Leaked data could nab Danish tax evaders

Denmark's public broadcaster DR said tax authorities would pay around 1 million kroner (133,000 euros, $150,000) for information about hundreds of Danish nationals, thought to be clients of a Panama-based law firm linked to tax-evasion schemes.

Minister of Taxation Karsten Lauritzen said parliament's tax committee broadly supported the scheme, after an anonymous offer over the summer.

Lauritzen added that "everything suggests that it is useful information" and "we owe it to all Danish taxpayers who faithfully pay their taxes." But he said "there is a risk when doing deals with an anonymous seller."

The Danish tax authority had already received a "sample" of the data free of charge, the Ministry of Taxation said.

Local media reported that it is the first time Denmark has opted to pay for information of this nature, which will include the handover of some 200,000 documents leaked from law firm Mossack Fonseca, out of a total of 1.5 million papers divulged.

It's believed data relating to around 600 Danish taxpayers could be disclosed.

German media revealed scandal

The Panama Papers scandal erupted in April when the data leak was revealed by an anonymous whistleblower to German newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung."

The leak detailed the scale of global tax evasion, explaining how the law firm helped clients funnel cash to shell companies in tax havens.

The finances of numerous politicians, sports stars and celebrities have since been scrutinized following the revelations.

Mossack Fonseca has rejected any wrongdoing.

Torben Bagge, a lawyer teaching tax law at Aarhus University, noted that Denmark did not "have a tradition of buying information" and cautioned that there was no guarantee that it would be accurate.

Those selling it had "probably not obtained it legally", meaning the government was "in one way or another contributing to illegalities," he told Danish news agency Ritzau.

mm/jil (AFP, AP, dpa)