'It's not my money,' says billionaire Niranjan Hiranandani about the offshore account in British Virgin Islands

• The Pandora papers alleged that Niranjan Hiranandani and some of his family members were beneficiaries of a Trust with assets worth over $60 million.
• Real estate titan Hiranandani said that the money in the trust belongs to his son Darshan Hirandani, who is based out of Dubai.
• Darshan set up at least 25 companies as a director and The Solitaire Trust as the settlor in the British Virgin Island between 2006 and 2008, according to the leak.

Pandora Papers have taken the internet by storm for revealing the “secret wealth” and the dealings of several prominent figures have come to light. Indian billionaire and real estate titan Niranjan Hiranandani is only one among thosewhose riches have surfaced in these documents.

According to an Indian Express report, Niranjan Hiranandani and some of his family members were beneficiaries of a Trust with assets worth over $60 million.

The founder and chief executive of the Hiranandani Group, a real estate and construction giant, has claimed that the money stored in the offshore account in the British Virgin Islands belongs to his son Darshan Hiranandani who stays in Dubai, in an interview with CNBC.

“Unfortunately, the money does not belong to me. I wish it did. Actually, it belongs to my son who is in Dubai and has been operational by himself for the last 18 years or so. So, I have no connection with the kind of money which is in the trust lying with him. So, I have nothing, whatsoever, to do with those monies and the trust he had created over a period of time. It belongs entirely to him,” Niranjan said.

Darshan was announced as the successor of the multi-billion dollar real estate business Hiranandani Group back in 2019. He is listed as the vice chairperson of the Hiranandani Group and looks to scale the real estate business internationally.

“It’s unfair for people to think that my son’s money, which he has earned, is mine when it’s not,” he added.

The Pandora Papers shows that Darshan set up at least 25 companies as a director and The Solitaire Trust as the settlor in the British Virgin Island between 2006 and 2008. Niranjan was the “reserve director” in the firm.

According to IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2021, Niranjan Hiranandani is the 38th richest man in India with a net worth of ₹32,100 crore ($4.3 billion).

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