Four years after Pandora Papers, Radico Khaitan’s offshore structures face no action.
New Delhi: Four years after the Pandora Papers revealed offshore structures linked to Radico Khaitan’s promoters, there is still no sign of regulatory action in the public domain. The 2021 revelations reported that a Panama-based ‘Timberlane trust’ held 50,000 shares in ‘Beecool Global Holdings Ltd’, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.
Share transfer forms dated October 2013 recorded 25,000 shares each being transferred to Lalit and Abhishek Khaitan, the promoters of Radico Khaitan.
The Pandora Papers were a global investigation coordinated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and published in October 2021. They involved 11.9 million leaked files from 14 offshore service providers in jurisdictions such as Panama, the British Virgin Islands and Seychelles. The papers exposed how politicians, business leaders and wealthy families used offshore trusts and companies to hold assets.
While owning an offshore entity is not illegal under Indian law, failure to disclose it to the tax authorities, or using it to evade taxes or violate the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), is unlawful. It was on these grounds that authorities were expected to examine the Indian names appearing in the leak.
Emails sent to the company for a response did not elicit any response till the set deadline.
Following the publication of the Pandora Papers, the Indian government announced a Multi-Agency Group comprising the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the Enforcement Directorate, the Reserve Bank of India and the Financial Intelligence Unit. Officials told the Sunday Guardian that the FIU sent 161 requests to foreign counterparts for information. Some of those inquiries led to visible enforcement measures. The Enforcement Directorate summoned industrialist Anil Ambani in 2023 in connection with offshore accounts that appeared in the Pandora data. Other business figures and professionals named in the leak were also questioned or searched in subsequent investigations.
In the case of Radico Khaitan, however, there has been no public record of any summons, raid, seizure or prosecution. Company filings reviewed since 2021 show routine annual reports and investor disclosures, with no mention of regulatory action related to the Pandora Papers. Panama’s official gazette confirms the registration of Timberlane-named foundations, but the detailed deeds are not available without a formal request to the country’s registry.
Radico Khaitan, headquartered in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, is one of India’s largest liquor manufacturers. Founded as Rampur Distillery in 1943, it produces whisky, rum, vodka, gin and brandy. Among its best-known brands are 8 PM Whisky, Magic Moments Vodka, Rampur Indian Single Malt, Contessa Rum, Old Admiral Brandy and Jaisalmer Gin. The company sells both in India and overseas, and eight of its labels recently featured in the global Millionaires’ Club list of spirits brands that each sell over one million cases annually.
Lalit Khaitan, now in his eighties, is chairman and managing director. His son, Abhishek Khaitan, is managing director and is credited with driving the company’s move into branded products in the late 1990s. Together, the family controls around 40 percent of the company. Forbes and Indian business media estimate Lalit Khaitan’s personal wealth at about USD 1 billion, largely derived from this stake.
Financially, Radico Khaitan has reported steady growth. In the quarter ending March 2024, it posted revenue of Rs 38.95 billion and net profit of Rs 1.18 billion, both up from the previous year. Analysts project about 20 percent growth for FY2025, led by demand in the premium segment. The company has recently launched high-end products such as The Spirit of Kashmyr vodka and tied up with Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan Khan to launch a tequila brand.
Neither the Enforcement Directorate nor the CBDT has put on record whether any inquiry into the Khaitans followed the 2021 disclosures.
There are no publicly available summons, search or case filing linked to Radico Khaitan in connection with the Pandora Papers that has led to speculations that the offshore structures identified in the leak were never scrutinised and the case was set aside without explanation.
