While Amitabh Bachchan has denied that he served in offshore shipping companies as mentioned in the Panama Papers leak, new documents obtained contradict his claims.
As part of its investigation into the Panama Papers leak, the Indian Express has accessed additional documents which reveal that Bachchan was part of board meetings of Tramp Shipping Limited and Sea Bulk Shipping Company via telephone conference in December in 1994. The documents show that Bachchan’s name was also recorded in the list of directors and office bearers on the Certificate of Incumbency issued by both companies.
But CNN-News18 cannot vouch for the authenticity of these documents.
The Indian Express investigation had earlier revealed that Bachchan served as director of four offshore shipping companies between 1993 and 1997 in contravention of pre-established RBI norms. His name figured among 500 Indian individuals and entities who owned firms and accounts in offshore tax havens in the leaked documents of Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca.
Denying his involvement, Bachchan had stated that he did not know any of the companies and that his name may have been misused. "I have not been a director on the board of the four companies as mentioned in an earlier report. I am happy that the government has instituted a thorough investigation on this issue, for, I myself, am keen to know how my name appears in connection with those four companies."
In an apparent fallout of the leaks, the government has put Bachchan's name on hold as the brand ambassador of Incredible India. A Tourism Ministry source had in January said that he would be the first choice of the ministry for the campaign.
However, the actor stated that he has not been "formally" approached for the task yet so there was no issue about the name being removed. "There have been queries from the media regarding my being Brand Ambassador for 'Atulya Bharat' (Incredible India). I wish to state that I have not been formally approached for this position. The speculation of the media regarding its discontinuance is, therefore, not relevant as far as I am concerned," Bachchan had said in a statement.
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