Christoph Zollinger, a Swiss lawyer and former senior executive at the controversial Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, is set to face trial in Germany next year for charges of tax evasion and participation in criminal organizations. The trial, scheduled for March 2026 at the regional court of Cologne, marks another chapter in the long-standing legal fallout from the Panama Papers scandal, which exposed the inner workings of one of the world’s most notorious offshore financial operations.

Zollinger, 56, served as one of the three most senior employees at Mossack Fonseca for years and later became a partner in the firm. According to the court statement obtained by media outlets including ZDF, Tamedia, and Der Standard, he faces allegations of “forming criminal organizations and aiding and abetting tax evasion in two cases.” German prosecutors claim that his actions contributed to a tax loss of approximately 13 million euros, roughly $15 million, linked to 50 offshore companies.

Through his legal representative, Zollinger declined to comment on the ongoing case. However, his history with Mossack Fonseca places him squarely in the center of one of the largest leaks of financial information in history. In 2016, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), along with Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other media organizations, revealed 11.5 million confidential files from the Panamanian law........

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