New Delhi: Minister of State Jayant Sinha, BJP MP Ravindra Kishore, Congress leader Sachin Pilot, former minister P. Chidambaram’s son Karti and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan figure among 714 Indians named in a financial data expose on how the world’s rich and powerful have stashed their wealth abroad to evade legitimate taxes, according to a worldwide investigation whose first lot of revelations was published on Monday.
India ranks 19th among 180 countries whose citizens and companies sheltered their wealth in secretive tax havens abroad, according to a fresh global investigation whose first lot of revelations were published on Monday.
It comes a year after Panama Papers leak and two days before the government observes “Anti-Black Money Day” to mark the first anniversary of demonetisation — a move that sought to hit at illicit wealth.
The data relates to two firms — Bermuda’s Appleby and Singapore’s Asiaciti and 19 tax havens across the world that help the global rich to move their money abroad, according to the Indian Express which was part of the worldwide probe carried out by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
"In all, there are 714 Indians in the tally," said the Indian Express in a front-page banner story done as part of a world-wide probe carried out by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
"Interestingly, it is 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," the Express added.
Pakistanis on Paradise Papers
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has been named in the Paradise Papers, a fresh leak of financial documents revealing how the powerful and wealthy secretly invested vast amounts of money in offshore tax havens.
The world-wide probe was carried out by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the leaks on Sunday consist of 13.4 million files. The revelations involve two companies, Bermuda's Appleby and Singapore's Asiaciti.
The most prominent Pakistani name that emerged from the fresh leaks was that of Aziz, the Musharraf-era Finance Minister who was Prime minister from 2004 to 2007, Dawn online reported.
