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Nov 06, 2017 12:09 PM IST IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com
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highlights
Even as black money continues to dominate political discourse, BJP and Congress — the country's two major political parties — have thus far maintained radio silence on the Paradise Papers.
However, individuals whose named have cropped up, such as Union Minister of State Jayant Sinha, have issued statements in their personal capacities.
Trouble for Trump?
The leaks also show that US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has business ties to a shipping firm linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
Ross's ties to Russian entities raise questions over potential conflicts of interest, and whether they undermine Washington's sanctions on Moscow.
A Commerce Department spokesman denied any wrongdoing on Ross’ part.
Our first report is up. Read here.
Starting today, the newspaper will reveal a list of Indian companies and individuals -- 714 in all -- who have stashed money abroad in tax havens through offshore entities.
Welcome to the live coverage of the release of the Paradise Papers, the leak of a 13.6-million strong document trove, which is set to shake up the global financial and political system.
About 100 global news organisations, including the Indian Express in India, have investigated the Paradise Papers, and are slated to come up with a slew of investigative reports that would name companies and individuals suspected of shady dealings including, but not limited to, funnelling money to secret tax havens.
SUMMARY
# Paradise Papers refer to a trove - 13.4 million files - of financial data leaked from two firms
# The files contain information about 19 tax havens and show companies & individuals can avoid taxes using artificial entities
# Bermuda firm Appleby and Singapore-based Asiaciti helped the ultra-rich & powerful move money abroad
# Appleby allegedly helped clients set up offshore firms & manage bank accounts to evade taxes, manage realty, buy planes and yachts, move tonnes of money across the globe
# Amitabh Bachchan, Jayant Sinha among 714 Indians linked to tax havens
# Prominent Indian corporates in Appleby database include Jindal Steel, Apollo Tyres, GMR Group, Havells, Hindujas, Emaar MGF, Videocon, the Hiranandani Group and DS Construction
Among the high-profile world figures on the list is Bono, frontman of rock band U2. The Irishman used a company based in Malta to pay for a stake in a shopping centre in a small town in Lithuania, according to The Guardian. In Malta, foreign investors pay just 5 percent tax on profits.
Stock prices dip
Shares of various firms, led by Jindal Steel, on Monday fell by up to 2.3 per cent amid reports that their names have cropped up in the leaked list of Paradise Papers' of companies.
The scrip of Jindal Steel & Power went down by 2.32 percent, Essar Shipping lost 2 per cent and Videocon Industries fell by 1.82 percent on BSE.
Also, shares of Sun TV Network fell by 1.74 percent, GMR Infrastructure declined by 1.57 per cent and Apollo Tyres dipped 0.88 percent.
Links to SIS founder and BJP MP Ravindra Kishore Sinha
Rajya Sabha MP Ravindra Kishore Sinha, founder of private security firm SIS which went public earlier this year, is the head of an organisation which has two offshore companies, according to The Indian Express.
"These matters have been fully disclosed in the various filings with SEBI as a part of the IPO of Security and Intelligence Services (India) Limited,” said Sinha.
Spotlight on Sanjay Dutt's wife
The Paradise Papers have also shed light on the business dealings of Manyata, the wife of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt. The Indian Express reports that Manyata, whose real name is Dilnashin, held positions in a company registered in the Bahamas. A spokesperson for Manyata said the necessary disclosures were made to the income tax authorities.
Even as black money continues to dominate political discourse, BJP and Congress — the country's two major political parties — have thus far maintained radio silence on the Paradise Papers.
However, individuals whose named have cropped up, such as Union Minister of State Jayant Sinha, have issued statements in their personal capacities.
World's second biggest data leak
In terms of volume, this is the world's second biggest data leak:
Panama Papers - 2.6 TB
Paradise Papers - 1.4 TB
Offshore secrets - 260 GB
Luxembourg tax files - 4.4 GB
HSBC files - 3.3 GB
WikiLeaks - 1.7GB
Heat on UPA ministers
In addition to Vayalar Ravi, M Veerappa Moily is the other UPA minister in the limelight in connection with the Paradise Papers. According to The Indian Express, Moily’s son Harsha started a firm which received investments from subsidiaries a company linked to tax havens. Veerappa Moily was the Union minister for Corporate Affairs at the time.
Home truths for Trudeau
The Paradise Papers will also make Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a tad uncomfortable.
Stephen Bronfman, a close friend of Trudeau and former fund-raiser, has been named in connection with links to offshore accounts.
Three former Canadian prime ministers — Brian Mulroney, Paul Martin and Jean Chretien — have also been linked.
Huffington Post quotes the Canadian Revenue Agency as saying it will investigate any evidence that crops up against Canadian nationals in the Paradise Papers.
WHAT IS APPLEBY?
While Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca was at the centre of the Panama Papers leak, this time a company in Bermuda is the source of the trove of information on tax havens.
Appleby is 119-year-old company and 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 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.
If you're looking to get up to speed on the Paradise Papers, here's the leak on tax havens explained in 60 seconds.
Trouble for Trump?
The leaks also show that US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has business ties to a shipping firm linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
Ross's ties to Russian entities raise questions over potential conflicts of interest, and whether they undermine Washington's sanctions on Moscow.
A Commerce Department spokesman denied any wrongdoing on Ross’ part.
RAJASTHAN LINK
Some more information on the India connect. The Indian Express reports that a company registered by Appleby Mauritius had invested in an Indian firm that is at the centre of an investigation by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Rajasthan Ambulance “scam”.
One of the founders of the firm is the son of Congress leader and former Union minister for Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi.
A police complaint had earlier named former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, former finance minister P Chidambaram's son Karti, and former Union minister Sachin Pilot.
Important disclaimer
ICIJ, which sifted through the data, published the following disclaimer with regards to information provided: “There are legitimate uses for offshore companies, foundations and trusts. We do not intend to suggest or imply that any persons. companies or other entities included in the list have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly.”
The India Connect
India ranks 19th in terms of number of names on the list. As many as 714 Indians are on the list with Appleby's second-largest client said to be an Indian entity.
Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha has responded to his name appearing in the Paradise Papers investigation
This is what Sinha has said, in a series of tweets:
“Full details have been provided to Indian Express. These were bonafide and legal transactions undertaken on behalf of highly reputed world-leading organisations in my fiduciary role as Partner at Omidyar Network and its designated representative on the D.Light Board. All these transactions have been fully disclosed to relevant authorities through all necessary filings as required. After leaving Omidyar Network, I was asked to continue on the D.Light Board as an Independent Director. On joining the Union Council of Ministers, I immediately resigned from the D.Light Board and severed my involvement with the company. It is crucial to note that these transactions were done for D.Light as an Omidyar representative, and not for any personal purpose.”
After Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's new Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz named
Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is one of the 120+ politicians named in the investigative report by ICIJ and its affiliate news organisation.
Earlier, Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif had been disqualified from holding office by the country's Supreme Court. The top court had also ordered that a case be registered against Sharif and ruled that a reference be sent against him and his family to an accountability court.
The scandal is about alleged money laundering by Sharif in 1990s, when he twice served as prime minister, to purchase assets in London. The assets surfaced when Panama Papers leak last year revealed that they were managed through offshore companies owned by Sharif's children.
Russian firm invested in Twitter and Facebook, Pakistan PM named
The investigation had exposed a Russian firm’s investment into Twitter and Facebook, ties between Russia and US President Donald Trump’s billionaire commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, secret dealings of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief-fundraiser and undisclosed offshore investments of Queen Elizabeth II along with more than 120 politicians that includes former Pakistan PM Shaukat Aziz.
Queen Elizabeth has investments in offshore havens: Reports
Documents revealed in the investigation into offshore tax heavens have revealed that millions of pounds from Queen Elizabeth II’s private estate have been invested in a Cayman Islands fund as part of an offshore portfolio that has never before been disclosed.
The private estate called The Duchy of Lancaster generates a return for the British monarch. It was established in 1399 and manages land and investments held in trust on behalf of the Queen.
Summary:
> International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in partnership with 96 news organisations revealed first in a series of investigative reports titled what is being called as the 'Paradise Papers'.
> The news organisations will put out a list of Indian and foreign companies and individuals -- 714 in all -- who have stashed money in tax havens through offshore entities.
> Big political names who have been mentioned with exposes over secret dealings of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chief fund-raiser, reports of Queen Elizabeth's investments and activities of former Pakistan PM Shaukat Aziz, among 120 other politicians.
> India ranks 19th in terms of the number of names, out of the 180 countries whose names come up in the Paradise Papers.
> A bulk of the records investigated are from Bermuda law firm Appleby, which is at the center of the expose.
At the centre of the Paradise Papers leak is Appleby, a company that helps the rich shuffle money across countries and into tax havens.
Similar to Mossack Fonseca, which was the primary source of leaks during the infamous Panama Papers investigation, the new set of papers reveal a whole host of activities undertaken by Appleby.
In the words of a senior executive, Robert Woods, whose Powerpoint presentation from 2011 finds its way into the leaks, who was listing out various activities of the firm: "some of the crap we accept is amazing totally amazing".
Read ICIJ's full profile on Appleby.
Our first report is up. Read here.
The names of any Indian companies or individuals have not come up yet, though the Express is set to start rolling them out shortly.
Globally, a number of names have come up, and transactions revealed, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's chief fund-raiser, former Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Queen Elizabeth, among others.
Also under the lens will be US President Donald Trump, whose billionaire Commerce Secretary Wilbur Russ has been seen as having connections with Russia -- the country is the subject of an ongoing investigation of whether it meddled with the US election held last year.
And while it is clear that opening companies or bank accounts in tax havens is not illegal, given the trail of suspicious activity that has now been established, including through the Panama Papers leak in 2016, the Paradise Papers report is set to blow the lid of stuff that could have global ramifications.
At the centre of the investigation is Appleby, a company that helps corporates and individuals shuffle money from and to tax havens and generally help them avoid or evade taxes.
Starting today, the newspaper will reveal a list of Indian companies and individuals -- 714 in all -- who have stashed money abroad in tax havens through offshore entities.
Welcome to the live coverage of the release of the Paradise Papers, the leak of a 13.6-million strong document trove, which is set to shake up the global financial and political system.
About 100 global news organisations, including the Indian Express in India, have investigated the Paradise Papers, and are slated to come up with a slew of investigative reports that would name companies and individuals suspected of shady dealings including, but not limited to, funnelling money to secret tax havens.