NETFLIX trailer The Laundromat with Streep, Oldman, Banderas: How BILLIONS were laundered

The tagline for the new movie says “Based on some real sh*t.” The first trailer looks like a typical Soderburg romp with glamorous locations, famous faces, snappy dialogue and technicoloured cinematography – but the outrageous story is very, very real. A major international leak in 2015 revealed that lawyers Jürgen Mossack (Gary Oldman) and Ramón Fonseca (Antonio Banderas) had handled over $2billion in assets for the international financial elite, including the close family members monarchs, prime ministers and presidents around the globe. The resulting scandal and investigation uncovered tax evasion, fraud and money laundering on a staggering scale. 

The resulting story became known as the Panama Papers, after the country in which the lawyers resided and did business. The government protested their association with the international scandal, but Panama has previously been accused of failing to meet the basic requirements established by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for international banking cooperation, notably the exchange of information on request.

The investigation also revealed close links to the UK, with reports that over £10 million of cash from the sale of the gold stolen in the 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery was laundered, first unwittingly and later with the complicity of Mossack Fonseca, through a Panamanian company, Feberion Inc. 

To date, it is estimated that $1.2billlion has been recovered, with the UK alone yielding $253million.

In reality, the whistleblower who leaked the documents has remained anonymous, but the movie follows Streep’s character doggedly pursuing an illegal insurance policy and uncovering a global conspiracy. 

The movie is adapted from the book Secrecy World by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Jake Bernstein. 

This is one of Netflix most high-profile and prestige projects of the past few years with early talk it will be a contender in the upcoming 2020 awards season.

The extraordinary cast is rounded out by the likes of Jeffrey Wright, David Schwimmer, Nonso Anozie, Matthias Schoenaerts, James Cromwell and Sharon Stone.

THE LAUNDROMAT will launch in select UK cinemas on 27^th September and on Netflix 18^th October