As per a report published in Indian Express, millions of documents have been leaked from a law-firm which is based in the tax haven, Panama. These documents have an account of the concealed assets earned in foreign countries by the celebrities, businesspersons and politicians. Surprisingly, this list includes the names of 500 Indians. German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung attained these documents from an anonymous source.
Some Indian celebrities whose documents have been leaked are Bollywood Legend Amitabh Bachchan, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, CEO of DLF, KP Singh, Sameer Gehlaut who is the owner of Indiabulls and Vinod Adani, elder brother of businessman Gautam Adani. The list also includes prominent International persons such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Chinese President Xi Jinping with his family and Lionel Messi , the Argentinean footballer.
The name of this law firm is Mossack Fonseca and a total of 11.5 million files have been leaked from its database. This leakage brought out in open the veiled wealth of dozens of donors who made donations to the political parties of UK, three ex-Conservative MPs and sis members of House of Lords. The list also included the families of eight present and former members of Politburo, which is the supreme ruling body of China.
As per the report, many Indians have paid hefty amounts to this law firm for setting up foreign companies in various countries of the world which don’t have stringent taxation norms. However, this is not good news for these Indians as the law of the country doesn’t allow for it. Some tried to manipulate the law by saying, “companies acquired are not the same as companies incorporated”, while some earned abroad but instead of bringing it back to the country, they decided to keep it in the countries which are tax-friendly and some other opened their accounts in those countries for depositing the bribe earned by them or money earned through any illegal means.
Mossack Fonseca is known for helping people in attaining foreign firms and hiding their shady dealings. The firm not only sells but also manages these foreign firms and charges a yearly fee; and it has being doing it since 1977, its year of establishment. The leakage of documents was done in December 2015 and since then, 370 journalists from nearly 100 media firms have scrutinized and confirmed the documents. However, the law firm has maintained that it has not broken any law and given services to its clients in the limits of the law.
Twitter reactions are on their way:
The “Elites” Caught:
The return of investigative journalism, #panamapapers . Top Bollywood celebs, famous businessmen, powerful politicians ; the "elites",caught
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) April 4, 2016
Rich & Famous are on the same page, anywhere and everywhere!
#panamapapers show how Rich nFamous r on the same page in global corruption.No matter which country they belong to&what they doMoneymatters
— Sudhir Chaudhary (@sudhirchaudhary) April 4, 2016
It’s Action Time:
Many self-righteous types, brand ambassadors, celebrity lawyers, big-ticket businessmen need a lot to explain. Action time! #panamapapers
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) April 4, 2016
LOL 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
When Adani's brother was hiding black-money abroad, @narendramodi was traveling in Adani's aircraft promising to bring it back #PanamaPapers
— Gaurav Pandhi (@GauravPandhi) April 4, 2016
Live Coverage:
#PanamaPapers, live coverage. pic.twitter.com/iq6oyE9YQa
— Pedro da Costa (@pdacosta) April 4, 2016
Damn True 😀
#panamapapers : People have millions of dollars in their offshore accounts & I'm just happy receiving Rs. 10 cashback on my mobile recharge.
— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) April 4, 2016
#LMAO:
Deewar in 2016.
Main aaj bhi phenke hue paise nahi uthata. Sirf unhe ek complex system se offshore accounts main dalta hoon. #panamapapers— SnG Comedy (@SnGComedyIN) April 4, 2016
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