A massive leak of 11.5 million tax documents has revealed the secret offshore dealings of several prominent people from around the world with as many as 500 Indians too being named in the leaks.
They include aides to Russian president Vladimir Putin, world leaders and celebrities including Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Iqbal Mirchi and Adani elder brother.
An investigation into the documents by more than 100 media groups, described as one of the largest such probes in history, revealed the hidden offshore dealings in the assets of around 140 political figures.
According to Indian Express, which was the Indian media partner in the exercise, Indian list also included DLF owner K P Singh and nine members of his family, and the promoters of Apollo Tyres and Indiabulls to Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani. Two politicians who figure on the list are Shishir Bajoria from West Bengal and Anurag Kejriwal, the former chief of the Delhi unit of Loksatta Party.
From Mumbai ganglord the late Iqbal Mirchi, the list includes scores of businessmen with addresses in nondescript neighbourhoods in Panchkula, Dehradun, Vadodara and Mandsaur. Addresses of individuals, in many cases, The Indian Express found out, led to physical locations, but with no trace of the individual.
The paper reported that it had found evidence of details of hitherto unknown deals, in some cases involving the government, too.
The vast stash of records was obtained from an anonymous source by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with media worldwide by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The documents, from around 214,000 offshore entities covering almost 40 years, came from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm with offices in more than 35 countries.
Amitabh Bachchan
Two years before he launched Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL) in 1995, the Bollywood legend was appointed director in at least four offshore shipping companies. Records of international law firm Mossack Fonseca, reviewed by The Indian Express, and subsequent inquiries show that the four companies, in which Bachchan was appointed director, were registered in tax havens — one in the British Virgin Islands and three in the Bahamas in November 1993.
Bachchan was also managing director of all four companies. The other directors were representatives of firms that provide corporate and financial services. In all four cases, Warrant Secretaries Limited was appointed company secretary. Warrant Nominees Ltd and Warrant Services Ltd were issued 500 shares each.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
One of India’s most famous faces, Aishwarya Rai, and her family were part of a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven for almost three years.
MF documents showed that Rai, her father Kotedadi Ramana Rai Krishna Rai, mother Vrinda Krishna Raj Rai and brother Aditya Rai were appointed on May 14, 2005, as directors of Amic Partners Limited — with an initial authorised capital of $50,000.
On June 18, 2005, an Amic board resolution changed Rai’s status to shareholder. And on July 5, 2005, internal instructions exchanged between MF staff stated: “One of the shareholders requested to shorten her name from Ms Ashwaria Rai (sic) to Ms A Rai for reasons of confidentiality. The same was mutually agreed and consented by all directors and shareholders.” In 2008, a year after Rai married Abhishekh Bachchan, the process to wind up the company was initiated, show records.
Amitabh Bachchan
Two years before he launched Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL) in 1995, the Bollywood legend was appointed director in at least four offshore shipping companies. Records of international law firm Mossack Fonseca, reviewed by The Indian Express, and subsequent inquiries show that the four companies, in which Bachchan was appointed director, were registered in tax havens — one in the British Virgin Islands and three in the Bahamas in November 1993.
Bachchan was also managing director of all four companies. The other directors were representatives of firms that provide corporate and financial services. In all four cases, Warrant Secretaries Limited was appointed company secretary. Warrant Nominees Ltd and Warrant Services Ltd were issued 500 shares each.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
One of India’s most famous faces, Aishwarya Rai, and her family were part of a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven for almost three years.
MF documents showed that Rai, her father Kotedadi Ramana Rai Krishna Rai, mother Vrinda Krishna Raj Rai and brother Aditya Rai were appointed on May 14, 2005, as directors of Amic Partners Limited — with an initial authorised capital of $50,000.
On June 18, 2005, an Amic board resolution changed Rai’s status to shareholder. And on July 5, 2005, internal instructions exchanged between MF staff stated: “One of the shareholders requested to shorten her name from Ms Ashwaria Rai (sic) to Ms A Rai for reasons of confidentiality. The same was mutually agreed and consented by all directors and shareholders.” In 2008, a year after Rai married Abhishekh Bachchan, the process to wind up the company was initiated, show records.
DLF owner Kushal Pal Singh
DLF owner, Kushal Pal Singh, acquired a company in British Virgin Islands, a tax haven, in which his wife Indira KP Singh is a co-shareholder, according to documents of Mossack Fonseca (MF), the Panamanian law firm that helps set up offshore entities.
The real estate tycoon has been described as a “politically exposed person (PEP)” by Mossack Fonseca & Co (BVI) Ltd, the registered agent for Singh’s offshore entity called Willder Ltd. Singh has been the Honorary Consul General of Monaco in Delhi since October 1990, and credited by GE’s former chairman and CEO Jack Welch for having initiated the global corporation’s India entry. Last year, DLF made headlines over a controversial land deal with Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Singh and Indira KP Singh initially remitted funds in two tranches in September 2010 and October 2011 to buy Willder shares — Singh contributed $676,400 and Indira Singh $ 714,400. While each share had a par value of $10,000, the company decided to set aside $6,400 from KP Singh’s contribution and $4,400 from Indira Singh’s towards share application money. Singh and Indira Singh were allotted 67 and 71 shares, respectively.
Indiabulls
Indiabulls, one of the country’s largest realty groups controlled by Sameer Gehlaut, brother Nagendra and father Balwan Singh, made headlines in June 2014 when it acquired a 87444-sq ft property for 155 million pounds at Hanover Square in London.
Before Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd entered the UK market, Sameer Gehlaut acquired at least three top London properties through family entities in Karnal, Delhi, Bahamas, Jersey and UK. Currently being developed as residential and hotel projects, these properties are owned by SG Family Trust, set up in October 2012 for the benefit of the family.
The paper also reported that Perpetual Management Private Limited, trustee of the SG Family Trust, is owned by Haryana Mahila Congress chief and ex-MLA Sumita Singh and her husband Jagdeep Singh Virk, parents of Sameer’s wife Divya Gehlaut.
Garware family
Offshore entities: Rondor Overseas Ltd, others
Location:BVI and Panama
MF records show that the Garware family, comprising Ashok Garware, Aditya Garware and Sushma Garware, is associated with a clutch of offshore entities. Ashok Garware is a shareholder in Rondor Overseas Ltd, registered in BVI on May 10, 1996, holding 1,000 shares of $1 each and a capital of $10,000.
Aditya Garware and Sushma Garware hold a Power of Attorney (PoA) in a number of Panamanian corporations that issued bearer shares.
Ashok Garware is the executive chairman of Global Offshore Services, earlier known as Garware Offshore Services, which owns and operates a fleet of anchor-handling tugs cum supply vessels and platform supply vessels in India, Europe and the Far East. Garware’s son Aditya is the managing director of Global Offshore. Other firms of the Garware Group include Garware Goa Nets, Garware Marine Industries and Garware Offshore International Services Pte.
Onkar Kanwar, Chairman of Appollo Group
Offshore entity: J&S Systems Corporation
Location: BVI
Onkar Kanwar, chairman of Apollo Group, and his family members floated an offshore entity, J&S Systems Corporation, in BVI in 2010 and two trusts in 2014.
MF records show that the entity holds a million shares of 0.01 pence each in London Stock Exchange-listed Mercom Oil Sands plc, an apartment in London’s iconic ‘The Tower’, and accounts in Barclays Bank, Singapore, and Cayman National Bank and Trust Company Ltd in Isle of Man. The balance in Cayman on November 30, 2014 was GBP 3,65,478.26, records show.
One of the most sought-after lawyers in the country, Harish Salve has represented celebrity clients in the Supreme Court. He was Solicitor General of India between 1999 and 2002.
Harish Salve
MF records show that Salve and his family members registered three offshore companies in the BVI — Crestbright Ltd, Pyebush Group Ltd and Edenval Ltd — through the London-based agent Rawi & Co with Vasant Vihar in New Delhi as the India address. MF records include a recommendation letter from Salve to Rawi & Co in 2007, asking them to set up a company and a trust for Ramesh Mahajan and Asha Mahajan.
His response- ““I set up Crestbright in 2012 — as a holding company to hold my lawfully made and fully disclosed investments based in the UK but the company has zero assets and zero income.
“I have been remitting funds since maybe 2003 under LRS. Out of these, some were invested in a portfolio in the UK and a patent in the US (a 25% stake with three other friends). Wanted to park these in a BVI company as at that time I was not a UK tax resident and wanted to avoid becoming one. Since 2014, I am a dual tax resident — UK and India, and so have not moved any assets into Crestbright.”
You can read the full list on Indian Express’ website
Panama Papers: Iqbal Mirchi, Adani elder brother, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Bachchan named in Tax Leaks