Bermuda’s Appleby and Singapore’s Asiaciti with 19 tax havens helps 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, reported the Indian Express.

The newspaper was a part of the 96 organisations that led the Paradise Papers investigation in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, tainted liquor baron Vijay Mallya, Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha, are some of the names that appear in the records, revealed the Indian Express investigation.

According to the report, the investigation was carried out using the records that were mostly from Appleby, a 119-year-old Bermuda law firm. The firm reportedly helps in the setting up of offshore companies and also manages their clients' bank accounts.

Appleby’s second-largest client internationally is reportedly an Indian company that is said to have as many as 118 different offshore entities.

Companies That Were Under Scrutiny Earlier

Appleby’s clientele reportedly includes several prominent corporate houses and companies that had come under the scrutiny of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) earlier.

The Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was accused of making monetary gains from SNC-Lavalin case, during his tenure as the electricity minister, almost two decades ago. While he was acquitted in the Rs 374-crore scam earlier this year, the company’s name has reportedly surfaced in the Paradise Papers.

Leading Indian corporates in the Appleby database reportedly include Jindal Steel, Apollo Tyres, Havells, Hindujas, Emaar MGF, Videocon, the Hiranandani Group and D S Construction.

Bachchan’s Name In Paradise List As Well

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s name has also reportedly surfaced in the Paradise Papers data. The actor’s name had earlier appeared in the Panama Papers, revealed in early 2016.

Among other individual names, Sanjay Dutt’s wife Manyata Dutt and controversial corporate lobbyist Niira Radia’s names also appeared, reported the Indian Express.

According to the newspaper, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha’s name appeared due to his past association with the Omidyar Network.

Mallya Named in The List

Tainted liquour baron who is among the ‘most wanted’ list for several financial irregularities, also features in the data leak in connection with the sale of his company United Spirits Limited India.

Indian Express At a time when the CBI is making an all-out effort to extradite liquor baron and aviation czar Vijay Mallya, Appleby’s documents show how millions of dollars worth of loans taken by offshore companies of United Spirits Limited India were waived by Diageo (the company which finally acquired USL).

The ‘Paradise Papers’ is a collection of 13.4 million documents, which was first obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and was later taken up for investigation by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) with 96 partner organisations.

Ironically, the leak comes just two days before Indian Government observed ‘Anti-Black Money Day’, which also marks one year of demonetisation.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)

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