Pandora Papers: Sachin Tendulkar, Shakira, Tony Blair among many named for hiding wealth

Pandora Papers: Sachin Tendulkar has been named for hiding his investments in a report released on October 3 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). (File image)

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in its repots named Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar among among hundreds of world leaders, politicians, and public officials for hiding their investments, the report was released on October 3.

Being dubbed as the ‘Pandora Papers’ because the findings shed light on the previously hidden dealings of the elite and the corrupt, and how they have used offshore accounts to shield assets collectively worth trillions of dollars.

The dump of more than 11.9 million records, which involved 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries, came five years after the leak known as the "Panama Papers", which exposed how money was hidden by the wealthy in ways that law enforcement agencies could not detect.

In its report, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a Washington, DC-based network of reporters and media organizations, said the files are linked to about 35 current and former national leaders, and more than 330 politicians and public officials in 91 countries and territories, including India.

"People linked by the secret documents to offshore assets include India's cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar, pop music diva Shakira, supermodel Claudia Schiffer and an Italian mobster known as Lell the Fat One', says ICIJ in its report, according to news agency PTI.

"Tendulkar's attorney said the cricket player's investment is legitimate and has been declared to tax authorities. Shakira's attorney said the singer declared her companies, which the attorney said do not provide tax advantages. Schiffer's representatives said the supermodel correctly pays her taxes in the UK, where she lives," it notes.

Among the politicians linked with offshore dealings, India is shown as having six in ‘Pandora Papers’. However, their names have not been surfaced yet.

The politicians’ name that have been revealed for hiding their investments include Jordans King Abdullah II, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso, and associates of both Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The billionaires called out in the report include Turkish construction mogul Erman Ilicak and Robert T Brockman, the former CEO of software maker Reynolds & Reynolds.

Many of the accounts were designed to evade taxes and conceal assets for other shady reasons, reported Associated Press.

The ‘Pandora Papers’ has been compiled by the same journalistic group, who ‘Panama Papers’. However, the latest bombshell is even more expansive, porting through nearly 3 terabytes of data the equivalent of roughly 7,50,000 photos on a smartphone leaked from 14 different service providers doing business in 38 different jurisdictions in the world. The records date back to the 1970s, but most of the files span from 1996 to 2020.

In contrast, the Panama Papers culled through 2.6 terabytes of data leaked by one now-defunct law firm called Mossack Fonseca that was located in the country that inspired that project's nickname.

(With inputs from agencies)