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.
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.
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
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
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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