The leak's arrival at a newspaper is one private date. The public story begins on 3 April 2016.
National court dates below are examples, not a complete world docket.
Timeline
- Files reach Süddeutsche
A source calling himself John Doe delivers a massive Mossack Fonseca cache to German reporters, who bring in ICIJ.
- Consortium reporting
More than a hundred newsrooms work under embargo from a shared archive, matching names to local politics and tax files.
- Global publication
ICIJ and partners publish the first wave. 11.5 million files and a 2.6 TB scale figure enter the public vocabulary.
- Iceland resignation
Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson resigns after protests and a televised confrontation about an offshore company.
- Cameron questions
David Cameron faces British questions about his late father's offshore interests. He publishes tax summaries under pressure.
- National inquiries
Tax agencies and prosecutors in multiple countries open files. Outcomes range from fines to silence.
- Sharif disqualified
Pakistan's Supreme Court disqualifies Nawaz Sharif in a case that grew from the Papers — the hardest court aftershock in a large democracy.
- Pulitzer for ICIJ
The consortium's explanatory reporting wins a Pulitzer. The journalistic event is canonised in English.
- Mossack Fonseca closes
The firm shuts down. Founders continue to deny criminality. Closure is not a global client verdict.
- Later ICIJ leaks
Paradise Papers and Pandora Papers reuse the method. Panama remains the name English speakers remember first.
After 2016 the timeline is national leftovers and sequel leaks, not one world trial.
Public-record encyclopedia. Not legal advice. Not a how-to. Graphic detail is withheld. Wars belong in a separate atlas.