Paradise Papers: Amitabh Bachchan, Union Minister Jayant Sinha, Niira Radia among Indians named in fresh set of data leaks
Mumbai: Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt’s wife Manyata, Union minister Jayant Sinha and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia are among Indians named in a fresh set of data leaks showing alleged offshore dealings of the world’s rich and famous. Titled ‘Paradise Papers’, the findings have been released by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which was behind the Panama Papers made public last year.
The long list of international leaders and celebrities on the list includes Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, singers Bono and Madonna and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
This cache of 13.4 million documents named “Paradise Papers” tumbled out 18 months after Panama Papers: both sets of data were obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and were investigated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) working in partnership with 96 news organisations.
A bulk of the records investigated is from Bermuda law firm Appleby. Although not a tax advisor, this 119-year-old company is a leading member of the global network of lawyers, accountants, bankers and other operatives who set up offshore companies and manage bank accounts for clients to do one or a combination of the following: avoid or evade taxes; manage real estate assets; open escrow accounts; purchase airplanes and yachts paying low tax rates; or, simply, use offshore vehicles to move millions across the globe.
Among the 180 countries represented in the data, India ranks 19th in terms of the number of names. In all, there are 714 Indians in the tally. Interestingly, it’s an Indian company, Sun Group, founded by Nand Lal Khemka, that figures as Appleby’s second-largest client internationally, with as many as 118 different offshore entities.
Among Appleby’s Indian clients are several prominent corporates and companies which subsequently came under the scrutiny of investigating agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
These include firms in the Sun-TV-Aircel-Maxis case; Essar-Loop 2G case; SNC-Lavalin in which Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was named, then cleared; the Rajasthan ambulance scam which has recently been routed to the CBI and which names a company called Ziquista Healthcare (Sachin Pilot and Karti Chidambaram were early Honorary/Independent Directors of the firm respectively); and fresh financial links in a CBI case against YSR Congress Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
In the case of one set of companies implicated in the 2G spectrum allocation case, for instance, even the top secret Letters Rogatory sent by the CBI reach Appleby. Besides corporates, the data reveals details of individuals as well: Amitabh Bachchan’s shareholding in a Bermuda company acquired before the 2004 Liberalised Remittance Scheme kicked in; corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and film star Sanjay Dutt’s wife who figures under her former name Dilnashin. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha’s name figures in the records because of his past association with the Omidyar Network. Records of offshore companies linked to BJP Rajya Sabha MP and founder of Security and Intelligence Services (SIS) R K Sinha appear in the Malta list.
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