Panama papers leak: Arun Jaitley vows action, sets up multi-agency probe

New Delhi Government yesterday declared that action will be taken against unlawful accounts held abroad by Indians and constituted a multiagency group to continuously monitor information in the wake of the Panama PapersArun Jaitley PicPTIFinance Minister Arun Jaitley said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the issue with him yesterday morning and on his advice the group has been set up which includes officials from CBDT RBI and FIU Financial Intelligence UnitThe multiagency group will comprise various government agencies ndash the CBDT FIU FTampTR Foreign Tax and Tax Research and RBI They will continuously monitor these accounts and whichever accounts are found to be unlawful strict action as per existing laws will be taken he saidJaitley said after yesterdayrsquos revelations more names may come out in the next few days I welcome this investigation I think it is a healthy step that these kind of exposes are being made he saidUnder new lawThe monitoring and investigation into the cases of 500 Indians being named in the leaked papers will be conducted under the stringent provisions of the new law to combat the menace of black money generated by Indians in foreign shores The new antiblack money law termed the Black Money Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets and Imposition of Tax Act 2015 was enacted last year and operationalised from July 1The paper trailgtgt An investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists ICIJ and more than 100 other news organisations around the globe has revealed the offshore links of some of the worldrsquos most prominent people gtgtThe vast stash of records was obtained by German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and shared with media worldwide by ICIJgtgtThe leaked records come from Mossack Fonseca a littleknown but powerful law firm based in PanamaSalve calls leaks lsquoinvasion of privacyrsquoSenior counsel Harish Salve whose name appeared in the Panama Papers said he considers the media coverage around the issue as an invasion of his priavcy since he has ensured transparency in his tax returns Speaking to Legally India he said Everything we have is declared If it is declared is it not the invasion of my privacy to publish all thisRevelation a crime Mossack FonsecaPanama City The revelation of the Panama Papers detailing the offshore structures of many wealthy clients is a crime and an attack on Panama the law firm at the heart of the scandal has saidThis is a crime a felony Ramon Fonseca one of the founders of the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca said yesterdayThis is an attack on Panama because certain countries dont like it that we are so competitive in attracting companies Fonseca saidMeanwhile Panamarsquos government said ina statement The Panamanian government will vigorously cooperate with any request or assistance necessary in the event of anylegal action occurringBachchans Adani among list of 500 that includes Putin SharifThe Panama Papers have exposed offshore dealings of Russian President Vladimir Putin world leaders and celebrities including Barcelona forward Lionel MessiIndiaAmitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai The Indian Express ran several pages of the investigation reports alleging among other names that Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai were directors in companies in Panama Vinod Adani Elder brother of industrialist Gautam Adani was also alleged to have set up companies in tax havensWorld leadersNawaz Sharifrsquos family Sharifrsquos children Mariam Hasan and Hussain ldquowere owners or had the right to authorise transactions for several companiesrdquoClose associates of Putin Putin who is not himself named in the documents ldquosecretly shuffled as much as 2 billion through banks and shadow companiesrdquo the ICIJ saidIcelandrsquos PM The files allegedly show Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and his wife secretly owned an offshore firm holding millions of dollars in Icelandic bank bonds during the countryrsquos financial crisisFootballLionel Messi Argentine football great Messi and his father owned a Panama company Mega Star Enterprises Inc a shell company that had previously not come up in Spanish investigations into the father and sonrsquos tax affairsMichel PlatiniFrancetvinfo named as the beneficiary of a Panamabased tax company adding however that no illegal activity was alleged