Panama president denies country is tax haven

Panama has been "wrongly" labelled a tax haven, President Juan Carlos Varela said in an interview with a Japanese news agency, defending his country amid the global "Panama Papers" scandal.

Panama is scrambling to avert designation as a tax haven that assists money laundering after the disclosure of the offshore dealings of many of the world's wealthy, famous and infamous.

They came to light when millions of documents covering nearly 40 years of business were leaked from the archives of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

The revelations have had far-reaching political consequences, already bringing down the Icelandic prime minister and Spain's industry minister, while forcing others to explain their financial dealings.