Panama papers case: Amitabh Bachchan under I-T scanner

The income tax department is "aggressively" pursuing names that emerged in the Panama Papers, reports Times of India.

After Pakistan Prime Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stepped down due to Panama papers case, the Indian establishment has swung into action against names that appeared in the case. A top-level Income tax officer has been dispatched to the British Virgin Islands to access information about names that emerged in the papers including Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

The income tax department is "aggressively" pursuing names that emerged in the Panama Papers, reports Times of India. The tax department has launched 33 prosecutions linked to the names revealed in the Panama Papers and is probing others.

No probe against Bachchan without info:

The I-T the official said that Mr Bachchan has said he does not own any of the firms named in the documents. So they just couldn't launch a probe and they have to seek information. Bachchan has said that his remittances overseas were in line with Indian regulations and has denied any wrongdoing. Also, denied any links with the firms named in the Panama Papers.

The I-T has sent a senior CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) officer to the British Virgin Islands to gather information. Also the department is seeking information from various other countries. ''We will have to analyse and see if there are any violations," the official told TOI.

What is Panama papers case?

The Panama Papers are 11.5 million leaked documents that detail financial and attorney-client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. The documents, some of which dated back to the 1970s, belonged to the Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca, were leaked in 2015 by an anonymous source.

OneIndia News