IT Department initiate investigation against Malayalis named in Pandora Papers

The Income Tax Department has launched an investigation into the Malayalis noticed in the Pandora Papers, a 2021 leak of around 12 million documents revealing hundreds of international leaders and rich people for tax cheating and corruption.

The investigation against Manoj Padmanabhan, Joseph Job, and Cleetus Kurishingal is still ongoing. On Thursday, income tax officials raided the Kochi headquarters of a software company connected to them. Manoj Padmanabhan was the former Kerala coordinator of the Aam Aadmi Party.

The investigation revealed that Manoj Padmanabhan, Joseph Job, and Cleetus Kurishingal own shell companies in the British Virgin Islands called ‘Peacock Technologies,’ ‘NewGen Info Solutions,’ and ‘Catalyst IT,’ respectively.

The Income Tax Department conducted an investigation at Spectrum Soft Tech Solutions in Kochi based on the results. Cleetus Kurishingal is also the company’s director.

The Income Tax Department discovered that a major portion of the company’s earnings went to shell companies in the British Virgin Islands disguised as an IT firm in Dubai after reviewing the company’s financial transactions. The officials are additionally investigating their relationship with an NRK named Francis Kunnumpurath, who lives in the United States.

The shell companies were established in 2010, according to Pandora documents. According to reports, the Income Tax Department is investigating the companies’ operations and financial dealings.

The International Journalists dropped a bombshell in 2021 by publishing approximately 11.9 million documents exposing world leaders’ secret offshore accounts, as well as wealth elites, celebrities, and business leaders.