Amitabh Bachchan has denied the allegations of him owning offshore companies in mentioned in the Panama Papers leaked by The Indian Express.
Also read: The What’s What and Who’s Who of the Panama Papers Leak
In an official statement given out to the press Bachchan says:
I do not know any of the companies referred to by Indian Express - Sea Bulk Shipping Company Ltd, Lady Shipping Ltd, Treasure Shipping Ltd, and Tramp Shipping Ltd. I have never been a director of any of the above stated companies. It is possible that my name has been misused. I have paid all my taxes including on monies spent by me overseas. Monies that I have remitted overseas have been in compliance with law, including remittances through LRS, after paying Indian taxes. In any event the news report in Indian Express does not even suggest any illegality on my part.Amitabh Bachchan
Also read: Mossack Fonseca Denies Business With “Most” Names in Panama Leaks
Close to 500 Indian nationals are a part of the list of people released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
A few other Indians in the list are:
- Aishwarya Rai, Bollywood actor
- KP Singh, owner of DLF
- Vinod Adani, Gautam Adani’s elder brother
- Shishir Bajoria, promoter of SK Bajoria Group
- Anurag Kejriwal, former chief of the Delhi unit of Loksatta Party
- Iqbal Mirchi, late Mumbai ganglord
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced a multi-agency probe in the matter.
Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Raghuram Rajan has also supported the probe although he defended the existence of offshore accounts.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)