Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw denies 'Pandora Papers' charges

Biocon executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw refuted reports on the Pandora Papers naming John Shaw—her husband and Biocon's vice chairman—holding overseas entities having Biocon shares and its trust advisor was banned by SEBI for insider trading. Mazumdar-Shaw added to the refutation that the allegations are baseless.

The ‘Pandora Papers’, numerous leaked documents by a worldwide journalistic partnership 'The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)' on October 3, have named 300 Indian individuals—including Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Ambani, Nirav Modi and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw—in the list. A report published in the Indian Express raised the issue of corporate governance related to Biocon, citing Mauritius-based Glentec International—which holds shares of Biocon is owned by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw’s husband. Glentec is related to another firm Allegro Capital, and it was investigated by markets regulator SEBI for insider trading. Its director and major shareholder Kunal Ashok Kashyap were fined ₹10 lakh each, the report read.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said Glentec International—one of the entities mentioned in the report—was set up by John Shaw, a U.K. national. He had set up—from his foreign currency earnings—an investment company in 1999 to acquire the shares that Unilever Plc held in Biocon for various other investments in real estate and public markets. This was before Biocon became a publicly listed company in April 2004. Glentec, a registered entity in Mauritius, has been disclosed to both RBI and SEBI since listing, and currently holds 19.76% of Biocon. Glentec is a bonafide offshore company 99% owned by John Shaw and his income from India largely consists of tax paid dividends received from Biocon, she said in a statement.

Commenting about the role of another related firm Deanstone Trust, she said it was set up in 2015 by Glentec to enable philanthropic endowments and for estate planning for both John Shaw and her family members. The offshore trust is managed by independent trustees, who are foreign nationals and Glentec is the sole settlor of the Deanstone Trust.

"Both John Shaw and I are neither trustees, nor settlors, nor beneficiaries of this trust and beneficiaries of this trust, who are family members are foreign nationals and not resident Indians", said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

Commenting on the role of Kunal Kashyap, she said his role reported as a protector of the trust in media reports is factually incorrect. Mazumdar-Shaw added that Kashyap is an advisor to John Shaw and Glentec, and in his capacity as an advisor, he is in no position nor has the legal authority to either control or influence the trust.