Panama Papers :Panama Law firm sanctions to blacklisted firms and individuals

The Panama law firm at the center of the biggest data leak in history had connections to dozens of firms and individuals on sanctions blacklists by the United States and international organizations, according to media groups that reviewed the documents.

Mossack Fonseca acted on behalf of at least 33 company shareholders, directors and other beneficiaries who were under sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department, the European Union and the United Nations. They were targeted for a range of violations including having links to North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea and human rights abuses in Syria.

While Mossack Fonseca worked with some of the companies and individuals prior to them being blacklisted, in some instances it continued to act on their behalf after they were placed on the blacklists, according to information found in the files.

The BBC identified one such firm, DCB Finance, which it said was jointly controlled by Kim Chol Sam, a North Korean official, and Nigel Cowie, a British national who was the chief executive of the sanctioned financial firm Daedong Credit Bank.

Mossack Fonseca said it "never knowingly" conducted business with sanctioned companies or individuals. However, it admitted it should have done more to determine where DCB Finance's owners were based — the North Korean capital Pyongyang as it turned out. Cowie was not personally sanctioned. DCB Finance was sanctioned for its alleged connections to a separate financial institution suspected of helping fund North Korea's nuclear program.

A sanction typically involves an official order to limit or stop trade and business with countries, companies or individuals who commit or are accused of offenses.

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