Pandora Papers: 'Kunal Kashyap has no influence over Biocon-linked trust'

According to a company statement, the Deanstone Trust, which was mentioned as part of a leak of offshore tax haven files called the 'Pandora Papers,' was set up for philanthropic endeavours

Kunal Kashyap, named as part of a global investigation of offshore entities, has no influence over the trust linked to biopharmaceutical company Biocon, according to a company statement.

The statement said that the Deanstone Trust, which was mentioned as part of a leak of offshore tax haven files called the ‘Pandora Papers,’ was set up for philanthropic endeavours. Additionally, it was part of the estate planning for company’s executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, and her United Kingdom national husband John Shaw. John Shaw set up Glentec International which established the trust, according to an exchange disclosure from the company.  

“Kunal Kashyap is an advisor to John Shaw and Glentec. In his capacity as an advisor, he is in no position nor has the legal authority to either control or influence the trust…He is neither a settlor, trustee, beneficiary nor a protector of the trust,” it said.

The statement added that the offshore trust was established to benefit family members who are not Indian nationals.

“Both John Shaw and I are neither trustees, nor settlors, nor beneficiaries of this trust… Beneficiaries of this trust…are family members are foreign nationals and not resident Indians,” it said.

The statement went on to add that John Shaw’s Indian tax returns reflect his ownership of Glentec, whose income from India is largely in the form of Biocon dividends, according to the company. John Shaw had set up Glentec in 1999 to acquire Unilever’s stake in the company, and his real estate and public market investments. It is registered in Mauritius and is disclosed to both the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said the company. The RBI regulates banks and foreign investments, while Sebi is the stock market regulator.

Kashyap and Biocon’s names surfaced as part of an Indian Express story on the Pandora Papers. It also talked about the fact that Sebi had penalised Kashyap for insider trading in Biocon shares. The order was subsequently appealed against in the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).  

Exchange disclosures show that Glentec owns a 19.76 per cent stake in Biocon.

Kashyap was sought to be given powers to appoint and remove the trustee, according to the report published on Monday, as evidence of his involvement with the entity.  

“I would like to assure you that no Indian resident holds ‘the key’ to this offshore trust as alleged in these stories,” said the company statement.