Indian cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar, who has been a Member of the Upper House of Parliament, along with members of his family, figures in the Pandora Papers as Beneficial Owners of an offshore entity in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) which was liquidated in 2016.
Sachin, with wife Anjali Tendulkar and father-in-law Anand Mehta, as per an investigation of records of Panama law firm Alcogal which are part of Pandora Papers, are named as BOs and Directors of a BVI-based company: Saas International Limited. The data is part of documents from Panamian law firm, Alcogal, with their company being incorporated by LJ Management (Suisse).
Saas’s first reference in the Pandora records dates back to 2007 and the most detailed set of documents, along with financial benefits for the company’s owners, are available from the time of liquidation of the company in July 2016.
At the time of liquidation of the company, its shares were bought back by shareholders as per the value listed:
· Sachin Tendulkar (9 shares): $856,702
· Anjali Tendulkar (14 shares ): $1,375,714
· Anand Mehta (5 shares) $453,082
Thus, the average buyback price of shares of Saas International Limited is around $96,000. And as a resolution of the company dated August 10, 2007 (the day the company was formed) shows, 90 shares of the company were issued at the outset.
Anjali Tendulkar got the first share certificate with 60 shares; her father got the second share certificate with 30 shares. While there are no details of buyback of the remaining shares, the value of 90 shares can be pegged at $8.6 million (roughly Rs 60 crore).
The date of liquidation of Saas International Limited is significant as it came three months after the Panama Papers expose.
In Alcogal spreadsheets, Sachin Tendulkar and Anjali Tendulkar also figure in logs where they are categorized as Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs). In one registry of PEPs, Sachin Tendulkar is listed on account of him being an MP and is put in the “high risk” category.
Another review of Sachin and Anjali’s PEP status was done in May 2016 two months prior to the winding up of Saas International Limited.
Sachin Tendulkar’s tenure as nominated Member of the Rajya Sabha was from 2012 to 2018 and for four of these years, his BVI entity was registered and running with Alcogal.
As per regulations, nominated Members of the Rajya Sabha are not required to submit their annual list of assets and liabilities as other elected MPs need to.
The Pandora Papers is a leak of almost 12 million documents that reveals hidden wealth, tax avoidance and, in some cases, money laundering by some of the world’s rich and powerful.
More than 600 journalists in 117 countries have been trawling through the files from 14 sources for months, finding stories that are being published this week.
The data was obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington DC, which has been working with more than 140 media organisations on its biggest ever global investigation.
Source: New Indian Express
