From Panama to Paradise paper leaks,Amitabh's name in it yet again

Paradise Papers disclose how the rich and famous hold and manage their wealth. But, have they broken any law? What is the illegality here? Can the income tax department, Enforcement Directorate, or CBI take action against those whose names have appeared in Paradise Papers?

Paradise Papers, a sensational data leak by the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), has revealed names of many Indians who hold overseas accounts in tax havens.

The Indian names include Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, defaulter businessman Vijay Mallya, corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, film star Sanjay Dutt's wife Dilnashin, union minister Jayant Sinha and Rajya Sabha MP R.K. Sinha, the ICIJ's media partner in the country, The Indian Express, said.

India ranks 19th in terms of the number of names that feature in the papers.

The disclosure comes 18 months after a similar Panama Papers' disclosure, which named several prominent Indian politicians, actors, and businessmen as having offshore undisclosed bank accounts.The Indian government has launched an investigation into offshore assets and bank accounts of over 700 Indian individuals and entities disclosed in the Paradise Papers released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The Indian names include Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, liquor baron businessman Vijay Mallya, corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, film star Sanjay Dutt's wife Dilnashin (now known as Manyata) Union minister Jayant Sinha and Rajya Sabha MP RK Sinha.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) announced that the multi-agency group probing the Panama Papers leak will also monitor the investigations on the Paradise Papers on financial holdings abroad.

It said the investigation units of the income tax department across the country have been alerted to take note of the disclosures for immediate action.

In all, 714 Indian entities and individuals figure in the list.

The Paradise Papers include nearly seven million loan agreements, financial statements, emails, trust deeds and other paperwork over nearly 50 years from inside Appleby, a well-known offshore law firm with headquarters in Bermuda.

ICIJ worked with 95 media partners globally for the investigation. The leaked documents include files from smaller, family-owned trust company Asiaciti (Singapore), and from company registries in 19 secrecy jurisdictions.

However, at the same time, the mention of names in the list does not mean wrongdoing, the body said.

As soon as further information surfaces, swift action as per law will follow, it added.

CBDT said the government has directed that investigation in cases of Paradise Papers will be monitored by a reconstituted multi-agency group (MAG), which is headed by the CBDT chairman and has representatives from the tax body, Enforcement Directorate, RBI and Financial Intelligence Unit.

The panel will first go through details of income tax returns filed by the 714 Indian individuals and entities named in the Paradise Papers and subsequently take action, on a case-to-case basis, official sources said.

However, the CBDT said it is still to receive full details of the latest disclosures. It said the names of only a few Indians have appeared so far in the media.

The Paradise Papers relate to an investigation into offshore and banking assets of individuals and entities carried out by the Indian Express in collaboration with ICIJ.

Even the ICIJ website has not yet released the names and other particulars of all entities, it said.

The ICIJ website suggests that information will be released in phases and structured data connected to the Paradise Papers investigation will be released only in the coming weeks on its offshore leaks database, a CBDT statement said.

A senior official said notices will be issued once complicity of an individual or entity is established in these cases.

The CBDT said revelations made on Monday in the media indicate that out of 180 countries represented in the data of offshore entities held by people of different nationalities, India ranks 19th in terms of number of names.

Sun Group, founded by Nand Lal Khemka, figured as Appleby's second largest client with as many as 118 offshore entities.