MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The 65-member committee will be given one year to investigate the European Commission's and the EU member states' conduct in applying tax evasion and money laundering laws before presenting a report to the European Parliament, according to the statement.
"The European Parliament agreed to set up an inquiry committee into the 'Panama Papers' revelations, of detailed information on offshore companies and their ultimate beneficiaries, in a vote on Wednesday," the Parliament said in a press release.
In April, the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung exposed the alleged involvement of the world's wealthy and influential people, including a number of former and current leaders, in offshore schemes by publishing materials it claimed came from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama firm selling offshore companies.
Mossack Fonseca did not validate the information contained in the leaks and accused reporters of gaining unauthorized access to some of its proprietary documents.
