Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Swiss anti-corruption expert Mark Pieth say they're resigning from a committee set up by the Panamanian government to look into improving transparency after the "Panama Papers" data leak.
In a statement emailed to Reuters, Pieth and Stiglitz said they had told the government that restrictions on the ability to independently define the scope of their work and speak freely with an assurance that their final report would be released, were "tantamount to censorship".
A spokeswoman for Panama's government did not immediately comment on the statement, but added that it would issue a response later.
Panama's President Juan Carlos Varela said in April that the independent commission would review the country's financial and legal practices.
That was in response to the leak of more than 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, dubbed the "Panama Papers", which detailed financial information from offshore accounts and potential tax evasion by the rich and powerful.
