Paradise Papers: Data Leak Reveals 19 Global Secret Tax Havens

India reportedly ranks 19 among 180 countries in list, with 714 Indians holding secret offshore entities.

Paradise Papers reveal trail of Indian corporates involved in offshore tax havens.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Eighteen months after Panama Papers created a global stir, another data leak investigation, the ‘Paradise Papers’, revealed that 19 secret tax havens across the world reportedly helped people, including Indians, move their money abroad.

The ‘Paradise Papers’ is a collection of 13.4 million documents which was first obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and was later taken up for investigation by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) with 96 partner organisations.

The Indian Express, which investigated the data in India, in collaboration with ICIJ has revealed that India ranks 19 among 180 countries in list, with 714 Indians reportedly having secret offshore accounts.

According to the report, the investigation was carried out from the records of Appleby, a 119-year-old Bermuda law firm. The firm reportedly helps in the setting up of offshore companies and also manages their clients' bank accounts.

Appleby’s second-largest client internationally is reportedly an Indian company that is said to have as many as 118 different offshore entities.

The newspaper is expected to reveal the findings of the data they claim to have been investigating for over 10 months, in a series of 40 reports over the next few days.

Prominent corporates and companies also feature as Appleby’s other Indian clients, who have time and again come under scrutiny of Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate, said the investigative report.

The investigation into the data leak has also reportedly revealed the investment of a particular Russian firm in Twitter and Facebook.

It also revealed the connection between Russia and the US President Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. It also claimed that 120 other politicians had secret tax havens, while also naming the Queen of England Elizabeth II.

Also Read: Panama Papers Are Now Public, 2,000 Indian Links Revealed

(With inputs from The Indian Express)

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