A massive leak of financial documents published by several major news organisations on Sunday tying public figures in India and around the world to secret stores of wealth will be investigated, the government announced on Monday.
A multi-agency group headed by the chief of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), and representatives from the Enforcement Directorate, Reserve Bank of India and the Financial Intelligence Unit will monitor the reports and follow up relevant leads.
"The relevant investigative agencies would undertake investigation in these cases and appropriate action would be taken in such cases as per law," the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
"With a view to ensure effective investigation in these cases, the Government will also proactively engage with foreign jurisdictions for obtaining information in respect of relevant taxpayers/entities."
The reports included several prominent names including King Abdullah of Jordan, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin and several personalities in India.
The dump of more than 11.9 million records, amounting to about 2.94 terabytes of data, came five years after the leak known as the "Panama Papers" exposed how money was hidden by the wealthy in ways that law enforcement agencies could not detect.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a Washington, D.C.-based network of reporters and media organizations, said the files are linked to about 35 current and former national leaders, and more than 330 politicians and public officials in 91 countries and territories. It did not say how the files were obtained, and NDTV could not independently verify the allegations or documents detailed by the consortium.
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