NEW YORK: The Panama Papers, dominating political scenario in many countries including Pakistan, is to be made into a major motion picture in Hollywood, announced Netflix and John Wells Productions on Tuesday.

The story of thousands of secret bank accounts and an insane accumulation of wealth hiding in plain sight just beyond the reach of governments gripped the world earlier this year when German investigative journalists Frederik Obermaier and Bastian Obermayer broke the story and led the team that uncovered the Panama Papers, says the press release.

Netflix has acquired exclusive rights to Panama Papers: Breaking the Story of How the World’s Rich and Powerful Hide Their Money, a recently-released book by Obermaier and Obermayer and will work with producers Wells and Claire Rudnick Polstein and executive producer Zach Studin of John Wells Productions to bring to life the dramatic story in a feature film.

Marina Walker, International Consortium of International Journalists deputy director, and Gerard Ryle, who leads the ICIJ’s headquarters staff in Washington DC, are also on-board to collaborate on the film.

“We are confident that between the expert investigative work of Obermaier and Obermayer, the only journalists in touch directly with John Doe, the ICIJ, and the master storytelling of John Wells Productions, we will be able to deliver a gripping tale that will deliver the same type of impact as the the Panama Papers when they were first revealed on the world’s front pages,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2016