Aishwarya Rai Bachchan questioned by ED for 6 hours in Panama case

After getting summoned by the ED Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan appeared before the agency and was quizzed for 6 hours in Panama paper case.

Published: Tuesday,Dec 21, 2021 08:09 AM GMT-07:00

Team India Forums

Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday at its headquarters in central Delhi questioned Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in a case linked to the 2016 ‘Panama Papers’ case.

The actress is facing money laundering allegations for her involvement in an offshore entity/trust.

According to sources Aishwarya Rai is one of the directors of an entity/trust which is being probed for alleged money laundering of tax evaded income.

Also in the same case for their involvement with the entity her mother and other family members are also likely to be questioned.

Aish’s husband Abhishek Bachchan and father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan are already facing investigations in separate cases being probed by ED under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Many of these entities, generally created for tax evasion and holding of unaccounted assets, have been shut down since the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers leaks in 2016.

Let us tell you the Bachchans, including Aishwarya Rai, have been questioned for their involvement in separate entities registered in tax havens as early as 2004-05.

A multi-agency probe so far has revealed unaccounted income of more than Rs 20,000 crore laundered by at least 970 entities/individuals in the two paper-leak cases, according to the finance ministry.

Many of these cases have been booked under the Black Money Act and the PMLA. Taxes of Rs 154 crore have been collected from some of the entities/individuals in some cases.

According to the ministry, in 52 cases of Panama Papers and Paradise Papers leaks, criminal prosecution complaints have been filed under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act. Further, in 130 cases proceedings under the Black Money Act have been initiated

Further, in the recent Pandora Papers leak, the government has constituted a multi-agency group (MAG) to investigate the cases. It has members from the ED, RBI, Income Tax department, and the Financial Intelligence Unit India.