Governments face fallout from offshore accounts report

FRANKFURT, Germany — Governments around the world tried Tuesday to contain the fallout from the publication of thousands of names of rich and powerful people who conducted offshore financial activity through a Panamanian law firm. Because offshore accounts and companies also hide the names of the ultimate owners of investments, they can be used to illegally evade taxes or launder money. Shell companies played a role in the corruption scandal involving the Petrobras oil company in Brazil.