Besides disclosure of foreign asset ownership, the people under scrutiny are asked to disclose the details of bank accounts that were closed, firms dissolved and directorships in overseas firms, tax residency status over the past 16 years and other details.
The Income Tax (I-T) department has widened its line of questioning in the leaked Pandora Papers probe.
Besides disclosure of foreign asset ownership, the people under scrutiny are asked to disclose the details of bank accounts that were closed, firms dissolved and directorships in overseas firms, tax residency status over the past 16 years and the identity of the service providers or consultancy firms that helped open offshore accounts and set up offshore companies, a report in The Economic Times said.
“We have learnt from our experience and while investigating into the Panama Papers. There may have been cases where persons have closed their accounts and quickly shut down overseas outfits after getting a wind of the leak. Some did it when discussions on the black money legislation were underway,” a senior tax official told the publication.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
“A person who has closed his foreign account would say ‘no’, when you simply ask him whether he has one. Technically, he is right. So, these additional questions are aimed to make the exercise more comprehensive,” the official added.
Pandora Papers investigation — involving some 600 journalists from media including The Washington Post, the BBC and The Guardian — is based on the leak of some 11.9 million documents from 14 financial services companies around the world.
Prominent people such as cricket superstar and Rajya Sabha MP Sachin Tendulkar, Chairman of the Reliance Group Anil Ambani, husband of Biocon’s Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Congress leader Captain Satish Sharma, and fugitive businessman Nirav Modi’s sister Purvi Modi feature in the list of 300 Indians who have had offshore dealings, as per ICIJ. In many cases, the dealings were within the purview of the law. Moneycontrol has not been able to independently verify these allegations.The government has also directed today that investigations in cases of Pandora Papers leaks appearing in the media under the name ‘Pandora Papers’ will be monitored through the Multi-Agency Group, headed by the Chairman, CBDT. The group will also have representatives from the Enforcement Directorate, Reserve Bank of India & Financial Intelligence Unit.
