<p>The identity of a guy whose name appeared in the Panama Paper leaks was the subject of a charge sheet issued by the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday for allegedly possessing undeclared assets overseas.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-247633″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-s-2-v-jpg-442×260-4g-11zon.png” alt=”theindiaprint.com s 2 v jpg 442×260 4g 11zon” width=”1545″ height=”909″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-s-2-v-jpg-442×260-4g-11zon.png 442w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/theindiaprint.com-s-2-v-jpg-442×260-4g-11zon-150×88.png 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1545px) 100vw, 1545px” title=”A man named in the Panama Papers is charged by the ED for possessing undisclosed foreign assets 6″></p>
<p>According to the federal agency, the prosecution case against Sanjay Vijay Shinde, his wife Aparna, and Venus Bay Offshore Ltd. was submitted on October 18 to a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Bhopal, and the court took cognizance of the charge sheet on Friday.</p>
<p>A charge sheet submitted previously under the anti-black money statute by the Income Tax Department is the basis for the money laundering case against Shinde.</p>
<p>As part of its investigation into the Panama Papers leak, the I-T department took action against the guy.</p>
<p>A 2016 investigation by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) into a cache of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, dubbed “Panama Papers,” named several world leaders and celebrities who were allegedly hiding money abroad in offshore companies.</p>
<p>Some of them reportedly had legitimate accounts abroad. There were 426 instances with ties to India in the whole leaks tranche.</p>
<p>According to the ED, Shinde founded Venus Bay Offshore Ltd. as an offshore business in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a tax haven.</p>
<p>“He received a sum of Rs 21.87 crore in the bank accounts of the said company maintained at UBS-AG Bank, Singapore.”</p>
<p>“The accused was the sole director, shareholder and beneficial owner of the said company,” it said.</p>
<p>Due to the accused’s failure to “disclose” his interest in the foreign corporation and the assets he received in the form of cash in the foreign bank account on his income tax return, the tax department filed a prosecution complaint and started legal action against him under the Black Money Act.</p>
<p>The ED said that the accused utilized NRE/NRO accounts to transfer the funds from the BVI business to India, where they were then invested in FCNR-FD accounts.</p>
<p>The accused allegedly liquidated these monies later and made investments in a variety of moveable and immovable assets.</p>
<p>“Using the profits of crime, the accused bought homes in Bhopal, Goa, Vadodara, and Mumbai. These monies were also used as capital investments in firms, mutual funds, shares, FDs, and LIC policies, it claimed.</p>
<p>According to the ED, the overall “proceeds of crime” in this case were estimated at Rs 34.22 crore.</p>
<p>The agency has already searched a number of Shinde locations and seized property worth approximately Rs 30 crore.</p>
