Alleged Panama Papers Leaker May Not Sue in Federal Court While Hiding His Name from the Court

From Doe v. Federal Republic of Germany, decided today by Magistrate Judge Gary Stein (S.D.N.Y.):

Plaintiff purports to be the individual who leaked the now-famous trove of offshore financial records known as the "Panama Papers." Using the pseudonym "John Doe" and proceeding pro se, Plaintiff filed this breach of contract action under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act against the Federal Republic of Germany … and the Bundeskriminalamt of Germany … on July 24, 2023. Plaintiff claims that Defendants have failed to pay amounts due under a contract pursuant to which Defendants purchased access to the Panama Papers for use in identifying tax fraud and other financial crimes….

In a declaration supporting his motion for leave to proceed anonymously, Plaintiff states that to protect his safety, he has exclusively used the pseudonym "John Doe" in connection with the Panama Papers. He asserts his belief that "should my identity become known, my life would be in immediate peril" and "I would likely be killed." Plaintiff points to a docudrama video shown in Russia in 2017 that he interprets as "an explicit and credible death threat against me by the government of the Russian Federation," and claims he faces similar threats from the governments of China and Saudi Arabia, international drug trafficking organizations, and ultra-high net worth individuals whose activities were exposed by the Panama Papers. Plaintiff's motion argues that under the multi-factor test set forth in Sealed Plaintiff v. Sealed Defendant (2d Cir. 2008), for evaluating requests to proceed under a pseudonym, these serious threats to the physical safety of Plaintiff as well as his family, friends, colleagues, and other individuals weigh in favor of granting him the requested relief….

Plaintiff's showing was sufficiently compelling to persuade Chief Judge Boasberg, applying the D.C. Circuit's similar test, to allow Plaintiff to proceed under a pseudonym in the D.D.C. Action [a nearly identical case the court filed in D.C. and then dismissed -EV], on condition that he disclose his identity under seal to the court [see here for that opinion -EV]. Without indicating any disagreement with Judge Boasberg's thoughtful analysis or conclusion, this Court finds that it would be inappropriate to decide Plaintiff's motion in this action at this time, for several reasons.