A major figure in the financial scandal known as the Panama Papers, Panamanian lawyer Ramón Fonseca, has died, the National Bar Association of Panama said on Thursday.
His death comes just weeks before a judgement is expected in the trial.
Fonseca, co-founder of defunct law firm Mossack Fonseca, died at the age of 71 in a hospital in Panama City, according to local media reports.
The public prosecutor's office called for a 12-year sentence for Fonseca and his former business partner, Jürgen Mossack.
The verdict in the money laundering trial is expected by the beginning of June at the latest.
The Panama Papers came to the public in spring 2016 due to a leak involving some 11.5 million documents.
The documents came from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which were evaluated by journalists around the world. They found that numerous politicians, athletes and other celebrities had assets in offshore companies.
Mossack Fonseca is accused of having set up 215,000 letterbox companies in tax havens where politicians, celebrities and athletes from all over the world were able to conceal their assets and avoid paying taxes.
Eight years after the scandal emerged, 29 defendants went on trial in Panama in April. Fonseca was hospitalized so was unable to attend in person.
"A great man, lawyer, writer and politician. May he rest in peace," Panama's former president Ricardo Martinelli, in power from 2009 to 2014, said on X. Fonseca was the victim of cruel persecution, he said.
During the investigations, the names of 140 politicians and close confidants emerged. The revelations put them under significant pressure.
The sensational publication of the papers triggered tax investigations in many countries.