The Paradise Papers, a cache of 13.4 million documents obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and investigated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in partnership with The Indian Express, reveals how two firms Bermuda’s Appleby and Singapore’s Asiaciti Trust help the global rich and powerful move their money abroad.
Bermuda’s Appleby and Singapore’s Asiaciti with 19 tax havens help the “global rich and powerful”, including Indians, to siphon their money abroad, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists-led investigation of Paradise Papers.
The data leak involves 714 Indian names reportedly, sourced through these two companies, taking India to the 19th position among 180 countries.
The Sun Group, founded by Nand Lal Khemka figures in Appleby’s second-largest international client with 118 different offshore entities, the report added. 66,000 files relating to India have been listed in the Paradise Paper leak, as compared to the 37,000 that were listed in the Panama Papers scandal. The new set of names include former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Congress leader Sachin Pilot, and P Chidambaram’s son Karti. Others included are MoS Jayant Sinha, Dr. Ashok Seth, the chairman of Fortis-Escorts, actor Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt’s wife Manyata, corporate lobbyist Nira Radia, and liquor baron Vijay Mallya.
A 119-year-old company, Appleby 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.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha has responded to his name figuring in the Paradise Papers investigation. He tweeted in the early morning hours of the 6th November that the transactions were legal and bonafide on the behalf of his fiduciary role as partner at Omidyar Network and its designated representative on the D.Light Board. On joining the Union Council of Ministers, he had immediately resigned from the D.Light Board and severed his involvement with the company. He emphasized that the transactions were done for D.Light as an Omidyar representative, and not for any personal purpose.
Ironically, the leak comes just two days before Indian Government observed ‘Anti-Black Money Day’, which also marks one year of demonetization.
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