Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan summoned in Panama Papers investigation

Bollywood star and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been summoned by India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning today (December 20) as part of its investigation into the Panama Papers leak.

The 48-year-old actor and wife of Abhishek Bachchan was asked to depose before the agency in Delhi. According to the Hindustan Times, the ED also issued a notice to other members of the Bachchan family for their foreign remittances since 2004. The case is considered to be a pan-Indian affair as per Gulf News because it involves several agencies.

Rai had been summoned earlier as well but was given more time. The Devdas actor has yet to acknowledge the latest development in the case and it's still unclear if she will testify this time.

An official of the ED confirmed to IANS that Rai was summoned today to join the investigation. "We summoned her for December 20. As of now we haven't got any reply from her side. The summon was sent to her Mumbai residence," he said.

By not attending the actor could land in further legal trouble as authorities are prepared to discuss legal options to decide the course of action.

Five years ago many Indian celebrities made headlines for their offshore wealth and were summoned for investigations. The ED had lodged a complaint after the Panama Papers revealed information about the money being set abroad in order to avoid taxes.

According to India Today, Rai is among 500 Indians who were named in the documents of Mossack Fonseca, a law firm in Panama.

Indian citizens are not allowed to set up offshore companies under laws dictated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to The Indian Express. Both Rai and her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan as well as fellow actor Ajay Devgn were summoned in 2016 under Section 37 of India's Foreign Exchange Management Act.