It is not the first time that illegal or dubious financial dealings of high-profile Indian personalities in offshore tax havens have been brought to light. The latest such revelations, made in reports based on a host of financial documents that have been dubbed the ‘Pandora Papers’, which are being published in India and in many other countries, point to the movement of money and wealth across national boundaries and their parking in destinations where not many questions are asked about their origin and legality. The Pandora Papers, which contain about 12 million documents, were accessed with the help of whistle blowers and by other means. They were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which has worked with media organisations all over the world to analyse the files for over a year. The disclosures are similar to those made in the past in the Panama Papers of 2016, the Paradise Papers of 2017, and other exercises in investigative journalism.
According to the reports, names of over 300 Indians from different fields such as business, politics and sports figure in the Pandora Papers. Anil Ambani, Vinod Adani, Jackie Shroff, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw’s husband John Shaw, Niira Radia, Sachin Tendulkar and former Union minister, the late Satish Sharma, are among them. More names are likely to be made public in the coming days. The documents have also exposed the offshore dealings of many foreign personalities, including kings and dictators, presidents and prime ministers. Financial and banking mechanisms in havens abroad are used to evade taxes in the home country, park ill-gotten money acquired through crime, corruption or other wrong means, and to keep it safely away from tax men. It has come to light that some of those who have billions in such accounts have declared themselves bankrupt in India to avoid repayment of loans and discharge of other liabilities. Some others are under investigation, or in jail or on bail.
The government has said that the revelations would be probed by a multi-agency group headed by the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), having representatives from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the RBI. Investigations were announced into similar charges earlier, too, but with precious little outcome. Investigations into the bank accounts and disclosures made in the Panama Papers have not led anywhere. No progress has been reported in probing the details obtained from Swiss authorities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had even promised to bring back all the ‘black money’ stashed abroad and distribute it to all the citizens of India, Rs 15 lakh apiece. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the money illegally stashed away in foreign countries is brought back and those who resort to such wrong practices are punished, however high and mighty they may be. Such practices can only be considered anti-national. Tax laws should be enforced strictly and loopholes should be plugged.