From Amitabh Bachchan to Vijay Mallya, how Paradise Papers is giving sleepless nights to 714 Indians
On Monday, the government launched an investigation, trail blazed by the income tax department into the off-shore assets and the bank accounts of about 700 Indian individuals and the subsistence broadcasted in the Paradise papers, which was released by the International consortium of investigative journalists (ICIJ).
The Indians include the Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, the fugacious business tycoon, Vijay Mallya, corporate influence peddler Niira Radia, Film star Sanjay Dutt’s wife Dilnashin (Manyata), Union Minister Jayant Sinha and Rajya Sabha MP RK Sinha.
The Indian names also holds the ones associated with the Sun-TV-Aircel-Maxis case, Essar-Loop 2G case, SNC Lavalin in which the Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan was named and then cleared, and a case against YS Jagan Mohan Reddy; as also entities linked to Rajasthan ambulance scam that names an entity called Ziquista Healthcare (with Congress leader Sachin Pilot and former minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti as early honorary/independent directors).
The central boards of the direct taxes (CBDT), that the multi-agency group, penetrating the Panama papers leak will also head the inspection on the Paradise papers on the financial holdings in the foreign land. The income tax department has already been alarmed to supervise the disclosures for immediate action.
The Paradise papers is known to contain include nearly seven million loan agreements, financial statements, emails, trust deeds and other includes the paperwork of over nearly 50 years from inside Appleby, a reputed offshore law firm, with its headquarters in Bermuda.
The ICIJ has been known to have worked with almost 95 media partners across the globe. The exposed documents include the ones from the small family-owned trust company Asiaciti (Singapore) and from the anthology in almost 19 secrecy jurisdictions. The body also cleared that the disclosure of the names on the list has not intended their names tainted or the fugitive of the taxes by any means.
CBDT, the pinnacle-making body of the IT department, said the inspection has already taken a fast track and the barreling actions will be followed, once the further information is revealed. CBDT also revealed that the investigation is monitored by CBDT Chairman, including the representatives from the tax body, Enforcement Directorate, RBI and Financial Intelligence Unit.
The cabinet will also be going through the details of the income tax returns, filed by the 714 Indian individuals, in ell to the ones mentioned in the Paradise papers and hence, subsequent actions will be taken on the case-to-case basis, a source reported.
The CBDT also said that only a few Indians names have appeared in the media, by far and it is yet to release the latest disclosures as even the ICIJ website has not released the respective names of the particulars.
A CBCT statement also claims that the ICIJ website will be revealing the information in phases and structured data, connected to the Paradise Papers investigation, to be out in the coming weeks on its offshore leaks database. A senior official said that the notice will be announced post the investigation.
The CBDT said that the exposition made on Monday in the media points that out of 180 countries presented in the data of offshore entities held by people of different nationalities, India ranks 19th in terms of a number of names. Sun Group, founded by Nand Lal Khemka, pictured as Appleby’s second largest client, including another whopping 118 offshore entities.
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