Massive tax evasion: Amitabh, Aishwarya among 500 Indians with hidden assets

April 4, 2016

New Delhi, Apr 4: The names of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, real estate tycoon KP Singh and late gangster Iqbal Mirchi figured in a list of over 500 Indians who allegedly used a law firm in Panama to set up offshore entities in tax havens across the world, a newspaper reported on Monday.

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The Indian Express said a study of more than 11 million documents from the secret files of Mossack Fonseca, the Panama law firm, showed that Indians possibly violated tax rules or masked ownership of firms they allegedly set up abroad.

The newspaper claimed that while Aishwarya Rai was a shareholder of a firm in the British Virgin Islands, her father-in-law – superstar Amitabh Bachchan – was the director of four shipping companies in the Bahamas. It said Indiabulls owner Sameer Gahlaut acquired “three top London properties” via “entities” in the Bahamas and Jersey, and DLF promoter KP Singh and his family owned firms in the British Virgin Islands.

The promoters of Apollo Tyres, business tycoon Gautam Adani's elder brother Vinod Adani, West Bengal politician Shishir Bajoria and former Loksatta Party leader Anurag Kejriwal were some other Indians named in the newspaper report.

Until 2003, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms did not allow an Indian citizen to set up an overseas entity. In 2004, resident Indians were allowed to remit funds of up to $25,000 a year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) – the limit of which stands at $250,000 a year now.

The media claimed that while RBI let individuals buy shares under LRS, it never permitted them to set up companies abroad. The Mossack Fonseca documents allegedly show companies were set up long before the rules were changed, and the purpose may have been to park foreign exchange in a tax haven.

Individuals named in the newspaper report were yet to comment, and government officials were expected to respond later. The report in the Indian Express formed part of an investigation by an international coalition of media outlets into the offshore financial dealings of the rich and famous, based on a vast trove of documents provided by an anonymous source.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism, a non-profit organisation based in Washington, said the cache of 11.5 million records detailed the offshore holdings of a dozen present and former world leaders, besides businessmen, criminals, celebrities and sports stars. Political figures from Iceland, Ukraine, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Argentina were named in the reports.

Hindustan Times wasn't immediately able to verify the allegations made in the articles that were published by over 100 news organisations across the world.

Comments

Sameer Kandak
 - 
Tuesday, 5 Apr 2016

It's better to appoint ABC as brand ambassador of Hidden asset projects

Rikaz
 - 
Monday, 4 Apr 2016

Its brand ambassador's way of doing business.....he is roll model...people should follow him...if you have excess money go and do your business out side India....avoid taxes.....Amitabh is saying this...literally...

Abufarhan
 - 
Monday, 4 Apr 2016

Unfortunately Amitbh is a next presidential candidate of Feku's party

Abufarhan
 - 
Monday, 4 Apr 2016

Unfortunately Amitabh is next presidential candidate of Feku's party.

KhasaiKhaane
 - 
Monday, 4 Apr 2016

Remembering the days when #MoNa used to say -
\Congress wale Kala dhan lane se darthe hain.. NDA Kala Dhan wapas Layenge..\"
\" 15 Lakh, har ek ke account me...\"
and hearing all this
#Bhakts got an orgasm, - #MoZi MOZi MOzi,,...
LOL...!!"

Swetha
 - 
Monday, 4 Apr 2016

Hidden Assets ohh god, without any doubt crore,million,billion will be there.

Prem Sagar
 - 
Monday, 4 Apr 2016

less shocking more knowing.

Nihal
 - 
Monday, 4 Apr 2016

Someone had suggested Big B's name for the post of India's next president. And i heard he was also dreaming for the post!

Neeraj Dumb
 - 
Monday, 4 Apr 2016

Oh. That's y this amithab started doing 'bhaktgiri' these days.

Lobo
 - 
Monday, 4 Apr 2016

Shame on you. And you call yourselves nationalists. ugly creatures. liars.

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Agencies
February 6,2020

Wuhan, Feb 6: Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company Tencent has allegedly published "real" data on the novel coronavirus deaths, with briefly listing death toll as 24,589 -- way too higher than over 500 deaths China has officially announced to date.

According to Taiwan News, "Tencent... seems to have inadvertently released what is potentially the actual number of infections and deaths, which were astronomically higher than official figures".

Tencent, on its webpage titled "Epidemic Situation Tracker," showed confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China as standing at 154,023 - over 10 times the official figure given to the world on February 1.

Data leaked: Tencent lists 25,000 deaths in China, 1.54 lakh infections from coronavirus
It listed the number of suspected cases as 79,808, four times the official figure.

"The number of cured cases was only 269, well below the official number that day of 300. Most ominously, the death toll listed was 24,589, vastly higher than the 300 officially listed that day".

Once people noticed this, Tencent immediately updated the numbers to reflect the government's "official" numbers.

"Netizens noticed that Tencent has on at least three occasions posted extremely high numbers, only to quickly lower them to government-approved statistics," said the report.

Some people speculated a coding problem may be behind the real "internal" data but others believe that someone is actually trying to reveal the real numbers.

Tencent was yet to officially comment on these reports.

"According to multiple sources in Wuhan, many coronavirus patients are unable to receive treatment and die outside of hospitals."

There have been multiple reports of Wuhan officials cremating deceased coronavirus victims before they could be added to the official death toll.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the coronavirus numbers coming out of China are "fishy".

If the numbers from the alleged Tencent leak are accurate, it would put coronavirus' mortality rate at almost 16 per cent. By comparison, SARS' mortality rate was 9.6 per cent, reports CCN.

Caijing, an independent magazine based in Beijing that covers societal, political, and economic issues, has also claimed that the Communist Party of China (CCP) is underreporting the extent of the coronavirus outbreak.

Caijing's article on Coronavirus that detailed how Wuhan officials are not reporting real figures was censored in China.

As of Thursday, the official death toll in China rose to 563, with 28,018 confirmed cases.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 23,2020

Bengaluru, May 23: Karnataka reported 216 covid-19 positive cases in last 24 hours, marking the highest single day spike in the state ever since the first case was detected on 8 March. 187 of these 216 patients have recently returned from Maharashtra.

A 32-year old male resident of Bengaluru died on Saturday making it the 42nd fatality in the state.

The spike on Saturday takes the total number of covid-19 positive closer to the 2,000 mark and the number of active cases to 1,307 in the state, according to the daily health bulletin of the health department.

Yadgir in northern Karnataka recorded 72 cases on Saturday while Raichur recorded 40 cases. Cases in the sugarcane growing region of Mandya continued to rise as 28 people tested positive on Saturday that takes the total number of active cases to 211 as against Bengaluru that has 124.

Gadag registered 15 cases while Bengaluru recorded 4 cases.

Most of those who tested positive on Saturday had returned from other states, especially Maharashtra, one of the worst affected regions in the country.

The spike in cases comes even as the B.S.Yediyurappa-led state government is deliberating further easing of lockdown restrictions post 31 May. The state government has already resumed public bus and train services as well to facilitate inter-district movement of people that has added to fears of spreading the virus from cities to villages where healthcare infrastructure is poor and inadequate.

Karnataka will also see domestic flight arrivals from Monday.

In a statement on Saturday, Bengaluru International Airport said that it introduced ‘Parking-to-Boarding contactless’ journey.

“We have introduced innovative contactless procedures to minimise exposure at the Airport. These enhancements demonstrate our continued commitment to keep our passengers safe in this environment," said Hari Marar, managing director and chief executive of the airport said in a statement on Saturday.

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News Network
January 2,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 2: Former chief ministers of Karnataka Siddaramaiah and H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he embarked on a two-day visit to the state attend events in Tumakuru and Bengaluru. In a series of tweets, the Congress and the JD(S) leaders took a dig at Modi for his alleged failure on various fronts.

"You did not visit Karnataka when it was devastated by floods, you did not visit Karnataka when our farmers cried for help, but all of a sudden, when you want to launch your political propaganda, you remember the innocent people of Karnataka. Wah Modi Wah!!" Siddaramaiah tweeted.

In another tweet, the Congress leader claimed Karnataka is starved of Central government funds as there were no adequate flood relief, no GST revenue loss compensation and there was a delay in the transfer of grant-in-aid.

He further said, "Before attempting to fool our people, let the people of Karnataka know when they will get their due share!" He also sought to know from Modi why the 25 MPs from Karnataka have 'turned off' their engines.

"With 25 MPs from BJP and a state government with BJP, people hoped for a double engine. Instead, all BJP representatives have turned off their engines and have become sycophants to play a tune to your idiosyncrasies. Why, are they scared of you?" Siddaramaiah said.

Seeking an explanation on various incomplete projects, the Congress leader said, "Mr Narendra Modi, people are fed up of your lies and double-edged sword comments. We want your answer today about long-standing questions on: Kalasa Banduri Yojana, Belagavi border issue, exams in Kannada, Tulu & Kodava in 8th schedule, the list goes on." Kumaraswamy too minced no words as he went on the offensive against the Centre.

In his tweets quoting newspaper reports, he said Karnataka's coffer has dried up, financial position is in doldrums and the revenue has plummeted.

"What's the reason (behind poor economic situation)? The poor economic policies of the Centre. After swallowing the GDP and development of the country, the wrong policies have affected the state too," alleged Kumaraswamy.

Quoting reports, Kumaraswamy said the Centre has denied the state's share of revenue.

"About 5.44 per cent of state's share is yet to come from the Centre. This is step-motherly attitude of the Centre towards the state," Kumaraswamy tweeted.

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