- Ramón Fonseca: Saving the world, as it turns out, is very hard, you know? Long hours, bad pay, and perhaps the world does not want to be saved. Inside all of us, there are packs of wolves, some flocks of sheep roaming through our thoughts. We want to be fair, and yet, we want to win. We want to be righteous, but we want to get ahead. Such is our struggle. Uh, at some point, you decide it might just be easier to save yourself. So, I became a lawyer for the not-so-meek.
- Ellen Martin: In this system, our system, the slaves are unaware, both of their status and of their masters, who exist in a world apart, and where the shackles are hidden amidst reams of unreachable legalese. It is a result of massive, pervasive corruption of the legal profession. When it takes a whistle blower to sound the alarm, it is cause for even greater concern. 'Cause it signals that democracy's checks and balances have all failed, and that severe instability could be just just around the corner.
- Jürgen Mossack: Tax evasion is a crime. But tax avoidance, that's what put us in business. And the line between the two, we like to say, it's as thin as a jailhouse wall.
- Ellen Martin: Thank you, Lord, thank you. Thank you for everything. I hate to ask this, but I was just wondering when exactly the meek will be inheriting the Earth?
- Jürgen Mossack: So, if we are the losers, then who are the winners? The meek? Children who need books? The poor who need homes? No. The United States. The biggest tax haven in the world. Delaware. Nevada. Wyoming. How much due diligence is happening there?
- Ramón Fonseca: [about deceased employee] She was the director of 25,000 companies. Mia Beltran.
- Jürgen Mossack: Scheie!
- Ramón Fonseca: Now we need 25,000 forms changing the director of these companies.
- [first lines]
- Ramón Fonseca: First of all, there are some things you should know before we begin. For instance, we are real people, just like you. Secondly, we did not write a word of this. To be perfectly frank, we would have preferred all of this remain a secret. But we had no choice in the matter. We just woke up one day and everything changed. There were stories about us everywhere: TV, newspapers, and the internet.
- Ramón Fonseca: And now it is our turn to tell a few stories. Think of them as fairy tales that actually happened. Don't worry, these stories are not just about us. They're also about you.
- Ramón Fonseca: And how is that possible? Because all these stories are about money. The idea of money. The necessity of money. The secret life of money.
- Jürgen Mossack: [about arrested company executive] We will want to change that.
- Mr. Mossack's Secretary: Change that now? Can't really go back in time. He's all over the books.
- Jürgen Mossack: Well, some people believe that time is just an illusion. That all moments are the same moment.
- Mr. Mossack's Secretary: I think it might be bad for us to do something like that.
- Ellen Martin: I call on the European Commission, and the British Parliament, the United States Congress, and all nations, to put an end to massive, pervasive, corruption!, In this system, our system, the slaves are unaware, both of their status and of their masters, who exist in a world apart, and where the shackles are hidden amidst reams of, unreachable legalese. It is a result of massive, pervasive corruption of the legal profession. When it takes a whistleblower to sound the alarm, it is cause for even greater concern. 'Cause it signals that, democracy's checks and balances have all failed, and that severe, instability could be just, just around the corner. So now, is the time, for real action. It starts with asking questions. Tax evasion cannot possibly be fixed, while elected officials are pleading for money, from the very elites, who have the strongest incentives to avoid taxes, relative to any other segment of the population, Yeah, these, political practices have come full circle, and are irreconcilable. Reform, of America's broken campaign finance system cannot wait.