Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has issued a statement a day after being named in what has been dubbed the Panama Papers – a massive leak of tax documents, some of which reveal hidden offshore assets.
“I do not know any of the companies referred to by Indian Express – Sea Bulk Shipping Company Ltd, Lady Shipping Ltd, Treasure Shipping Ltd, and Tramp Shipping Ltd. I have never been a director of any of the above stated companies. It is possible that my name has been misused,” Mr. Bachchan said in his statement.
The 73-year-old actor added: “I have paid all my taxes including on monies spent by me overseas. Monies that I have remitted overseas have been in compliance with law… after paying Indian taxes. In any event the news report in Indian Express does not even suggest any illegality on my part.”
Mr Bachchan’s daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai, who was also named, has also rejected the documents.
Her media adviser on Monday called the documents “totally untrue and false”.
The International Consortium of Investigate Journalists, which published the Panama Papers on Sunday, said that many of these offshore companies are likely to be for legitimate uses.
Panama Papers is the largest international cooperation of its kind in the world. In the last one year, around 400 journalists from more than 100 media organisations in over 80 countries have taken part in researching the documents. Journalists from media organisations like BBC, Guardian, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Falter, among others have also worked on the project. The leak is considered to be the largest in the world of journalism.
