BJP mum on Jayant, R K Sinha's involvement in Paradise Papers leak

The BJP on Monday left its leaders Jayant Sinha and Ravindra Kishore Sinha to defend themselves on news reports that mentioned the duo in the latest leaked Paradise Papers.

The papers showed that the rich and the famous used two global companies to move their money abroad.

A news report stated that Minister of State Jayant Sinha worked as managing director (India) of Omidyar Network for 39 months from September 2009. The company had invested in US-based D Light Design having a subsidiary listed in Caymen Islands. Leaked offshore legal firm Appleby's records pointed out that Jayant had served as a director of D Light Design, too.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ravindra Kishore's private security firm SIS, said the news report quoting Malta registry records, is linked to two offshore entities. Ravindra Kishore has a minority stake in SIS's subsidiary SIS Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd (SAPHL), which is registered in Malta, it said.

His wife Rita Kishore Sinha is a director of SAPHL. The BJP parliamentarian has just one share in another concern SIS International Holdings Ltd (SIHL), which is incorporated in Virgin Islands.

Jayant and Ravindra Kishore reportedly did not declare their respective financial details to the Election Commission of India during the 2014 elections.

While Jayant disclosed his links with the private concern two years after he  was elected to the Lok Sabha, Ravindra Kishore did not open up his links with SAPHL during his nomination to the Rajya Sabha.

The BJP refused to comment on the reports that have sought to drag the two party leaders into the controversy. A spokesperson dismissed the reports by saying that there is hardly anything in the story to comment.

Through multiple tweets,   Jayant gave his version on the leaked Paradise Papers, which has revealed the names of 714 Indians.

"These were bonafide and legal transactions undertaken on behalf of highly reputed world-leading organisations in my fiduciary role as Partner at Omidyar Network and its designated representative on the D.Light Board. All these transactions have been fully disclosed to relevant authorities through all necessary filings as required. After leaving Omidyar Network, I was asked to continue on the D Light Board as an Independent Director," he clarified.

"It is crucial to note that these transactions were done for D Light as an Omidyar representative, and not for any personal purpose," he added.

Ravindra Kishore chose an interesting way to remain mum on the embarrassing revelations against him. When a wire agency reached out to the MP who was seated in a car, he did not utter a word and instead gestured to a  reporter to give him a pen.

Ravindra wrote on a sheet of paper in Hindi," 7 din ke  bhagwat  yagna ke liye maun vrat hai (on a vow of silence for 7 days for the bhagwat yagna)".