Tax Haven Expose: Govt probing those named in tax haven expose: Chidambaram

Two days after The Indian Express reported that an international group of investigative journalists had found details of more than 1.2 lakh offshore entities and trusts belonging to individuals and companies of more than 170 countries and territories including India, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said an inquiry had been initiated against persons named in the report.

The report lists 612 Indians, including two members of Parliament — Lok Sabha Congress MP Vivekanand Gaddam and Rajya Sabha member Vijay Mallya — and several industrialists.

Several offshore investments were made in possible violation of RBI and FEMA rules. The investments were made in tax havens including British Virgin Islands, Samoa, Cook Islands.

Asked at a press conference on Saturday whether the government had taken any action on the report, Chidambaram said: "Yes. We have taken note of the names and inquiries have been put in motion in respect of the names that have been exposed."

Details of transactions in the tax havens were obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The ICIJ collaborated with 38 media organisations around the world, including The Indian Express, for this global project.
Courtesy:
ENS Economic Bureau : New Delhi, Sun Apr 07 2013, 02:40 hrs