London, October 3: Millions of documents leaked under the name of the Pandora Papers and the Journalism Partnership around the world on Sunday claimed to have exposed the financial secrets of current and former world leaders, politicians and public officials in 91 countries and territories, including India. . The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which includes the BBC and The Guardian newspapers in the UK and The Indian Express in India, among 150 media outlets in its investigation, claims it has obtained over 11.9 million confidential files . Find out the secret financial transactions of many super rich.
“People linked to the secret documents include Indian cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar, pop music diva Shakira, supermodel Claudia Schiffer and an Italian mobster known as Lel the Fat One,” the ICIJ said in its report. “Tendulkar’s counsel submitted that the cricketer’s investment is legitimate and has been declared to the tax authorities. Shakira’s lawyer said that the singer declared her companies, which the lawyer said do not provide tax benefits. Schiffer’s representatives stated that the supermodel pays her taxes accurately in the UK, where she lives,” it notes.
On a world map highlighting the number of politicians involved in offshore deals, India is shown as six and Pakistan as seven. “The latest ICIJ investigation, the Pandora Papers, draws renewed attention to the use of offshore companies by Pakistani political players. This time, the offshore holdings of people close to (Prime Minister Imran) Khan are being exposed, including his finance minister and a top financial assistant, the findings claim.
A spokesman for Khan told a news conference that if any of his ministers or advisers have offshore companies, they will be held accountable. According to the ICIJ, its secret documents uncovered offshore transactions by the likes of the King of Jordan, the Presidents of Ukraine, Kenya and Ecuador, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The files also reveal the financial activities of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unofficial propaganda minister and more than 130 billionaires from Russia, the US, Turkey and other countries.
ICIJ says the leaked records come from 14 offshore service firms around the world that often set up shell companies and other offshore nooks for clients seeking to keep their financial activities in the shadows. It said the global investigation provides an “unequivocal perspective” on how the rule of law has been bent and broken around the world by systems of financial secrecy enabled by wealthy countries.
“The findings of ICIJ and its media partners shed light on how covert finance has infiltrated global politics and provide insight into why governments and global organizations have made little progress in ending offshore financial abuses. , it notes. An ICIJ analysis of secret documents identified 956 companies in offshore shelters linked to 336 high-level politicians and public officials, including the country’s leaders, cabinet ministers, ambassadors and others.
get all IPL news and cricket score Here