Pandora Papers: Shakira, Anil Ambani, Sachin Tendulkar, financial dealings of the global elite exposed

News Network
October 4, 2021

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Millions of leaked documents dubbed the Pandora Papers and a worldwide journalistic partnership on Sunday claims to have uncovered financial secrets of current and former world leaders, politicians and public officials in 91 countries and territories, including India.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which involved the BBC and The Guardian newspaper in the UK and ‘The Indian Express’ in India among 150 media outlets in its investigation, claims it obtained the trove of more than 11.9 million confidential files to find secret financial dealings of many super rich.

"People linked by the secret documents to offshore assets include India’s Reliance ADAG chief Anil Ambani, cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar, pop music diva Shakira, supermodel Claudia Schiffer and an Italian mobster known as ‘Lell the Fat One’,” says ICIJ in its report.

"Tendulkar’s attorney said the cricket player’s investment is legitimate and has been declared to tax authorities. Shakira’s attorney said the singer declared her companies, which the attorney said do not provide tax advantages. Schiffer’s representatives said the supermodel correctly pays her taxes in the UK, where she lives," it notes.

On a world map highlighting the number of politicians linked with offshore dealings, India is shown as having six and Pakistan seven.

"ICIJ’s latest investigation, the Pandora Papers, brings renewed attention to the use of offshore companies by Pakistani political players. This time, the offshore holdings of people close to (Prime Minister Imran) Khan are being disclosed, including his finance minister and a top financial backer,” the findings claim.

A spokesperson for Khan told a press conference that if any of his ministers or advisors had offshore companies, “they will have to be held accountable”.

According to the ICIJ, its secret documents expose offshore dealings of the likes of the King of Jordan, the presidents of Ukraine, Kenya and Ecuador, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The files also reveal financial activities of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “unofficial minister of propaganda” and more than 130 billionaires from Russia, the US, Turkey and other nations.

The ICIJ says the leaked records come from 14 offshore services firms from around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore nooks for clients often seeking to keep their financial activities in the shadows.

It says the global investigation provides an "unequalled perspective" on how the rule of law has been “bent and broken” around the world by a system of financial secrecy enabled by wealthy nations.

"The findings by ICIJ and its media partners spotlight how deeply secretive finance has infiltrated global politics – and offer insights into why governments and global organisations have made little headway in ending offshore financial abuses,” it notes.

The ICIJ analysis of the secret documents identified 956 companies in offshore havens tied to 336 high-level politicians and public officials, including country leaders, cabinet ministers, ambassadors and others.

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News Network
May 8,2024

Mangaluru: The Mangaluru North police have apprehended a minor in connection with alleged voyeurism incident reported in a private medical college in Mangaluru. 

DCP (Law and order) Sidharth Goyal said that the minor was produced before JJ Board as per due procedure. The incident came to light when a mobile phone was found in women's washroom in the college. 

The mobile-phone was discovered as it was ringing even when no one was in the toilet by the security guard of the college. 

Investigations revealed that the mobile phone had been strategically placed in the restroom. As a result, a case has been registered under north police station.

Further scrutiny into the matter uncovered the identity of the accused, a minor male aged 17, who had gained access to the college premises under the guise of being a patient. Following his apprehension, the accused was presented before the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Board in adherence to legal protocols.

The phone has been seized and a case has been booked under IPC section 354 (C), said the DCP.

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News Network
May 2,2024

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Mangaluru: This year too, the Mangaluru International Airport has missed being designated as an embarkation point for the annual hajj pilgrimage. 

According to the Haj Committee of India, not many are choosing Mangaluru as an embarkation point. Last year, although Mangaluru was notified as one of the embarkation points, the Union government removed it from the list at the last minute.

Several associations and organisations submitted memorandums to the Haj Committee of India, requesting the reinstatement of Mangaluru as one of the embarkation points, but their efforts have not materialised this year either.

The use of Mangaluru Airport as an embarkation point for the haj began in 2010. In 2019, 1,400 haj pilgrims flew from MIA to Saudi Arabia.

“When the number is less, it is difficult to consider it. It was the same issue as last year,” reacted AP Abdullakutty, chairman of the Haj Committee of India.
Mangaluru as an embarkation point served people from undivided Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Uttara Kannada, and Chikkamagaluru districts.
Last year, the Muslim Central Committee of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts submitted a memorandum to Abdullakutty. They expressed their disappointment with Abdullakutty and stated that Mangaluru had a good number of applicants ever since it was identified as an embarkation point. 
Now, they have to travel to Bengaluru. 

UT Khader, speaker of the Karnataka legislative assembly, pointed out that several Union ministries are involved in the process of designating embarkation points for the haj.

“We are not sure why MIA as an embarkation point was removed. Is it because of fewer applications, or are airlines not willing to bid for MIA as an embarkation point? Is it only an issue with MIA as an embarkation point, or are there other airports in the country facing similar issues? We will try to find out and seek answers. Meanwhile, we will also start working at the earliest so that MIA is considered as an embarkation point for hajj next year,” said Khader.

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News Network
May 3,2024

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US riot police have dismantled an anti-war and pro-Palestinian protest camp at the University of California at Los Angeles, a day after it was attacked by pro-Israel supporters.

At least 200 pro-Palestine protesters were arrested during the pre-dawn raid, led by a phalanx of California Highway Patrol officers carrying shields and batons, early on Thursday.

The protesters tried to block the officers' advance by their sheer numbers, shouting "push them back", while hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists who assembled outside the tent city were heard chanting "Shame on you" at the police.

According to estimates of local television station KABC-TV, 300 to 500 protesters were hunkered down inside the camp, while about 2,000 more had gathered outside the barricades in support.

The raid took place about a day after police watched on as pro-Israel groups violently attacked the encampment. Late Tuesday night, masked counter-demonstrators mounted a surprise assault on the camp, using sticks to beat the peaceful activists.

The assault went on for three hours into early Wednesday morning until police intervened and restored order.

The authorities’ slow response drew wide criticism from political leaders, including a spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom who said "limited and delayed campus law enforcement response" to the unrest is "unacceptable."

The Pro-Palestine demonstrations began at Columbia University in New York City on April 17, and have spread across other campuses in the US in a student movement unlike any other this century.

US police arrested about 2,200 people during pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the country in recent weeks, the Associated Press reported.

A tally by the news agency recorded at least 56 incidents of arrests at 43 different US colleges or universities since April 18.

The students are calling for an end to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and demanding schools divest from companies that support the Israeli regime.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

Tel Aviv has also blocked water, food, and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis.

Since the start of the offensive, the Israeli regime has killed at least 34,596 Palestinians and injured 77,816 others.

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