New Delhi: The Panama Papers controversy has made the government press pause on signing up actor Amitabh Bachchan as brand ambassador of its mega tourism campaign Incredible India, sources have said.
There was a rethink, the sources said, after the 73-year-old superstar's name appeared earlier this month on a list of 500 Indians in what has been dubbed the Panama Papers - a massive leak of tax documents on offshore companies and accounts of the rich and the powerful.
Amitabh Bachchan and actress Priyanka Chopra were chosen a few months ago to replace actor Aamir Khan as the face of the high profile campaign to market the country to tourists abroad. The Prime Minister's Office reportedly suggested the name of Mr Bachchan, who has served as brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism from the time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the state's chief minister.
Mr Bachchan is also the ambassador for Maharashtra's "Save Tiger project," and the opposition Congress in the state has demanded that he be removed from that role till he gets a "clean chit" in the Panama controversy.
Amitabh Bachchan has said his name may have been "misused" in the Panama reports. "I do not know any of the companies referred to by Indian Express - Sea Bulk Shipping Company Ltd, Lady Shipping Ltd, Treasure Shipping Ltd, and Tramp Shipping Ltd. I have never been a director of any of the above stated companies. It is possible that my name has been misused," he had said in a statement
Mr Bachchan also said that he had "paid all my taxes including on monies spent by me overseas. Monies that I have remitted overseas have been in compliance with law... after paying Indian taxes. In any event the news report in Indian Express does not even suggest any illegality on my part."
The Indian Express was among more than 100 media groups which investigated the 11.5 million documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm with offices in 35 countries.
As with many of the people named in the documents, there is no evidence offered that the Bollywood A-listers used their companies for improper purposes, and having an offshore entity is not illegal.
There was a rethink, the sources said, after the 73-year-old superstar's name appeared earlier this month on a list of 500 Indians in what has been dubbed the Panama Papers - a massive leak of tax documents on offshore companies and accounts of the rich and the powerful.
Mr Bachchan is also the ambassador for Maharashtra's "Save Tiger project," and the opposition Congress in the state has demanded that he be removed from that role till he gets a "clean chit" in the Panama controversy.
Advertisement
Mr Bachchan also said that he had "paid all my taxes including on monies spent by me overseas. Monies that I have remitted overseas have been in compliance with law... after paying Indian taxes. In any event the news report in Indian Express does not even suggest any illegality on my part."
Advertisement
As with many of the people named in the documents, there is no evidence offered that the Bollywood A-listers used their companies for improper purposes, and having an offshore entity is not illegal.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Delhi Hospital Shooting: 3 Arrested, Minor Was "Main Shooter": Cops Delhi University Inviting Applications For Certificate Course In Pali/Tibetan Parineeti Chopra Shares Throwback Gold On "Mimi Didi" AKA Priyanka Chopra's Birthday Barack Obama Wants Joe Biden To Pull Out Of US Presidential Race: Report World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage 32 Dead In Bangladesh Unrest, Protesters Set Fire To State TV Headquarters Comedy Legend Bob Newhart Dead At 94: Publicist Israeli Strike Kills Field Commander In Elite Hezbollah Unit: Report Delhi-San Francisco Air India Flight Diverted To Russia After Engine Glitch Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.