The global organization International Consortium Of Investigative Journalists has once again exposed the secretive wealth and dealings of the world’s billionaires, politicians, and celebrities. The organization claims that it has perused 11.9 million documents of 14 companies providing financial services. The leaks were prepared by The Indian Express, The Guardian, and the BBC.

The information in the leaked papers tells us that dozens of current and former leaders and businessmen engaged in money laundering to hide their wealth and assets from the government’s eyes in 91 countries of the world including India, spanning all the way from Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. These people put their money into offshore companies and acquired properties in various parts of the world.

An ‘offshore’ (business) relationship refers to any relation between a company or individual with entities outside the county of residence/registration. If seen on a global level, Britain’s former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, and the close political circles of Pakistan PM Imran Khan all have their wealth and properties linked to this leak.

It has been claimed in the leak that through offshore companies, these powerful individuals parked their funds and wealth in ‘tax havens’ including Britain and other such countries.

Opening India’s Pandora Box

There are 380 names from India that are included in the Pandora papers leak. Among them is Anil Ambani, who recently declared himself bankrupt in British court and fugitive businessman Nirav Modi, notorious for duping Punjab National Bank out of thousands of crores and escaping the country. Apart from these two, Biocoin promoter Kiran Mazumdar’s husband has apparently bought a trust with a person who has been banned by SEBI for insider trading.

Not only this, but former Rajya Sabha MP and cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, known to many as the ‘god of cricket’, along with his family, is the owner of an offshore company in British Virgin Islands which had been shut down in 2016.

These leaks prove once again how the wealthy and those who have captured institutional power use the legal mechanisms of legitimate companies to fool the law. It si significant that the new ‘Pandora Papers’ leak appears to be even worse than the Panama Papers scandal five years ago in 2016.

The new Pandora leaks are bound to create a storm in the pertinent countries, but there have been no concrete steps taken or statements issued by any of them until yet.

After the Panama Papers scandal in 2016, then Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif was removed from the post of Prime Minister by the Supreme Court. These leaks had exposed the names of many ministers of the odi abinet as well as famous actors in India, but no actions was taken against them.