Paradise papers : Eros International setup units in Isle of Man

New Delhi Nov 9: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has once brought out paradise papers - the documents to shun the light on offshore entities.

The documents reveal that how Eros International and 11 other companies set up offshore companies in the Isle of Man .The documents reveal that EROS International Plc, a holding company of EROS Group that was incorporated in Isle of Man on March 31, 2006, bought shares for $ 1290355.78 between February 24, 2009, and October 24, 2011, and earned $ 2781164.18 by selling them.

The documents also reveal companies such as Hirco Plc, Trinity Capital Plc, Unitech Corporate Parks Plc in property investment; Eros International Plc and UTV Motion Pictures Plc in entertainment; and Eolvence India Holdings Plc and Origo Sino-India Plc in private equity have used the Isle of Man route to invest in India.

Documents show that "Eros International Plc was floated as Integrated media and entertainment group that owns and distributes Bollywood content globally in a variety of formats."

Eros Response

Amita Naidu, VP–PR, Eros International Media Ltd, responds: The promoter Kishore Lulla is a British Passport holder and an NRI for more than 35 years having moved out of India in the 1980s to set up international operations mainly in UK, USA, Middle East, Africa etc. for Bollywood films with Eros International group.

Most of the revenues and profits of Eros International at the time also originated outside of India, hence after taking due tax advice, advisors recommended setting up an Isle of Man company to hold the business at the time of the 2006 AIM listing.