German citizens.

According to a press release issued jointly by the BKA, the state of Hesse, and public prosecutors on Wednesday, the BKA is in the process of inputting the information into an electronic database for future evaluation, a task that is expected to take several months.

The tax authorities in the state of Hesse and the Frankfurt Attorney General's Office are cooperating in the matter.

The BKA and the tax authority also intend to "cooperate closely" with foreign competent authorities, the statement said.

A huge trove of information, the Panama Papers include more than 11.5 million internal documents belonging to Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

The data was initially leaked to German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung in 2016 and includes emails, financial spreadsheets, passports, and corporate records relating to the ownership of bank accounts and companies in 21 offshore jurisdictions. It covers a nearly 40-year period, through to the end of 2015.

The BKA is reported to have paid an informant €5 million for the information.