Panama experts to recommend financial system cleanup

PANAMA CITY — The government of Panama has established a committee of independent experts to make recommendations on cleaning up the country's financial system, after leaks of documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca caused an international uproar over offshore accounts.

President Juan Carlos Varela called for the review after the "Panama Papers" leak suggested rich foreigners were using the accounts to hide their wealth.

The advisory group includes Nobel economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz, former Panamanian President Nicolas Ardito Barletta and former Panama Canal administrator Alberto Aleman Zubieta. The group is to present recommendations to Varela in six months.

Varela said Friday at the committee's inauguration that "our administration is committed to bullet-proofing Panama" financial services sector "against threats from people and groups who want to use it for illegal activities."