Pandora Papers has surprised everyone as the names in the list include Sachin Tendulkar, Kiran Mazumdar, Anil Ambani , Nirav Modi among the 380 Indian names that featured in the investigation.
Afresh investigation conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has exposed how the world’s elites have been protecting their assets from scrutiny at home through secret offshore holdings.
Pandora Papers Top Indian Names in the List that is shocking
- Sachin Tendulkar – Offshore entity
- Kiran Shaw Mazumdar husband John McCallum offshore entities
- Anil Ambani – Offshore companies
- Nirav Modi
- and more….
The Pandora Papers investigation reveals a long list of top political leaders, industrialists, celebrities and sportspersons who have parked assets worth millions offshore to evade detection and scrutiny in their own country.
PANDORA PAPERS INVESTIGATION WHAT DOES IT SAY?
The Pandora Papers investigation, involving 600 journalists from 150 media outlets, is based on 12 million leaked documents from 14 global corporate services firms that have set up roughly 29,000 off-shore shell companies and private trusts in tax havens for clients around the globe.
The documents are related to the ultimate ownership of assets placed in private offshore trusts. The investments held by offshore entities related to these elites include cash, shareholding and real estate properties, as per the Pandora Papers investigation.
According to the ICIJ, the files expose the secret financial holdings of a range of global elites, including 35 current and former world leaders, more than 330 politicians and public officials in 91 countries.
The Pandora Papers shows how several offshore entity owners including some individuals from India found ways to adapt to the post-Panama Papers scenario when several countries around the world tightened offshore investment regulation.
A document in the Pandora Papers shows that banks around the world helped their customers set up at least 3,926 offshore companies with the assistance of Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee, a Panamanian law firm led by a former ambassador to the U.S. The document shows that the firm – also known as Alcogal – set up at least 312 companies in the British Virgin Islands for clients of the American financial services giant Morgan Stanley.
The Pandora Papers contains names of top leaders around the globe including King of Jordan Abdullah II, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso, and former associates of both Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It also has names of approximately 380 Indians including some who have been accused of economic offences, former members of Parliament and some who were under the radar of investigative agencies.
Pandora Papers also list Cricket Star Sachin Tendulkar
Surprisingly, the Pandora Papers also mentions former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. The 48-year-old along with family members was mentioned in the papers as Beneficial Owners of an offshore entity in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), reported The Indian Express newspaper which was part of the ICIJ. The report said that the offshore entity was liquidated in 2016.
Tendulkar’s attorney said the cricket player’s investment is legitimate and has been declared to tax authorities. Shakira’s attorney said the singer declared her companies, which the attorney said do not provide tax advantages. Schiffer’s representatives said the supermodel correctly pays her taxes in the U.K., where she lives.
In most countries, it’s not illegal to have assets offshore or to use shell companies to do business across national borders. Businesspeople who operate internationally say they need offshore companies to conduct their financial affairs.
Businessman Anil Ambani, who had declared bankruptcy in a UK court, has 18 asset-holding offshore companies, added the report. Records suggested that the Reliance ADA Group chairman and his representatives had offshore companies in Jersey, BVI, Cyprus.
Offshore entities of Kiran Mazumdar Shaw’s husband John McCallum Marshall Shaw have Biocon shares and $85 million. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is the Executive Chairperson of Biocon Ltd, a biotech enterprise valued at over Rs 7,300 crore.
Another name mentioned in the Pandora Papers is Nirav Modi, the fugitive diamantaire who fled the country after defrauding Punjab National Bank (PNB) to the tune of Rs 13,600 crore.
A month before Nirav Modi fled the country, his sister Purvi Modi set up a firm in the BVI to act as a corporate protector of a trust formed through the Trident Trust Company, Singapore, reported The Indian Express. The report highlighted that Brookton Management Ltd was set up in December 2017 to act as the corporate protector of The Deposit Trust.
It may be noted that Purvi Modi has now turned approver in the case against Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.
The Pandora Papers have also revealed that Indians, who owe thousands of crores to banks moved sizeable, moved a substantial section of their assets to a maze of offshore companies.
Internationally, the Pandora Papers have exposed the secret offshore dealings of the King of Jordan, the Presidents of Ukraine, Kenya and Ecuador, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
It revealed that King of Jordan Abdullah II secretly amassed $100 million worth of property in the US and UK. The files have also detailed the financial activities of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “unofficial minister of propaganda” and more than 130 billionaires from India, Russia, the United States, Mexico and other nations.
Meanwhile, over 700 individuals from Pakistan including some ministers and key members of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s inner circle have been named in the Pandora Papers. They are finance minister Shaukat Tarin, water resources minister Moonis Elahi, senator Faisal Vawda, the family of industrial minister Khushro Bakhtiar.
