From film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to corporates including DLF owner K P Singh and nine members of his family, and the promoters of Apollo Tyres and Indiabulls to Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani.
More than 11 million documents from the secret files of Mossack Fonseca, a law firm headquartered in tax haven Panama, known for its factory-like production of offshore companies for its worldwide clientele of the well-heeled.
These records reveal a list of individuals who have paid the firm — and bought the benefits of the secretive, lax regulatory system in which it operates — to set up offshore entities in tax havens around the world.
And Mossack Fonseca’s eagerness to meet their demands, each one for a fee, that helps mask real ownership but still show compliance.
———————-Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s son defends offshore companies
A son of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has defended his family’s ownership of offshore companies, saying the family has done “nothing wrong”.
Leaked documents show that three of Mr Sharif’s children were linked to offshore companies that owned properties in London, local media say.
Some opposition leaders have called for Mr Sharif to be investigated over his family’s “wealth stashed abroad”.
However, Mr Sharif’s son Hussain said all their business affairs were legal.
Pakistani newspaper The News and The Indian Express said Mr Sharif’s sons Hussain and Hasan, and his daughter Maryam, were linked to several offshore companies.
The allegations stem from a leak of 11 million documents held by the Panama-based company Mossack Fonseca to German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which were then shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
There are legitimate ways of using tax havens and offshore companies, although these entities are often used to hide the true owners of assets or avoid paying tax on the money.
Maryam, Hasan and Hussain Nawaz Sharif were either owners of, or had the right to authorise transactions for, the offshore companies, the ICIJ said.
Categories: India, The Muslim Times