Panama Papers: Where to check online searchable database of 200,000 offshore accounts

The Panama Papers will soon be released as a searchable database of around 11.5 million documents. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) is set to release the next batch of data on 9 April at 2PM EDT (7PM BST).

The Panama Papers, the collection of documents leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, is the biggest of its kind to date. The ICIJ says it will expose "top players in the offshore world, and includes information about companies, trusts, foundations and funds incorporated in 21 tax havens, from Hong Kong to Nevada in the United States. It links to people in more than 200 countries and territories."

The data will be made available via a dedicated ICIJ website (https://offshoreleaks.icij.org).

ICIJ deputy director Marina Walker Guevara stressed that they will not be releasing personal data en-masse. "While the database opens up a world that has never been revealed on such a massive scale, the application will not be a 'data dump' of the original documents – it will be a careful release of basic corporate information," said Guevara.

The first batch of data made public saw high-profile politicians exposed for their off-shore dealings, provoking strong reactions from the public with immediate results. Iceland's prime minster was forced to step down amid massive public protests. British Prime Minister David Cameron, Russian president Vladimir Putin ,and Chinese President Xi Jinping were also also among those mentioned in the list.

The upcoming and much anticipated release will allow anyone to search for the names of the "true owners" of the companies via Mossack Fonseca's internal records and "visualize the networks around thousands of offshore entities".