Panama Papers: ED set to issue 50 FEMA notices

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is set to take the first consolidated action against those named in the Panama Papers list

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is set to take the first consolidated action against those named in the Panama Papers list. Top sources in the agency said that about 50 notices are likely to be issued for violation of foreign exchange laws.

A plate of the Geneva office of the law firm Mossack Fonseca is seen on June 16, 2016 in Geneva. An information technology worker at the Geneva office of Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal, has been arrested. (AFP File Photo)

A multi-agency group is investigating the ‘Panama Papers’, a trail of millions of secret files that leaked the names of individuals who paid Panamian law firm Mossack Fonseca to set up offshore firms in tax havens around the world.

More than 500 Indians figured in the list published last year, including Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as well as Indiabulls chairman Sameer Gehlaut.

The ED is likely to submit its ‘action taken report’ as part of the consolidated list that will be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office for review. In the past few months, the directorate has seized assets in some cases for violations under sections governed by the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).