Will cooperate with probe into Panama Papers: Amitabh Bachchan

While Amitabh Bachchan has denied that he served in offshore shipping companies as mentioned in the Panama Papers leak, the documents obtained by The Indian Express revealed that he 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.

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.

Bachchan had earlier denied his involvement and said that he did not know about any of the companies in which he has been named. "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."