Two-G (2G) Spectrum Scam Tapes and follow-up

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 15 Jan 2011 20:10

http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?270042

By and large, there are few takers for Sibal’s argument. Chandrasekhar has shot off a letter to the PM saying Sibal’s statement could become legal defence for anyone chargesheeted by the CBI in the matter. Rubbishing Sibal’s call, he says: “Almost every argument made by Sibal is in the affidavit presented by DoT. Despite that, the Supreme Court ordered an investigation into the matter.”

Sibal could also be on weak ground in attacking the CAG. According to the rules of parliamentary procedure, if a matter is under consideration of a parliamentary committee, no person—including an MP—should comment on it. So, Sibal’s outburst when the PAC is looking at the issue could amount to impropriety and even contempt of the House. “Either he hasn’t done his homework or he’s indulging in total falsehood for the sake of Raja and the UPA government,” says BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The CAG, in stating that any calculation of loss in hindsight would be presumptive, had clearly left a door open, something the clever lawyer in Sibal took advantage of. And despite all the flak, he could still find an escape route by saying that it was his own interpretation of the issue. In any case, Sibal knows he is a short-timer in the ministry, someone who, in cricketing parlance, is the night watchman in the telecom ministry’s hour of darkness.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 16 Jan 2011 10:35

Subramanian Swamy moves Supreme Court

"It is apprehended that intemperate and uncalled for public attack on the CAG methodology (by the telecom minister) before the national press may prejudice the CBI investigations and cause an obstruction to justice," Swamy said in his application to the apex court. "This court has directed monitoring of the CBI probe into the criminal culpabilities in the 2G spectrum scam and has specifically directed CBI to take the CAG Report as the basis for it."

He also objected to Sibal's statement intending that the ministry will unveil a new Telecom Policy within 100 days, besides Department of Telecom's step of imposing a penalty of Rs 73 crores on various telecom companies for not meeting the roll-out obligations stipulated in licences. Swamy also sought the court's direction to make Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) a party, saying that the sectoral regulator's version would also be needed in deciding the issue of cancellation of licences.

Tamang · Post by **Tamang** » 16 Jan 2011 12:14

Govt may move privilege motion against CAG

The war of words between the Congress-led UPA and the CAG reached a flashpoint on Saturday with some MPs of the ruling alliance indicating they were examining the possibility of moving a privilege motion against the country’s apex auditor. Though the Congress spokespersons and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) were engaged in a public spat since almost a week, initiated by the telecom minister Kapil Sibal, but a statement issued by the CAG on Wednesday citing a parliamentary rule to advise restraint to the MPs against speaking on its report on the 2G spectrum scam has angered some of the UPA MPs.

Highly placed sources in the UPA hinted that the CAG appeared to have committed an error by citing a non-existant rule from the manual of parliamentary procedure in its bid to caution the MPs against engaging in public criticism of its report.

sum · Post by **sum** » 16 Jan 2011 13:52

The war of words between the Congress-led UPA and the CAG reached a flashpoint on Saturday with some MPs of the ruling alliance indicating they were examining the possibility of moving a privilege motion against the country’s apex auditor. Though the Congress spokespersons and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) were engaged in a public spat since almost a week, initiated by the telecom minister Kapil Sibal, but a statement issued by the CAG on Wednesday citing a parliamentary rule to advise restraint to the MPs against speaking on its report on the 2G spectrum scam has angered some of the UPA MPs.

Errr, wont this erode even the little sympathy the Kangress has currently?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 17 Jan 2011 00:07

How can the governing party bring censure motion against the govt for CAG is part of govt!

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 17 Jan 2011 06:36

Given that the 2G family has subverted the Election Commission, the Presidency, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner etc, how is it that the CAG seems to have escaped unscathed?

Vril · Post by **Vril** » 17 Jan 2011 09:41

Journalists in 2G spectrum scam tapes will face PAC

some heat on journalists too. there is burqa, vir and navika kumar of times now who's conversations were leaked.

what action can PAC take on these journalists is any?

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_jo ... hi_1495269

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 17 Jan 2011 10:01

Looks like UPA cabinet is to be reshuffled soon. Most khabar type columnists are agog with rumors.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 17 Jan 2011 11:58

A reshuffle of thieves and quislings will bring about no change in the way that this UPA regime works! When the rot emantes right from the top,what chance does the body have? This regime has allowed the return of the robber barons of a new 21st century East India Co.Our financial,foreign and security policies are not being made in India at all.Dr.Singh has mortgaged the nation to outside interests and another freedom struggle from the corrupt mafia that rules is is required.But is the Opposition up to it? If it tries to shield its own corrupt-and the stench from Karnataka is as nauseating as that emanating from Delhi,then one can only pray for a miracle to save us from perdition.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 17 Jan 2011 12:16

the stench from Karnataka is as nauseating as that emanating from Delhi,

The above statement is faLSE.
Ananth Kumar-no angel.BSY is a local issue.

2g AND CWG are monumental scams.2G in a class of its own.To me atleast,it is the price for defeating LTTE.Whatever be the merits of Ceylon issue.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 17 Jan 2011 12:50

Look,stench is stench,the nausea is the same,the scale I agree however is different at the state and national level.In K'taka,the Opposition must be seen to be against corruption if their nationwide campaign against corruption is to succeed.Speak to Kannadigas and they are simply aghast at the manner in which their state has been hijacked.Speak to Tamilians and they are also in tears about how one family ,a state mafia,has stolen their reputation and integrity of yore.The chain of corruption at both levels has to be broken.I agree with an above post and quote that arrests have to be made of the accused ,quick investigations and fast-track courts to try the accused.But when the reins of power,special investigative authorities,police,and even some judges at the highest levels are in the hands of the corrupt,what can the ordinary citizen do? We truly neeed a revolution to free us from the chains which the corrupt have bound us with.Take Tunisia,here a national movement against a tyrant has resulted in throwing the corrupt out! The onus is squarely upon the Opposition here to take the lead and bring the corrupt to book with a nationwide campaign.But they must campaign with honour and integrity and not shield the corrupt within their own ranks.

Dhiman · Post by **Dhiman** » 17 Jan 2011 13:04

svenkat wrote: 2g AND CWG are monumental scams.2G in a class of its own.To me atleast,it is the price for defeating LTTE.Whatever be the merits of Ceylon issue.

If the neta's have their way, they would like us all to think that there was no scam at all and hence all this rationalizing by Kangress and its camchas in national media.

There is an easy way to beat this fairy tale and still catch the guilty: follow the "money trail", examine any "conflict of interest" type situations in decision making, and dig deep. That is the easiest and most straightforward way of catching the criminals and putting them behind bars.

Tailoring the debate in high-level terms such as "loss to national exchequer vs. gain to consumers" is a ploy that would let guilty go scot free.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 17 Jan 2011 13:35

Dhiman,
I will give the benefit of doubt to Congress on the 2G issue.if what Subramanian swamy says is true,that Sonia had a cut in it,then things are very bad indeed.For me,CWG scandal is much more serious.

People here have no idea how Mu Ka has lost stature in certain circles.He was universally hailed as 'thamizh ina thalaivar'-leader of the tamizh race.after 2009,he has lost that title.He is scorned with the dirtiest epithets in those very circles.He is seen as a traitor who traded in the blood of LTTE for the loaves of money and office.There was no way the LTTE could have been defeated if Kalaignar had made it an emotional issue.Kalaignar chose India over tamizh nationalism.He deserves appreciation for his statesmanship.

Karunanidhi,by his very nature,would have sought 'something' for his 'service' and Congress would have seen this 'payment' as 'double insurance' and small change for long term stability.ie defeating LTTE and also a pliant and vulnerable DMK.The Indian economy can absorb these costs.'Dana' is a legitimate principle in state-craft,howmuchever we might parrot words like 'morality' etc and a far better option than bheda and danda.

But the problem is to sell this justification to the larger public,because in essence 'differential' treatment is meted outed to one group.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 17 Jan 2011 16:19

SV,is your take on the 2G scam really a quid-pro-quo for Kalaignar for allowing the extermination of the LTTE? Do you remeber the paens of praise/poetry he wrote on the death of Thamilselvam? Despite the LTTE's atrocities,MK always looked upon "P & Co." as Tamil heroes. I am not so sure about your assessment,but you may be right about some "tactical" agreement between the Congress and DMK when Vaiko,etc.,was putting huge pressure upon the govt. over the survival of the LTTE during its last days. I think that the Telecom ministry and 2G was the reward for UPA support,while the LTTE issue was far more complex.2G was a conspiracy between Indian corporate entities,partners in crime with UPA bosses,with the "p*mps and wh*res" being the babus,media scribes and PR chicks,in the most brazen looting of the Indian state.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 17 Jan 2011 17:42

Philipji,
Gurus like you have multi-dimensional perspective and it is very much possible that you are closer to the truth regarding corruption and crony-capitalism.I am just focussing on the DMK angle-their brazenness,contempt and disdain for fundamental values and the 'helplessness' of the PM which is incredible and glaring.

kvraghav · Post by **kvraghav** » 17 Jan 2011 18:15

^^^
I can say we are not embaressed by yedyurappa because we see the options.As a kannadiga i can say you,whom i would vote comparing yedyurappa to sidramiah and kumaraswamy..

arjunm · Post by **arjunm** » 17 Jan 2011 22:52

Swiss banker gave the names of 2000 super rich people from US,UK and Asia those who hid their tax-evaded wealth and stashed in Swiss Bank a/c- I hope the 2Gs along with some filthy corrupt political and business leader's name are there.The UPA Govt. would never excited about it because of the obvious reasons, at least through WIKI we will be able to know who are they.

Swiss banker gives secret documents of super rich to WikiLeaks

A former Swiss banker today handed over documents of 2,000 high net worth people from US, Britain and Asia to WikiLeaks that he claims would expose attempts by these business leaders and lawmakers to evade tax payments.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/129 ... ments.html

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 17 Jan 2011 23:06

I read that 40 Indians names are included in the list. Someone pls post their names in corruption thread too.

I cant access wiki-leaks thread from work...

Devendra · Post by **Devendra** » 18 Jan 2011 00:51

Good debate on times now about the 50 Indian names given by German authorities who have secret bank accounts in Liechtenstein bank (The German government paid €4.2 million to an ex-LGT employee, for a DVD containing records of accounts). The German government has provided the names of 50 Indian present in that DVD to GOI, but GOI is reluctant to make those name public!!!!!!!
http://www.timesnow.tv/Debate-Indians-i ... 362934.cms

http://www.timesnow.tv/Debate-Indians-i ... 362935.cms

India (and all other countries) was given an open offer to take the name and account details of Indians, but Indian Government did not act. Then the German government provided these names under some taxation treaty.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/bus ... 51196.html

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 18 Jan 2011 01:09

And, MMS has an impeccable clean-image only

arjunm · Post by **arjunm** » 18 Jan 2011 09:14

RamaY wrote:And, MMS has an impeccable clean-image only

Ramayji, I think Timesnow Arnab Goswami was conducting the debate and he has admitted that they have already received the names of the people and Ram Jetmalani read back from a respectable Swiss paper and told that Swiss Govt. in that time mentioned Rajiv Gandhi's name and the deposit amount was 2.2 then. he said it may be close to 11 bil now inherited by his deaf & dumb son Rahul.If this only from one scam what about the money that was looted by her mother from different scams and stashed away to Sonia's mother, sister's name in different tax heaven. I hope WIKILEAKS Mr.Aussange, whom I now respect more than Gandhi, should show us mercy and put the whole list upfront and help us to deal with this Lady Mussolini and her gang of Gestapos bring to justice.

Many people forgot why Sashi Tharoor was brought in and gave a plumb cabinet post at the behest of Madam's order earlier because it was him who took out Sonia Maino's name from UN's KGB list of the beneficiaries.
This lady is too dangerous for the security of the country and this is the Golden opportunity to bring her down and get away with her once for all.

Dhiman · Post by **Dhiman** » 18 Jan 2011 09:30

arjunm wrote: This lady is too dangerous for the security of the country and this is the Golden opportunity to bring her down and get away with her once for all.

And the next thing that you will tell me is that India is a democracy. It's about time we came down to reality and stopped believing in such delusional mambo jumbo that the rich, corrupt, and powerful want us to believe. Clearly she is above the law. Nobody (barring a large scale revolt) can touch this lady in India irrespective of whatever evidence may be brought forward.

On one end we have the government protecting and facilitating the corrupt and on the other hand we have MLA's literally raping children and I am not even counting the general percentage of criminals in the parliament. The only thing democratic in India is the mass delusion that people in India suffer from.

arjunm · Post by **arjunm** » 18 Jan 2011 10:24

Dhiman wrote:
arjunm wrote: This lady is too dangerous for the security of the country and this is the Golden opportunity to bring her down and get away with her once for all.
And the next thing that you will tell me is that India is a democracy. It's about time we came down to reality and stopped believing in such delusional mambo jumbo that the rich, corrupt, and powerful want us to believe. Clearly she is above the law. Nobody (barring a large scale revolt) can touch this lady in India irrespective of whatever evidence may be brought forward.

On one end we have the government protecting and facilitating the corrupt and on the other hand we have MLA's literally raping children and I am not even counting the general percentage of criminals in the parliament. The only thing democratic in India is the mass delusion that people in India suffer from.

yes, I really agree with you about that but at least we will be able to fathom how deep she spreaded her roots to protect her from being uprooted.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 18 Jan 2011 11:14

Devendra wrote: Then the German government provided these names under some taxation treaty.

Was listening to Gurumurthy yesterday. He says that the open offer by the German Government was not accepted by GoI. It was GoI that requested the German Government to furnish the names under a provision of a tax treaty between the two countries as a clause in this treaty prevents GoI from revealing the names.

Also, on the USD 2.2 Billion bribe to Rajiv Gandhi, it was published in a report that appeared in a Swiss magazine immediately after his death and got submerged in the events.

Jayram · Post by **Jayram** » 18 Jan 2011 11:30

SSridhar wrote:
Devendra wrote: Then the German government provided these names under some taxation treaty.
Also, on the USD 2.2 Billion bribe to Rajiv Gandhi, it was published in a report that appeared in a Swiss magazine immediately after his death and got submerged in the events.

$2,2 Billion ? That sounds awfully high as a bribe.. Is that the total amount stashed or the total order amount of Bofors?But if really 2.2 Billion dollars a brible that can not be easily transferred in one step without attracting attention from some bankers we talking 80's here right.. even bigger then..

arjunm · Post by **arjunm** » 18 Jan 2011 11:31

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/govt- ... cant-share

Govt gives SC list of 26 with money in Liechtenstein, but says can’t share

The Central Board of Direct Taxes today submitted to the Supreme Court the list of Indians who have accounts in Liechtenstein’s LGT Bank but rejected its sharing in the public domain saying that would violate a sovereign agreement between India and Germany.(This is a big time lie unprecedented any where in the world)

“The list of 26 Indians (resident and non-resident) was handed to the court in a sealed cover with the stipulation that this information cannot be made public in view of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between both nations,” said an Income-Tax official.

The court has been told that public sharing would not only violate Clause 26 of the DTAA but also hamper negotiations with Switzerland and a dozen other countries on amending the existing DTAAs to provide for exchange of information related to bank accounts.(Protecting those two Italian mafias)

Under the clause, the information submitted is privileged and details of the informant, its recipient and that of accountholders cannot be revealed to any third person except share it with the court or investigating agencies.

nkumar · Post by **nkumar** » 18 Jan 2011 11:51

I don't know how to post the pic here.

Check out page 36 in the annexure of below link, it has pic of Rajiv Gandhi and on page 33, someone from the magazine confirms that the pic is indeed of RG. It shows RG had 2.5 million francs in a secret account.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6493724/Sonia-Gandhi-Reality

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 18 Jan 2011 12:26

Very interesting 'trivia' from the document.

Sonia worked in London in a company owned by Salman Taseer,according to Swamy.(Page5)

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 18 Jan 2011 15:56

Two reports in the aftermath of the 2G scams which indicates the seriousness with which the nation views the corruption riven govt. and the drift and inability of it in its economic policies and price control.
The constituents of the UPA have been so busy looting the national treasury,that they have had scarce time to take care of their ministerial responsibilities,especially the heavyweight PMO which has swept major ministerial responsibilities unto itself,especially economic,strategic and foreign,a PMO that is supposd to be even at loggerheads with 10 Janpath's "core" group of the Party. Any wonder the chaos in governance.

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article ... id=4811126

Noted personalities ask govt to tackle corruption urgently
New Delhi: A group of prominent personalities, including industrialists Azim Premji, Keshub Mahindra and Deepak Parekh, have expressed concern over a series of scams leading to 'governance deficit'.

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article ... id=4813021

By R Shankar, India Syndicate, 18/01/2011
As an economist, PM has failed to deliver

Who in the central government is responsible for monitoring and keeping prices of vegetables under control? In a strange twist to the saga of abnormal prices of onions and tomatoes – the two vegetables commonly used by the aam admi – Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has washed off his hands saying he was in no way responsible for the price-hot onions or tomatoes.

Inaugurating the Centre of Excellence for Vegetables under an Indo-Israel project in Karnal on Monday, Pawar was quoted in the media as saying that the agriculture department deals only with wheat, rice, sugar, pulses and oil production. "Vegetables and fruits are the Central government's separate project that we don't deal with," he said.

If what Pawar said was true, why was the Prime Minister's office writing missive after missive to Pawar whenever onion prices shot up; or tomatoes vanished from the mandis? Either Pawar is fibbing or the PMO is unaware of who exactly is dealing with the subject, or is the Centre passing the buck, nay onions and tomatoes.

In any case, it is the aam admi who has to suffer.

This was why the high-level meeting convened by the PM on January 12 to tackle raging inflation ended up clueless, postponing a decision on the short-term measures to contain price rise. The official reason: 'lack of consensus'. That is the seriousness with which the UPA government deals with the issue.

More shock was to come from the PMO. Reacting to the price rise, the PMO indirectly blamed the common man for the food inflation. Trying the put out an explanation, the PMO ended up saying that prosperity and people having more money to spend were the factors behind price rise! Try selling this reason to the common man.

This is not the first time that the UPA government was trying to wash its hands off a crisis. While the petroleum companies have been constantly hiking the price of petrol, look at what the Congress party has to say:

"The increase in petrol prices by Rs 5 per litre in the last one month does seem to be unfair". That was Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari. And then the party passed on the raging controversy on oil pricing to the lap of the petroleum companies asking them to "justify the latest hike of Rs 2.50 per litre" while the consumers continued to suffer.

The BJP has a point when it described spiralling prices as "failure of the economist prime minister. India is experiencing a turbulent price regime because of lack of cohesive policy on part of the UPA".

Pawar says he is not responsible for price increase of vegetables; the Congress says it is not to blame for petrol price; Rahul Gandhi blames coalition politics; the DMK puts the blame on natural calamities; the Finance Minister does not know how to rein in inflation and he has no convincing answer to the dip in industrial production; and when it comes to framing policies to check all this, the UPA finds itself bankrupt of ideas and folds up a core committee meeting abruptly.

Devendra · Post by **Devendra** » 18 Jan 2011 16:02

Got it by mail some time back
"On February 25, German finance ministry spokesman Thorsten Albig announced that the names and details of the other 800 account holders would be given to their respective countries, at no extra cost. All the countries had to do was ask for them. Finland, Norway and Sweden promptly asked. The USA, Australia, France, UK, Ireland, Italy, Canada, New Zealand and Spain subsequently put in requests. The Americans are now
investigating 100 potential tax evaders on that list. Independently, the British stumbled onto information on 400 Italians with accounts at a Liechtenstein bank, and leaked it to the media.

India, however, which has long tried to uncover details of bank accounts in Switzerland and St Kitts, has not made a request. It should be made by the finance ministry through the ministry of external affairs, for it is something that concerns the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the Directorate of Enforcement and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Though the government is aware of the developments in Germany, till date, no request has gone, informed sources told this website's newspaper. Incidentally, Liechtenstein's Prince Hans-Adams II, the owner of the LTG group, has visited India, to a warm welcome by our political class."
some more details are given here
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/busin ... 77416.html

SSridhar wrote: Was listening to Gurumurthy yesterday. He says that the open offer by the German Government was not accepted by GoI. It was GoI that requested the German Government to furnish the names under a provision of a tax treaty between the two countries as a clause in this treaty prevents GoI from revealing the names.

Sir when the open offer was available (with no strings attached) then why did GOI preferd to take those names under the DTAA treaty (and Ram Jethmalani says in the debate that even this was initiated by private effort of some honest income tax officer). The preference of GOI to get these names under the DTAA treaty indicates that possibly GOI does not want to bring these names in public domain. The desperate attempt to hide these names from people of India suggests that possibly there are some big congress names in the list.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 18 Jan 2011 17:47

Devendra wrote: The desperate attempt to hide these names from people of India suggests that possibly there are some big congress names in the list.

When A. Raja was able to repudiate the Prime Minister's directions and pretty much went ahead with whatever way he wanted it to go, and when the same Prime Minister later keeps himself aloof from spectrum allocation, a process that violated all norms and rules and was designed to clearly favour a few, when hundreds of thousands of crores of rupees are involved, when the PM tries to brush aside queries from journalists by claiming that 'Minister Raja himself has said that everything was all right', kept quite for two years after the incident, refused to take action on Swamy's request for approval to prosecute Raja etc point to only one person who is above the PM who could have directed him to do all these things. What was the motive of that person to do that ?

Venkarl · Post by **Venkarl** » 18 Jan 2011 18:36

nkumar wrote:I don't know how to post the pic here.

Check out page 36 in the annexure of below link, it has pic of Rajiv Gandhi and on page 33, someone from the magazine confirms that the pic is indeed of RG. It shows RG had 2.5 million francs in a secret account.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6493724/Sonia-Gandhi-Reality

Not Page 36..it is on Page 53. Here is the pic

And thank you for the link.....I'd suggest all to share this document with your colleagues, relatives, friends etc.

This page I think is worthy of sharing too

Venkarl · Post by **Venkarl** » 18 Jan 2011 18:42

But how to download this document...when I click download..it gives some facebook crap

Added Later: Never mind, I ate up all that facebook crap...Here is the download link of the file for you to share it.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 18 Jan 2011 22:29

Feel good article about how citizens are doing their but to uncover corruption at low level

Citizens use technology to fight corruption

Devendra · Post by **Devendra** » 19 Jan 2011 02:23

The name of the Indians having account in Swiss Bank are out. All the names are dummy. But the investigation agencies following that money trail can find out who are the actual operators of these accounts. Does India has the will to do this? Or more precisely can we expect any such effort from the present government?

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video ... count.html

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video ... count.html

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video ... count.html

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video ... count.html

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video ... count.html

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video ... count.html

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Video ... count.html

Dhiman · Post by **Dhiman** » 19 Jan 2011 10:49

First there is a corrupt central government (and has been for decades), then there are state governments which are even more corrupt.

On top of this there is this infamous IAS service, corrupt down to the core. Then the police service (IPS) which is basically a mechanism to provide protection and status to ruling class rather than doing any real police service for the common masses. Not to mention the Income Tax department - sure shot path to corruption riches, the MES in military, the custom services, and so on and on and on with literally no end in sight.

And before I forget, the rapist and murderers who get elected to the legislative assemblies of various states and also the parliament.

Where to start and where to end...? How many do you know (relatives, friends, relatives of friends, etc) and which of these should be going to jail?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 19 Jan 2011 10:51

Politicsparty has some behind the scenes insight into Cabinet changes.

suryag · Post by **suryag** » 19 Jan 2011 12:10

Hope some whistle blower/leaks comes out with the names we got from germany

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 19 Jan 2011 14:50

'Indian' link to Swiss money trail revealed?
Dhirendra Pundir & Ashish Mehrishi (Headlines Today Bureau)

Part 1 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w10-uxOpIp0

Part 2 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdnuq1mXyR8

Part 3 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43gnrNcGjjM

Swiss banks are known for their secrecy. Tales of bankers refusing to release information about clients are legendary, even when threatened with dire consequences.

However, Headlines Today has been able to access the revelations from whistleblower Rudolf Elmer, who is believed to have unmasked a number of tax dodgers and high net worth individuals, who have stashed away black money in Swiss accounts.

Over the last several months, Headlines Today has been in constant touch with former Julius Baer employee, Rudolf Elmer. The data has been shared by Rudolf Elmer himself with Headlines Today.

Headlines Today contacted Elmer over email and phone and he has shared with it many names that hold secret bank accounts in Julius Baer Bank & Trust Company Ltd, Cayman Islands.

Elmer has shared account details and the modus operandi, revealing how these accounts are opened and money is laundered across continents without the knowledge of the government. Headlines Today's investigative team scanned through each and every folder of this compact disk to dig out the Indian connection to the Swiss money trail.

Reporter: Since you have been associated with Julius Baer bank in Cayman Islands, can you share some data with us?

Elmer: I have to go through the data. I just came across some information about India. That's basically about Swiss Partner that's a company, which basically provided the insurance company for rich internationals. India and Ukraine are mentioned there. Mexico is also mentioned.

Elmer: I think the owner of the former Julius Baer group is very much in the business of India. They actually hired Indian investment managers sitting in India and getting money out of India.

Annapurna

As Headlines Today's investigation team scanned documents after document looking for an Indian connection in this maze of Swiss bank accounts, the one name that kept cropping up again and again was that of Annapurna.

In the data shared by Ex-Swiss banker Rudolf Elmer, there are at least three companies that go by the name of Annapurna.

These accounts have been opened in the New York branch of the Swiss Bank Julius Baer.

These accounts are Annapurna Convertible Ltd, account number 420331
Annapurna Leverage Ltd, account number 427039
Annapurna Convertible USD, account number 431916.
Money running into crores of rupees has been stashed away in these accounts.

57 million dollars or Rs 259 crore have been stashed away in Annapurna Convertible ltd.

18.6 million dollars or Rs 84 crore are lying in Annapurna Leverage Limited.

And 10.3 million dollars or Rs 45 crore are hidden away in the account of Annapurna Convertible.

Interestingly, the documents list the same company and same person as managing all the Annapurna accounts.

Annapurna Convertible, Annapurna Leverage and Annapurna Convertible USD are all managed by Pius Fisch of Fisch Asset Management.

Now that Annapurna's account numbers are known and the amount of money stashed away in these accounts has also been revealed by Rudolf Elmer, the country's investigating agencies can easily join the dots and trace the money back to benami businessmen or politicians who may have pushed the money out of India. But that is an act that will require strong political will.

Asad Ali Khan

The other name to come out was that of Asad Ali Khan and his wife Zahida, who was a co-account holder.

Reporter: How did you trace Asad Ali Khan's name in it?

Elmer: He is also mentioned on the excel sheet. He is listed as a client.

Headlines Today scoured through the records sent to us by Rudolf Elmer and found out how Asad Ali Khan had siphoned off a huge amount of money to the Julius Baer Bank in Cayman Islands.

A company in the name of Unicorp Services was incorporated in Cayman Islands.

Its registered address is Post Box 1100, Kirk House, Grand Cayman Island, BWI.

According to Elmer's documents, the registration number of the company is 00233755.

In the year 1999, Asad Ali Khan and Zahida were present for the dissolution of this company as directors of Unicorp Services in Cayman Islands.

Elmer's data also shows that the account was being managed by J.M.I. Gillani.

The official address is: Banque Julius Baer, 2 Boulevard du Theatre, Case Postale, CH 1211, Geneva 11, Switzerland.

Headlines Today does not know who this Asad Ali Khan is. It has not been able to establish his whereabouts. But it was able to ferret out more names in the compact disc provided by Rudolf Elmer.

Julius Baer clarification

Julius Bare clarified to Headlines Today, "On yesterday's press conference we do not comment as nothing specific has been disclosed. Elmer was dismissed in 2002 and any data he has stolen must date back to that year or even further. He has published data several times since then, and many of the documents he used were fake or falsified."

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 19 Jan 2011 17:18

..deleted