What Is The Pandora Papers? List of Indians Mentioned In The Pandora Leak

The biggest trove of leaked offshore data in history has revealed the secret deals and hidden assets of some of the world's wealthiest and most influential people.

The stockpile, dubbed the Pandora papers, contains 11.9 million data from firms hired by rich customers to set up offshore structures and trusts in tax havens such as Panama, Dubai, Monaco, Switzerland, and the Cayman Islands.

What is the Pandora Papers?

With over 600 journalists from 150 media sites in 117 countries, the Pandora Papers investigation is the world's largest-ever journalistic collaboration.

The inquiry is based on the disclosure of secret records from 14 offshore service providers who provide professional services to affluent individuals and organizations looking to form shell companies, trusts, foundations, and other entities in low- or no-tax jurisdictions.

The breach exposes more than 330 politicians from more than 90 nations and territories. They bought real estate, held money in trust, and owned other enterprises and assets through corporations based in secrecy jurisdictions, sometimes anonymously.

Who leaked Pandora Papers?

The records, which numbered in the millions, were mostly unorganised. Text documents made up more than half of the files (6.4 million), including more than 4 million PDFs, some of which were over 10,000 pages long. Passports, bank statements, tax declarations, firm incorporation paperwork, real estate contracts, and due diligence questionnaires were among the documents. The data breach also included over 4.1 million pictures and emails, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists( ICICJ).

The largest-ever investigation into the offshore world by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reveals the financial secrets of politicians, millionaires, and the global elite.

Pandora papers: Who are involved?

King Abdullah II of Jordan, the prime ministers of Côte d'Ivoire and the Czech Republic, the presidents of Ecuador, Kenya, and Gabon, and the former presidents of El Salvador, Panama, Paraguay, and Honduras are among the current and former leaders who have owned secret companies and trusts, as revealed by the Pandora Papers investigation.

The files also reveal the financial dealings of Venezuelan Chavistas, fugitive cult leaders and their followers, kleptocrats and their families, neo-Nazis, a mineral water dealer convicted of soliciting the murders of a judge and a prosecutor, a fugitive millionaire paedophile, and terrorism financiers.

A Bitcoin czar jailed for money laundering in connection with the greatest cyberheist in history is among the global cast of the Pandora Papers. And Bollywood celebrities, soccer players, crooked sports officials, a king's lover, squabbling princesses, movie directors and stars, supermodels, acclaimed designers, and world-famous singers were all linked to offshore investments.

List of Indians Mentioned in Pandora papers

Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Ambani, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw were among the affluent individuals whose names were linked to the Pandora Papers, an investigation into financial secrets held by high-profile individuals around the world.

Anil Ambani:

According to ICIJ's ' investigation into the Pandora Papers, Reliance ADA Group's chairman and his representatives hold at least 18 offshore entities in Jersey, the British Virgin Islands (BVI), and Cyprus. Following a disagreement with three Chinese state-controlled banks in February 2020, Ambani filed for bankruptcy in a UK court and declared his net worth to be zero.

Sachin Tendulkar:

Among the celebrities implicated in the 'Pandora Papers' leak, according to the ICIJ's latest investigation, is famed cricketer and Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar, along with members of his family, is listed as Beneficial Owners of an offshore business in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) that was liquidated in 2016, according to report.

 

Jeweler Nirav Modi's sister

Before Nirav Modi, fled India in January 2018, his sister Purvi Modi reportedly established a company in the British Virgin Islands to operate as a corporate protector for a trust established through the Trident Trust Company in Singapore. According to the investigation reports, Brookton Management Ltd was established in December 2017 to operate as The Deposit Trust's corporate protector.

John Shaw Husband of Kiran Mazumder Shaw

John McCallum Marshall Shaw, a British citizen and the spouse of Biocon promoter Kiran Mazumder Shaw, established a trust with keys to a person prohibited by Sebi for insider trading. Kunal Ashok Kashyap was suspended for a year by SEBI in July 2021 in a case involving alleged insider trading in Biocon shares. According to the Indian Express, John McCallum Marshall Shaw owns 99 percent of Glentec, which owns shares in Biocon Ltd.

Jackie Shroff and Satish Sharma

Jackie Shroff

The Pandora papers also revealed that Jackie Shroff, a prominent Bollywood actor, was the primary beneficiary of a trust established in New Zealand by his mother-in-law. According to records, he also made "significant payments" to this trust, which had a Swiss bank account and was the owner of an offshore corporation incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.

Satish Sharma

Satish Sharma, a Gandhi family acquaintance, and senior Congress leader, established a trust in 1995 while serving as the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. When he was a Rajyasabha member in 2015, he also established another trust.
Sharma's wife was a beneficiary of both the Jan Zegers and JZ II trusts, and he was their guardian. Sharma's wife, Sterre Sharma, told The Indian Express that the trusts were put up to "manage his assets and pass on his inheritance" to the named beneficiaries.

Note: While some of the investments made by the people named in the Pandora Papers leak may have been made to evade taxes, they are not illegitimate provided the requisite notifications to the appropriate authorities have been made.  As a result, we will have to wait and see what these people and their lawyers have to say.