Amitabh Bachchan is one of the many celebrities who are currently being pursued by the Income Tax Department (I-T) with respect to the infamous Panama Papers case. According to The Times of India, I-T Department has even dispatched a top-level officer to the British Virgin Islands to access information.
“There is no let-up in investigations. We are aggressively seeking information from other countries,” an official told ToI. Reportedly, there has been a lot of criticism about India’s tax authorities after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was removed but no action was taken in India.
Bachchan was pursued, despite him asserting that he is not involved in anything. “Mr Bachchan has said he does not own any of the firms named in the documents. So we just can’t launch a probe. We have to seek information. We have sent a senior CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) officer to the British Virgin Islands to gather information and we are also seeking information from various other countries and then we will have to analyse and see if there are any violations,” the official added.
The actor has denied any wrongdoing, and has said that his remittances overseas were in line with Indian regulations.
The Panama Papers leak in April last year included the names of a number of Bollywood celebrities, including the Bachchans. The leak also revealed a list of individuals who had paid Mossack Fonseca – a law firm in Panama known for its “factory-like production” of offshore companies, for wealthy individuals and others who sought a loophole in paying taxes.
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The Indian Express reports:
According to data made available at the latest meeting of the Multi Agency Group (MAG) last month, the number of Indian clients of Mossack Fonseca, whose PAN numbers had been traced, has swelled to 424. Of these, 205 have accepted links to offshore entities named in the global expose. However, 60 other Indians named in the Panama Papers remain untraced.