PANAMA CITY, May 9, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Panamanian lawyer Ramon Fonseca, one of the heads of the now-defunct law firm Mossack Fonseca which was at the epicenter of the global "Panama Papers" scandal, died while awaiting sentencing in his money-laundering trial, his lawyer said Thursday.

During the night, Fonseca "died, he was hospitalized," a member of his legal team told AFP, adding that the health episode was "why he did not attend the trial" which opened on April 8.