Pandora Papers: ED Investigation Reveals Offshore Firm Owners

The Pandora Papers consist of 11.9 million confidential documents obtained from 14 offshore service providers, disclosing ownership details of 29,000 offshore entities utilised by affluent individuals.

The Enforcement Directorate is presently conducting investigations into the Indian owners, The Indian Express reported.

Here is a look at the current status of the ongoing probe against Indian individuals mentioned in the documents:

Anil Ambani owns 18 offshore companies in locations such as Jersey, the British Virgin Islands and Cyprus.

Set up between 2007 and 2010, seven of these companies borrowed and invested $1.3 billion.

The directorate is investigating, seeking details on all entities and issuing directives to Indian companies, Indian Express reported. Summons were sent to Anil and Tina Ambani under FEMA provisions, and their statements were recorded at the ED Mumbai office.

The cricketer, his wife and other relatives are identified as beneficial owners of Saas International Ltd., a British Virgin Islands company dating back to 2007.

The company was wound up in 2016, following the publication of the Panama Papers and its shares were repurchased by Tendulkar, his wife Anjali Tendulkar, and her father.

Pandora Records labelled them as "politically exposed persons" due to Tendulkar's former MP status. Tendulkar's office defended the legitimacy of the BVI investments.

The ED, invoking FEMA, requested Tendulkar's income tax return details. Directives were issued to Tendulkar's company chief executive officer and chartered accountant for information on Saas. An Egmont request was sent to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the BVI. Investigations are under way.

In 2015, Harish Salve acquired The Marsul Co. in the British Virgin Islands to own a property in London. He is listed as the beneficial owner and secretary of the company and flagged as a PEP.

The ED launched an inquiry into Salve after his connection to the Panama Papers, also in consideration of the Pandora Papers information. An Egmont request has been initiated with the FIU-BVI for Marsul, and requests for Salve's return details have been made to IT authorities, according to the report. The investigation is ongoing.

Radia formed about a dozen offshore entities, with five listing her as the master client using her Delhi address.

In the probe update, the directorate requested details of the offshore companies under FEMA, recorded Radia's statement, and conducted searches at her home under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The seized data is being analysed, and fresh summons were issued, as per the Indian Express report. The ED also recorded the statement of Radia's sister, Karuna Menon, as part of the ongoing investigation.

In the AgustaWestland helicopter deal, new evidence implicated Congress leader Kamal Nath's son, Bakul Nath and chartered accountant Rajiv Saxena. Bakul is connected with Pristine River Investment, and an offshore company called Spector Consultancy Services was set up for him.

Saxena established a trust in 2014 with a BVI company—Tanay Holdings Ltd.—linked to the ownership of 14 other companies or assets.

The ED has taken action against Nath, analysing Pristine River's account and tracing fund transfers, the report said.

Tanay Holdings' account has been attached, and Letters Rogatory were sent to Switzerland for Nath's case.

A PMLA case is under way for Saxena, with $2.9 million worth of properties attached, Indian Express reported.

DHFL promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, imprisoned for defrauding Indian banks of over Rs 88,000 crore, established offshore entities mainly in the BVI and Bahamas.

The primary BVI entity, V&M Aviation, secured a $22.65 million loan from Credit Suisse for a Bombardier Challenger aircraft. In the ongoing PMLA probe, Egmont requests were sent to the BVI, UAE, Bahamas, and Switzerland, as per the report.

Properties valued at Rs 2,013.08 crore—encompassing foreign properties and investments—have been attached during the PMLA investigation.

According to the papers, Dawood Ibrahim's trusted aid, Iqbal Mirchi, had his family members linked to 17 offshore companies in the 2016 Panama Papers and the 2021 Panama Papers.

Prosecution complaints were filed, and a Red Corner Notice was issued for Mirchi's family in March 2021.

An extradition request has been sent to the U.K. for three family members on charges of money laundering and illegal asset acquisition in India, IE reported.

As per the Pandora Papers, Preeti Chandra—wife of Unitech Ltd. promoter Sanjay Chandra—formed an offshore family trust with Trikar International Inc. (BVI) in 2015.

Bellmora Ltd. (BVI) was established the same year as the beneficiary of the Chandra Family Trust, handling investments in the UAE and India, including a UAE bank account.

The ED is investigating a Prevention of Money Laundering Act case against the promoters.

In 2022, properties worth Rs 1,057 crore were provisionally attached and an MLAT request was sent to the UAE for information on entities linked to the Chandras implicated in alleged money laundering, the report said.

In the Pandora Papers, IREO co-founder Lalit Goyal shifted assets worth around $77 million to offshore entities in the British Virgin Islands before the real estate group faced significant losses and allegations of fund misappropriation.

Goyal was arrested in November 2021 under PMLA but later released on bail.

Egmont requests were sent to identify his foreign assets, especially in the U.K. and UAE, according to the report. In October 2022, the directorate attached IREO and Goyal's assets worth Rs 1,317 crore.

In the Pandora Papers, an offshore stakeholder associated with JCT Ltd., designated as a non-promoter by the Indian textile company, is linked to its Chairman and Managing Director, Samir Thapar.

Thapar is identified as the holder of all 50,000 shares of Musk Holdings Ltd. (BVI) in records from September 2011, and he is also noted as the beneficial owner of Zanha International Ltd., another BVI entity acquired in the same year.

The ongoing investigation involves a FEMA probe, with IT authorities informing the ED that Thapar has not disclosed foreign assets in his tax returns, as per IE.

Inquiries have been sent to banks, and in April 2023, a directive was issued to Thapar seeking details about his investments.

Former Maharaja of Jodhpur and Member of Parliament Gaj Singh had ties to a BVI entity called Atalante Perennity Inc., which was liquidated in 2018.

FEMA inquiries are under way, and the ED sent summons to Singh, recording his representative's statement in May 2023.

Inquiries were made with income tax authorities, the RBI, and relevant banks, as per the IE report. An Egmont request was sent concerning Warre Ltd., U.K.—the company associated with him—and replies have been received.