New Delhi: India's cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar is among the 300 plus elites from India named in the Pandora Papers, the world’s largest-ever journalistic collaboration, involving more than 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries.
"People linked by the secret documents to offshore assets include India's cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar, pop music diva Shakira, supermodel Claudia Schiffer and an Italian mobster known as Lell the Fat One," the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), who exposed the leak, said in its report.
Also read: Pandora Papers: Hidden riches of world leaders 'exposed' in 'unprecedented' leak
Tendulkar's attorney has, however, said the cricketing legend's wealth is legitimate and declared to the authorities concerned. The attorney representing international singing sensation Shakira, another popular name in the leaks, too said she had declared her businesses. "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," the ICIJ noted.
At least 400 Pakistanis, including some ministers and key members of Prime Minister Imran Khan's inner circle, are listed among the individuals whose names were linked with the Pandora Papers. These include Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Minister for Water Resources Moonis Elahi, Senator Faisal Vawda and the family of Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiar among others, according to Geo News.
It took the ICIJ almost two years to organise the investigation --- more than 600 journalists in 117 countries --- making it the biggest-ever journalism partnership. The Panama Papers, a similar investigation undertaken about five years ago, involved close to 400 journalists from 80 countries.
