Latin American Economy & Business - June 2016 (ISSN 1741-7430)

Panama has recently experienced some short-term negatives. The ‘Panama Papers’ scandal in April brought attention to the use of its offshore financial centre for tax evasion and money laundering purposes. Also bad for the country’s image was the announcement of US sanctions against the prominent Waked family and its network of 68 companies, suspected of involvement in money laundering. But both events should be more than offset by the boost to the country’s long-term outlook signalled by the opening of the newly enlarged Panama Canal on 26 June.