A subsidiary of the law firm Mossack Fonseca in Las Vegas is listed as the registered agent of 1,026 companies formed over the past decade and a half, many of which have since been dissolved or are no longer active.
In recent days, reports based on leaked documents mine Mossack Fonseca, based in Panama, have revealed the hidden properties of powerful individuals and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. CNNMoney has been unable to independently verify the information.
The reports, coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, refer to 12 current or former world leaders and 128 other politicians and public officials. Few Americans have been named so far, but journalists involved in the investigation say they are getting more revelations.
Mossack Fonseca subsidiary in Nevada, MF Corporate Services, is located in an office park near the airport in Las Vegas. Many of the companies that helped create the subsidiary follow a similar pattern ... all include officials residing in Panama, BVI or Seychelles, places that the European Commission has called tax havens.
Registration documents of some companies linked to MF Corporate Services listed corporations and other company officials, and do not mention any individual.
The shell companies and offshore accounts is not illegal, but can be used to mask the origin of financial transactions and property. Mossack Fonseca did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but this has previously said reports based on leaked documents "have distorted the nature of our work," and denied that many of the persons appointed by the reports were customers .
In the past, Mossack Fonseca has tried to distance itself from the subsidiary of Nevada, but a US judge ruled in March 2015 that the companies share "unity of interests and property" and are the same company.
According to legal documents, MF Corporate Services offered "kits' which customers create a society in less than 24 hours. The documents show that the only employee of the subsidiary of Nevada has said that the documents were sent to Mossack Fonseca in Panama that were finalized.
Mossack Fonseca has about 40 offices worldwide, including several in mainland China and other countries and regions identified as tax havens by the European Commission.