Pandora Papers leak: ED seizes over Rs 36-cr worth asset of Goa miner's son
New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate Saturday said it has seized an asset worth Rs 36.80 crore of a Goa-based miner's son as part of its investigation into 'Pandora Papers' leaks which "revealed" his alleged undisclosed foreign exchange outside India.
The seizure order against Rohan Timblo has been issued under section 37A(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Rohan is the son of Goa-based miner Radha Timblo, the agency said in a statement.
The probe was initiated against Rohan Timblo "on the basis of Pandora Paper leaks where it was revealed that he owned an offshore family trust and its three underlying corporate entities which have come under the scanner of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)".
The 'Pandora Papers' global leaks surfaced in 2021 after the International Consortium of International Journalists (ICIJ) came out with 2.94 terabyte data trove that exposed the offshore secrets of wealthy elites from more than 200 countries and territories including those from India.
The probe found that Asiaciti Trust Singapore Pte Ltd provided corporate trustee services to the Colares Trust, of which Rohan Timblo was the "sole settlor" and one of the beneficiaries alongwith his wife Mallika Timblo and their children, the ED said.
The Colares Trust had three underlying corporate entities-- Calheta Holdings Ltd, Samoa; Cazar Finance S.A, BVI and Corylus Assets Inc, Panama, it said.
"The capital fund available under administration of Colares Trust in 2012 was USD 4,499,620. The same was not declared by Rohan Timblo before the Indian authorities," the agency alleged.
Hence, it said, by acquiring foreign exchange outside India Rohan Timblo "contravened" the provisions of section 4 of FEMA, 1999 for a total amount of USD 4,499,620 (about Rs 37,34,68,460) and accordingly an immovable property of Rohan Timblo has been seized.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Death toll from Israeli strikes in northeast Lebanon rises from 8 to 24, Lebanese news agency says
Deir al-Balah, Nov 1: Israeli airstrikes on Friday killed at least 24 people in northeastern Lebanon, the country's news agency said, raising the death toll from eight there.
It was the latest deadly toll in the area since the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah escalated last month.
Israel's military has said that its operation in Lebanon is targeting Hezbollah's military infrastructure.
Lebanon's state National news Agency reported four airstrikes in different villages across country's northeast, saying rescuers were still searching for survivors in Younine, a town in the Bekaa Valley, from the rubble of a targeted house.
Hussein Haj Hassan, a Lebanese lawmaker representing the region in Baalbek-Hermel region, said that 60,000 people have already fled their homes in the area due to Israeli bombardment.
