Geneva: A computer specialist for the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca has been taken into custody by Geneva authorities in a probe linked to the leak of a massive trove of data on offshore companies, a Swiss newspaper reported.

Daily Le Temps, citing an unidentified person close to the case, reports that Geneva prosecutors earlier this week placed the computer specialist for the firm's local office in temporary detention in connection with the recent release of "a very large volume of confidential data".

German activists wearing suits and Panama hats hold fake money while demanding greater transparency following the Panama Papers affair. Credit:Getty Images

The revelations could foment new speculation about the mysterious source of the so-called "Panama Papers" leak, in which a person gave a German newspaper a huge trove of data detailing the owners and clients of thousands of offshore entities.