Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mossack Fonseca said it had been hacked by servers based abroad

Denmark will buy data leaked from the law firm at the heart of the Panama Papers scandal, Taxation Minister Karsten Lauritzen has announced. The Danish government official who spoke anonymously said that the country's Customs and Tax Administration had received an anonymous offer over the summer from a party willing to sell the data, and that the data involved 320 cases concerning up to 600 Danish taxpayers. He added: “The material contains relevant and valid information about several hundred Danish taxpayers.”



The Panama Papers, published in April, were the biggest leak in history. “Therefore, we agreed that it is wise to buy the material.”

He said, without elaborating, that “there may be fundamental problems associated with buying leaked information,” and taxation authorities “should be cautious.”

He added that other parties in the 179-seat Parliament supported buying the documents, which are part of a stash of documents leaked from law firm Mossack Fonseca. The proposal by the centre-right Venstre party – which rules as a minority government – is said by Danish media to have the support of the other two main parties in parliament, the centre-left Social Democrats and anti-immigration Danish People’s Party. Panama Papers - tax havens of the rich and powerful exposed

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A huge leak of confidential documents has revealed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth

Eleven million documents held by the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca were passed to German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which then shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. An international consortium of journalists from 180 media organisations including the Guardian examined the leaked files, which featured several heads of state and politicians.
Denmark's government plans to buy the leaked Panama Papers containing Danish citizens.