Millions of documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm reportedly show how a vast web of the world's rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth - with some figures in the football world implicated.

Around ​eleven million documents were leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, said to be one of the most secretive companies in the world.

Lionel Messi ​is said to have been named in the leak, which could prove poor timing for the Barcalona star. He and his father are preparing to stand trial on tax fraud charges at the end of the season, after they were accused of cheating the government out of nearly $6.5m in taxes by shielding his image rights in an offshore network.







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Messi has paid the back taxes the government said he owed for the years 2007-2009, denying that he deliberately tried to deceive anyone, but the leaked papers show the existence of 'Mega Star Enterprises', an offshore company said to be owned by Messi and his father at least as far back as 2013.











The company is not mentioned in the 2014 and 2015 indictments against the pair from the Spanish government. The leaked records show Messi signed at least one document reflecting his ownership of Mega Star, but that his father, took over sole ownership of the company in December 2015. The company remains active in Panama’s company register.







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The documents were given to German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, who then shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) - leading to 107 media organisations in 78 countries working together on the story together.





A FIFA official is also facing some tough questions after the leak. Uruguayan lawyer Juan Pedro Damiani, a member of the organisation's ethics committee, ​reportedly provided legal assistance to at least seven offshore companies linked to allegedly corrupt official Eugenio Figueredo - who is accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes.





A spokesman for the ethics committee told the BBC: "We confirm that on 19 March the investigatory chamber of the independent ethics committee was informed by the chairman of the adjudicatory chamber, Hans-Joachim Eckert, about becoming recently aware of a business relationship between the member of the adjudicatory chamber Juan Pedro Damiani, and Eugenio Figueredo Aguerre.

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