Indians named in Pandora Papers have been searched
The multi-agency group set up by the government to oversee the investigation into the Pandora Papers case has begun cracking down on the wealthy Indians named in the investigation report.
Official sources said that three entities named in Pandora Papers have been searched by the Income Tax Department and action will be taken on others soon.
Sameer Thapar of JCT Group, who is also a relative of late Congress leader Satish Sharma, as well as Hiranandani Group were also searched by the Foreign Asset Investigation Unit (FIAU) last month.
The FIAU was created last year to probe cases of undeclared assets held by Indians abroad and cases related to possession of black money abroad.
FIAU had earlier searched Satish Sharma’s family members and associates. Officials said the FIAU has received credible information on undeclared foreign assets and black money stashed abroad by wealthy Indians.
An investigative report released in October 2021 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) claimed that 380 Indians are on the list of the global elite who have been exposed to fencing their wealth through shady financial transactions and siphoning off assets. Offshore taxes are using heaven to hide. millions of dollars.
Pandora Papers revealed that there were several offshore entities and properties in the name of former Union Minister Satish Sharma. Mr Sharma passed away last year.
At least 10 close relatives of Mr Sharma, including his wife Stere Sharma, children and grandchildren, are among the beneficiaries of the Jan Zegers Trust established by Mr Sharma in the Cayman Islands in 1995.
Hiranandani Group is also the latest entity to bear the brunt of the Income Tax Department. FIAU searched around 25 premises belonging to Hiranandani Group located in 3 cities – Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.
Later a company spokesperson said, “The group has already clarified that offshore trusts/assets held by the family abroad are completely genuine and in compliance with all laws. Further, all queries of the authorities have been fully addressed.” The matter is being addressed and we assure our full cooperation.
Realty sector businessman and founder of Mumbai-based Hiranandani Group, Niranjan Hiranandani and some of his family members were beneficiaries of a trust with assets of over $60 million, as reported by ICIJ. The Pandora Papers reveals that Hiranandani was a “reserve director” at firms established in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) by his Dubai-based son Darshan Hiranandani.
Mr. Thapar’s name also appeared in the Pandora Papers. Notably, JCT Limited had declared the offshore stakeholder as non-promoter. This offshore entity is registered in the British Virgin Islands, where Mr. Thapar is also a beneficial owner of another company. Offshore stakeholder Musk Holdings was founded in 2009 and has a stake in JCT Ltd.
The multi-agency group is headed by the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and consists of representatives from CBDT, ED, RBI and FIU.
Sources said that the multi-agency group is actively engaged with foreign jurisdictions to obtain information on relevant taxpayers as well as entities before initiating the search operation.