LOS ANGELES: Politicians aren’t the only ones who have popped up in the leaked “Paradise Papers” – since many celebrity names can also be seen in there, e.g. Bono, Madonna and actress Keira Knightley, reports STUFF.
The papers – which were released Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), include 13.4 million documents that detail offshore holdings by high-profile figures like Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Queen Elizabeth II.
According to the Indian media, Manyata Dutt, Sanjay Dutt’s wife and a corporate lobbyist, appeared in the papers.
Amitabh Bachan, India’s legendary actor, is back in the news after his name was featured in the Paradise papers. He was also named in the huge data dump of Panama Papers and is under investigation by the Mumbai team of Enforcement Directorate, along with his daughter-in-law Aishwarya and other Indian celebrities.
Bono – who is listed by his real name, Paul Hewson – is revealed to have been a part owner of a shopping mall in the small town of Utena, Lithuania, after investing with a company based in Malta.
The U2 frontman had a stake in Nude Estates, a Maltese company which bought the Ausra mall just after it opened in 2007, according to The Guardian.
Because of the island nation – located between the south of Italy and the North African coast – is a low-tax jurisdiction, the tax paid on any profits earned by foreign investors is reduced to 5 percent.
The mall was transferred in 2012 to a company based in Guernsey, England, with a similar name: Nude Estates I.
“Bono was a passive, minority investor in Nude Estates Malta Ltd., a company that was legally registered in Malta until it was voluntarily wound up in 2015. Malta is a well-established holding company jurisdiction within the EU,” a spokesperson for the singer told the paper.
Meanwhile, the ICIJ also claims the documents reveal that pop star Madonna has a share in a medical supplies company, whereas actress Keira Knightley has invested in a Jersey-based real estate firm.
Queen Elizabeth was named as an investor in a Cayman Islands fund previously unknown to the public.