WASHINGTON — In recent days, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and South Africa joined the growing list of countries hunting down tax evaders among citizens who own offshore accounts. The French bank BNP Paribas said it would shut its Cayman Islands branch. In Pakistan, a cricketer turned politician who had attacked the prime minister over his family’s offshore accounts admitted that he, too, had used a shell company.

And the Group of 7 nations, meeting in Japan, agreed to crack down on illicit finance.

It was the latest fallout from the Panama Papers, the largest leak of secret documents to journalists in history. In the eight weeks since the publication of the first articles by some 370 reporters in 76 countries, an effort organized by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the impact of the revelations on the shadowy world of offshore finance has been striking — even as prospects for long-term reform remain uncertain.

Investigations are underway in dozens of countries, including the United States. Proposed laws requiring disclosure of the true owners of offshore companies to tax collectors or to the public have new momentum. Cartoonists have had a field day, reflecting the widespread anger and disgust pressuring governments to act.