just two prominent players from india in the paradise papers. and one in the panama papers. here is a gist of findings by icij on these players.
An affidavit he submitted to the Election Commission of India when he was nominated in 2014 does not mention his interest in the Malta company.
However, Sinha was listed as a shareholder and chairman of its parent company in a document submitted to the Securities and Exchange Board of India a few days before the parent company’s initial public offering at the end of July 2017. According to the filings, the company and its subsidiaries had 18 outstanding criminal proceedings and 27 open “taxation matters.” The Malta subsidiary is not mentioned in the proceedings. Sinha was named as one of the respondents in three criminal cases over alleged violations of labor laws, according to the filing, and in tax litigation involving one of the subsidiaries. After the recent IPO, his son, Rituraj, became SIS’s group managing director.
Sinha added that he is a party in the criminal proceedings in his capacity of director, “and not because I have personally violated any law.” The civil proceeding in which he is a party relates to a dispute pertaining to “certain properties” and the matter is currently under judgment, he said.
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In a company document dated December 2012, Sinha appears as one of the signatories of a board resolution approving a $3 million loan from a Dutch fund to D.Light’s Cayman subsidiary.
In his 2016 declaration to the Indian prime minister’s office it is noted that he “may be entitled to carried interest in certain investments made by Omidyar Network entities in the years 2009 to 2013,” and that the value of the carried interest he may receive “is not capable of determination.” Sinha doesn’t currently have any business interests, according to the declaration.
The “investments made by the Omidyar Network entities” that are mentioned in his 2016 declaration have not provided him monetary benefits in the last three years since he entered politics, Sinha told ICIJ’s media partner The Indian Express.
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Member of Parliament, India (2014-present)
Ravindra Kishore (RK) Sinha
Data from: Paradise Papers
Ravindra Kishore Sinha, a former journalist also known as RK Sinha,
is a member of the Indian Parliament’s upper house and the chairman of
Hindustan Samachar, a news agency backed by an organization behind the
country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Sinha, who is considered one
of India’s richest politicians, is also the founder of Security and
Intelligence Services, SIS, a private security company with operations
in India and Australia.
In the data
Sinha is a minority shareholder and director of SIS Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of Security and Intelligence Services, registered in Malta in 2008. His wife, Rita Kishore Sinha, is also listed as a director. According to the prospectus of the Indian parent company, which is the country’s second-largest security provider, Sinha’s single share in the Malta subsidiary is owned by a holding company in the British Virgin Islands.An affidavit he submitted to the Election Commission of India when he was nominated in 2014 does not mention his interest in the Malta company.
However, Sinha was listed as a shareholder and chairman of its parent company in a document submitted to the Securities and Exchange Board of India a few days before the parent company’s initial public offering at the end of July 2017. According to the filings, the company and its subsidiaries had 18 outstanding criminal proceedings and 27 open “taxation matters.” The Malta subsidiary is not mentioned in the proceedings. Sinha was named as one of the respondents in three criminal cases over alleged violations of labor laws, according to the filing, and in tax litigation involving one of the subsidiaries. After the recent IPO, his son, Rituraj, became SIS’s group managing director.
Response
Sinha said that he has “no direct interest” in SIS Asia Pacific Holdings and that he holds one share in the entity “on behalf” of SIS, “and not in my personal capacity.” For this reason, his 2014 declaration mentions only his interest in the parent group, Sinha told ICIJ and its partner The Indian Express.Sinha added that he is a party in the criminal proceedings in his capacity of director, “and not because I have personally violated any law.” The civil proceeding in which he is a party relates to a dispute pertaining to “certain properties” and the matter is currently under judgment, he said.
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Minister of civil aviation, India (2016-present)
Jayant Sinha
Related to
India
Cayman Islands
Data from: Paradise Papers
Jayant Sinha has been India’s minister of civil aviation since
2016, following a two-year stint as the country’s finance minister.
Before entering politics in 2014, Sinha was a management consultant and
an investment fund manager. He also worked as the managing director in
India for Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm founded by
eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, an American billionaire who is also a donor
to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
In the data
In 2010, acting as an Omidyar Network representative, Sinha was appointed to the board of directors of D.Light Design, a Californian solar power company that received $5.5 million from the philanthropic investment firm and other investors.In a company document dated December 2012, Sinha appears as one of the signatories of a board resolution approving a $3 million loan from a Dutch fund to D.Light’s Cayman subsidiary.
In his 2016 declaration to the Indian prime minister’s office it is noted that he “may be entitled to carried interest in certain investments made by Omidyar Network entities in the years 2009 to 2013,” and that the value of the carried interest he may receive “is not capable of determination.” Sinha doesn’t currently have any business interests, according to the declaration.
Response
Sinha said that he was on the board of D.Light Design until 2014 and signed financial documents as part of his duty. During his last year on the board he was an independent director and received consulting fees and D.Light shares that he has disclosed, he said.The “investments made by the Omidyar Network entities” that are mentioned in his 2016 declaration have not provided him monetary benefits in the last three years since he entered politics, Sinha told ICIJ’s media partner The Indian Express.
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Former head Delhi branch of political party
Anurag Kejriwal
British Virgin Islands company set up for iron ore trading
Related to
India
Data from: Panama Papers
Anurag Kejriwal was the president of Delhi branch of India’s Lok
Satta party until his expulsion in 2014 after an undercover exposé
showed him offering political access, influence and privileges to
outside interests. The Lok Satta party, a former nongovernmental
organization, became a political party in 2006 and has no current
members of Parliament.
In the data
Kejriwal and his wife set up their first company in the British Virgin Islands in 2007. In 2008 and 2010, they restructured their assets and established two foundations in Panama of which they, and their son, were beneficiaries. Through The Nedstar Foundation, they owned Nedstar Commercial Ltd. and Newington Group Trading Ltd., both based in the BVI. Newington's activity was trading in iron ore. Through The Pruak Foundation, they owned Biscay Overseas Limited — later renamed Biscay Exports Limited — and Krims Investments Inc., also based in the BVI. They signed a financing agreement with the bank BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA for Nedstar Commercial. In 2011, 2012, and 2013, Mossack Fonseca received documents related to legal proceedings against Kejriwal's companies. The Nedstar Foundation and Nedstar Commercial were inactivated in 2011, Biscay in 2012, and both Krims and Pruak in 2013. Newington was struck off in October 2012.Response
Kejriwal said he set up entities in Panama and the British Virgin Islands because business partners "had agreed to finance or support the exports of iron ore" from India. He said he soon realized that having offshore companies could be a problem. When he learned he had to declare his income from the companies to the Indian government and had difficulty obtaining bank credit, he closed the offshore companies in 2010. The two foundations were closed shortly after they were set up, he said.
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