Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan has denied having done anything wrong as clamour for action grew internationally after several world leaders and celebrities were accused of having stashed their wealth in offshore companies.
The 73-year-old actor said he did not know the companies — Sea Bulk Shipping Company, Lady Shipping, Treasure Shipping, and Tramp Shipping — of which a newspaper report named him director.
“It is possible that my name has been misused,” he said. “I have paid all my taxes, including on monies spent by me overseas. Money that I have remitted overseas — including remittances through Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) — has been in compliance with law and after paying Indian taxes. In any event, the news report in The Indian Express does not even suggest any illegality on my part,” his statement read.Bachchan was among the 500 Indians that English daily — The Indian Express — named as having offshore dealings. Bachchan has denied any wrong doing, saying his name could have been “misused”. He even said that the news report said nothing of illegal dealings by him.The vast stash of records from Panamanian legal firm Mossack Fonseca was obtained from an anonymous source by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with more than 100 media groups by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists — among them the newspaper — which published their first findings Sunday after a year-long probe.Dubbed Panama Papers, a list of names of people having “offshore dealings” — included prominent international names such as aides of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and prime minister of Iceland as well as celebrities such as actor Jackie Chan and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.Some 500 Indians found themselves in the list: Bachchan; his actress daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan; India Bulls’ Sameer Gehlaut; DLF’s KP Singh; Vinod Adani, elder brother of Industrialist Gautam Adani; politician Shishir Bajoria from West Bengal; and Anurag Kejriwal of Loksatta Party.The leaked documents said Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, her parents and brother were directors of a firm in the British Virgin Islands.Soon after the report was published, the actress’ media adviser Archana Sadanand said the report was untrue. — Agencies
Prasanta Patnaik