ED Seizes Rs 37-Crore Asset of Goa Miner’s Son in ‘Pandora Papers’ Investigation

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 19th Aug. The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday informed about the seizure of a Goa-based miner’s son’s asset worth 36.8 crore as part of its investigation into the ‘Pandora Papers’ leaks, which “revealed” his alleged undeclared foreign exchange activities outside India.

The seizure order was issued against Rohan Timblo in accordance with 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 a 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 along with 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 $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 $4,499,620 (about ₹ 37.34 crore) and accordingly an immovable property of Rohan Timblo has been seized.