Two days after The Indian Express reported that Big B Amitabh Bachchan is one of them in the Panama papers list, the superstar broke the silence. The daily also mentioned that Amitabh was named as the director of four shipping companies, which were set up 23 years back and are registered with offshore tax havens.

Clarifying his stance on the controversy, Amitabh issued a statement. The official statement from BigB reads, "I do not know any of the companies referred to by Indian Express - Sea Bulk Shipping Company Ltd, Lady Shipping Ltd, Treasure Shipping Ltd, and Tramp Shipping Ltd. I have never been a director of any of the above stated companies. It is possible that my name has been misused. I have paid all my taxes including on monies spent by me overseas. Monies that I have remitted overseas have been in compliance with law, including remittances through LRS, after paying Indian taxes. In any event the news report in Indian Express does not even suggest any illegality on my part."

Also read: Amitabh, Aishwarya among 500 Indians in Panama Papers list

Meanwhile, the BJP-led NDA government has ordered for a special agency to investigate about Indians involved in ‘Panama Papers’. Panama papers show the way rich, all through the world, used tax havens to hide their wealth. Among those involved in the list are film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, DLF promoter K.P. Singh and Vinod Adani, elder brother of Adani Group founder and chairman Gautam Adani.

Also read: BJP-led NDA orders probe into Indians involved in Panama Papers

The Indian Express is one of the 100 media groups carrying out investigations on a massive leak of over 11.5 million documents from a Panama based law firm named Mossack Fonseca. Mossack Fonseca has its offices across 35 countries.

- Sumana