Panama Papers: Amitabh Bachchan attended board meets, report says

New Panama Papers documents studied by The Indian Express, reveal that Amitabh Bachchan served as the director of atleast four offshore shipping companies from 1993-97 and participated in board meetings of atleast two of these companies, a claim he has earlier refuted.

The Indian Express is the only Indian media company partnering with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) among 100 member media companies globally, to study the nearly 11 million documents of the law-firm Mossack Fonseca, leaked to a German newspaper about a year ago.

The two board meetings, both held on December 12, 1994, were pertaining to a $1.75 million loan and share buy, the report says.

The Bollywood superstar was named as the director in atleast four shipping companies, the newspaper had reported earlier this month, a claim that he had refuted in a public statement. The Actor had said publicly stated that he had nothing to do with the companies and suspected that his name was misused.

Three of the four companies named in the IE report are -- Tramp Shipping Limited in the Bahamas, Sea Bulk Shipping company Ltd in the British Virgin Islands; and Treasure Shipping Ltd. 

However, new documents studied show that Amitabh Bachchan had participated in the board meetings of atleast two of the aforementioned offshore companies via telephone conference, the report said.

The two meetings of Tramp Shipping Limited and Sea Bulk Shipping Company Ltd were held on December 12, 1994.

Documents show that his name was recorded in the two companies as the director and office bearers on the Certificate of Incumbency, the report says.

According to IE, the two meetings were about a $1.75 million loan from Dallah Albaraka Investment Company (DAICO) to a constellation Ship Management in the Bahamas for buying all the shares issued by Tramp Shipping and held by Sea Bulk Shipping, the report said. 

During the meeting, resolutions were passed for this loan and MV Sea Tramp, a Tramp Shipping Ltd's ship was mortgaged to DAICO.

The previously mentioned Certificate of Incumbency was issued on the same day of the meeting -- December 12, 1994 -- which names Bachchan as the director. Both the companies had the same list of directors and officers, the report said. 

The report further says that Mossack Fonseca documents reveal that Bachchan was appointed as director and managing director in 1993 by a Umesh Sahai of New Jersey-based City Management Ltd, now Minerva Trust, who was one of the founder directors of the four offshore shipping companies. 

Since the Panama Papers named Bachchan's involvement with four offshore companies in the tax haven, the Congress has demanded he is removed as the 'Save Tiger Project' ambassador. 

"Till Bachchan gets a clean chit in the Panama Papers case, he should be removed as tiger brand ambassador as well as from advisory panel on the development of part of the Bandra Kurla Complex as International Finance and Services Centre," the Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said while raising the issue in Lower House. 

"It would be improper if Bachchan continues to occupy the two posts especially when his name has allegedly figured in the Panama Papers," the opposition leader said.

Bachchan who was earlier rumoured to have been approached as the Incredible India ambassador along side Priyanka Chopra, will not be made the face of the campaign till he's given a clean chit, government sources had said. The decision about the brand ambassador was earlier supposed to come this month, but it has now been put on hold. However, Bachchan has said that he was never formally approached for the campaign.