Panama Papers Leak: ED Files Chargesheet Against Man for Holding Undisclosed Assets Abroad

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said that it has filed a charge sheet under the anti-money laundering law against an individual, whose name appeared in the Panama Papers leak, for allegedly possessing undisclosed assets abroad.

The prosecution complaint against Sanjay Vijay Shinde, along with his wife Aparna and a company called Venus Bay Offshore Ltd. The charge sheet was filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Bhopal on October 18, and the court acknowledged it on Friday, as stated by the federal agency.

This money laundering case against Shinde is an outcome of an earlier Income Tax Department charge sheet filed under the anti-black money law. The Income Tax department-initiated action against him as part of its investigation into the Panama Papers leak.

The Panama Papers, a trove of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, were investigated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in 2016. These papers implicated various world leaders and celebrities who were alleged to have concealed money overseas in offshore companies. Some of them were reported to possess legitimate overseas accounts. The leaked documents contained a total of 426 cases linked to India.

According to the ED, Shinde established an offshore company in the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) under the name Venus Bay Offshore Ltd. He received a sum of Rs 21.87 crore in the bank accounts of this company maintained at UBS-AG Bank in Singapore. The agency alleges that Shinde was the sole director, shareholder, and beneficial owner of the said company.

As the accused did not disclose his interest in the foreign company and the assets held in the form of money in the foreign bank account in his Income Tax return, proceedings under the Black Money Act were initiated against him, and a prosecution complaint was filed by the tax department.

The ED further alleges that Shinde brought the money from the BVI company to India through NRE/NRO accounts and invested it in foreign currency non-resident (FCNR-FD) accounts. He subsequently liquidated these funds and invested them in various movable and immovable properties.

The agency claims that the accused used the proceeds of crime to purchase properties in various locations, including Bhopal, Goa, Vadodara, and Mumbai. These funds were also invested in mutual funds, shares, fixed deposits, LIC policies, and as capital investment in businesses.

The total “proceeds of crime” in this case have been estimated at Rs 34.22 crore, according to the ED. The agency had previously conducted searches at multiple premises owned by Shinde and seized assets worth approximately Rs 30 crore.