Bangalore–Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Head of Biocon, has sent a notification to the exchanges related to the Offshore Trust of her husband, John Shaw. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw shared details on the social media platform in this regard on Tuesday.

“Sharing my stock exchange notification with facts about my husband John Shaw’s offshore trust. John and I are both law-abiding citizens and have always been in compliance with all applicable regulations, â€she said.

The notification was sent to the secretary, BSE limited and to the secretary, National Stock Exchange of India Limited on September 4th.

“I would like to explain the situation regarding some media reports on Pandora Papers which made reference to my husband John Shaw’s offshore trust. I would like to state that these stories grossly distorted the facts, â€she said.

“So I would like to present the facts. My husband, John Shaw, is a British national who, using his foreign currency earnings, set up an investment company, Glentec International in 1999 to acquire the shares of Unilever Plc. owned in Biocon (long before it became a publicly traded company) and for various other investments in real estate and public markets, â€she said.

Glentec is a Mauritius registered entity disclosed to both RBI and SEBI. When Biocon went public in 2004, Glentec’s stake in Biocon was disclosed and that information continues to be in the public domain, she argued.

“Glentec owns 19.76 percent of Biocon Ltd according to the latest stock exchange disclosures. Glentec is a bona fide offshore company (99 percent owned by John Shaw) whose revenues from India consist largely of tax paid dividends received from Biocon Ltd. John Shaw’s tax returns filed in India show his interest and his tenure as a director in Glentec.

“Glentec is audited in accordance with the laws and full disclosure of its dividend income from Indian companies is made,†she said.

“In 2015, the Deanstone Trust was established by Glentec to provide philanthropic endowments and estate planning purposes for John Shaw and my family members. This is a bona fide offshore trust managed by independent trustees who are foreign nationals and not residents of India.

“Glentec is the sole constituent of the Deanstone Trust. John Shaw and I are not trustees, settlers, or beneficiaries of this trust. The beneficiaries of this trust, who are family members, are foreign nationals and non-resident Indians. The philanthropic beneficiaries of the trust are mainly academic institutions and the contributions / endowments paid to them are all in the public domain, â€she explained.

“Kunal Kashyap is advisor to John Shaw and Glentec. In his capacity as advisor, he is neither in a position nor has the legal authority to control or influence the trust. He is neither a settlor, nor a trustee, nor a beneficiary, nor a protector of the trust. Her reported role as a protector of trust in media reporting is factually incorrect, â€she said.

“The overseas properties mentioned in the reports are primarily owned by Glentec as part of its real estate investments,†she argued.

“I want to assure you that no Indian resident holds the ‘key’ to this offshore trust as these stories claim. These are totally unfounded accusations. John Shaw and I are both law-abiding citizens and we have always complied with all applicable regulations, â€she said.

Responding to media reports in this regard, she said: “Media reports on Pandora Papers incorrectly implicate my husband’s offshore trust, which is a bona fide and legitimate trust and is managed by independent trustees. No Indian resident holds the “key” to the trust, as these stories claim. “

Seema Ahuja, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Communications and Corporate Branding of Biocon Group and Biocon Biologics, said, “By maintaining the highest level of transparency and disclosure, we share statements on the exchange on John Shaw’s offshore trust.

“I hope people will understand the facts and stop indulging in speculation and deceptive conversations,” she noted.

The media report alleged that Chief Biocon’s husband set up a trust with the keys of a person who was banned by SEBI for insider trading. (IANS)