₹14,601 crore in offshore assets brought to tax after global exposés

In a significant disclosure, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has revealed that ₹14,601 crore worth of undisclosed offshore investments — unearthed through investigations by The Indian Express — have been “brought to tax”.

The figures, made public for the first time in a reply dated January 30, 2026, to a Right to Information (RTI) query, mark a crucial milestone in India’s crackdown on black money stashed abroad.

Of the total amount, ₹13,800 crore pertains to disclosures emerging from the Panama Papers investigation, ₹115 crore from the Paradise Papers, and ₹686 crore from the Pandora Papers.

Notably, the ₹686 crore linked to the Pandora Papers comes after the explosive 2021 revelations that exposed secret offshore holdings of politicians, business magnates and global elites.

Beyond detection, towards prosecution

The CBDT clarified that the “brought to tax” figures represent amounts determined after completion of tax assessments, issuance of notices to assessees, and examination of their responses. This stage goes beyond merely identifying undisclosed income — it marks formal inclusion in the tax net and paves the way for penalties and possible prosecution under Indian law.

However, these figures do not represent final tax collections; they reflect assessed undisclosed investments now subjected to taxation.

Earlier RTI responses had revealed that 1,255 tax cases were initiated following the three global investigations — 426 linked to the Panama Papers, 494 to the Paradise Papers, and 335 to the Pandora Papers.

The global investigations

The offshore investigations were conducted over several years by The Indian Express in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and over 150 media partners worldwide.

The Pandora Papers alone involved scrutiny of 11.9 million leaked documents from 14 offshore service providers, exposing the beneficial ownership of nearly 29,000 offshore entities used as tax havens.

Following the 2021 disclosures, the Union government set up a Multi Agency Group to coordinate investigations. The Financial Intelligence Unit under the Finance Ministry is known to have sent information requests to foreign jurisdictions concerning 482 individuals named in the Pandora Papers.

In its latest RTI response, the CBDT confirmed that the Multi Agency Group has convened seven meetings so far to review progress on the Pandora probe. It declined to share further details, stating that the information is confidential and that disclosure could impede investigation, apprehension, or prosecution of offenders.

The newly disclosed ₹14,601 crore figure underscores the tangible fiscal consequences of one of the most sweeping global investigations into offshore tax havens — and signals that the trail of hidden wealth continues to narrow.