Panama Papers: Organised crime prosecutors seize shredded papers as evidence from Mossack Fonseca office

Organised crime prosecutors in Panama have seized bags full of shredded documents from a property used by law firm Mossack Fonseca, whose leaked documents, dubbed Panama Papers, raised alarms of financial wrongdoings across the globe.

Organised crime investigator Javier Caraballo was quoted by Reuters as saying they have seized "a large amount of evidence found in the location", adding they have also removed many shredded papers as evidence.

The move follows similar raids by Panama's organised crime unit led by Caraballo on Mossack Fonseca's headquarters and other offices in the country. Many offshore offices of the law firm have also been raided in connection with the leaks, which prompted many global investigations.

Meanwhile, Mossack Fonseca issued a statement saying the shredded papers were meant to undergo recycling following digitisation of all its official documents. The law firm also said that from the previous raids conducted at its offices, the prosecutors have already gathered all the copies of the documents they have seized from this raid.

The leaked documents of the law firm brought embarrassment to many after their names were linked, either directly or indirectly, to the scandal. The documents showed that many rich and wealthy people or their close associates or family members either held a stake or completely owned offshore companies, which may have been used to dodge taxes in their countries.

Prime Minister David Cameron's father's name also surfaced in the leaked documents, which led to many accusations and criticism of the leader.

Mossack Fonseca director Ramon Fonseca has denied any wrongdoing. He said the firm had suffered a hack on its database and described the leak as "an international campaign against privacy", according to Reuters.