Pandora Papers contain a few names in the diamond & jewellery industry

On Sunday, the Pandora Papers investigation, the world's largest journalistic collobaration to expose 330 politicians and 130 Forbes billionaires, as well as celebrities, fraudsters, drug dealers, royal family members and leaders of religious groups around the world, took the world by storm. 

Confidential records of 14 offshore service providers that provide professional services to affluent individuals and companies who are looking to set up shell companies, trusts and other entities in low or no-tax countries were leaked.

The list includes Purvi Modi, Nirav Modi’s sister. According to sources, a month before Modi fled the country, Purvi set up a company in the British Virgin Islands that would act as the corporate protector of a trust.

According to Indian Express, in 2017, one year before Nirav’s fleeing, she set up Brookton Management. Purvi claimed that the funds had come from her salary and personal earnings as the creative director of Firestar, and American jewellery supplier, which was owned by Nirav Modi himself.

The Times of Israel also notes that diamantaire Beny Steinmetz also appears in the papers, which alleges that his children transferred about $1 billion to a fund in the Cook Islands at the “height of legal proceedings against him.”

Zimbabwe’s deputy chief secretary to the president, Martin Rushwaya, set up an offshore company called Greatgem Corp. in the Seychelles in 2010. According to ZimLive.com Rushwaya appears to have set up the company around the time the Zimbabwe Defence Forces entered into a partnership with China’s Anjin diamond company to mine diamonds in Marange. Greatgem  – points to an interest in diamonds.

For more details on Pandora Papers, visit the ICIJ website.