Bharat Rakshak

IRREGULARITY MATERIAL NOT PART OF CVC’S SELECTION PANEL

Taint record not placed before selectors: Govt
I Was Told No Pending Case Against PJ Thomas: Leader Of Opposition

THE government, which appears to be slipping deeper into quicksand on the appointment of ‘tainted’ PJ Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner, on Thursday admitted that information about the pending chargesheet was not part of the docket placed before the selection panel.

Attorney-General GE Vahanvati told the Supreme Court that the request for sanction of Thomas’ prosecution in the palmolein case and the subsequent correspondence were not circulated during the panel’s meeting. This reply came in response to a specific query from the apex court as to whether the files pertaining to the palmolein case were provided for the committee’s perusal. The selection panel comprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj.

This admission that relevant material was kept out is certain to strengthen the petitioner’s case for quashing Thomas’ appointment. The court wanted to know whether this vitiated the appointment process. “We want to know whether pending chargesheet is relevant material and whether non-placing of it before the high-powered committee vitiates the selection process,” asked a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice SH Kapadia and Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar. “If the court thinks that non-placing of the chargesheet went to the core of the appointment procedure, then the government will have to reconsider the entire process,” said Vahanvati.

On his part, the Attorney General also said that it was not possible for him to tell whether the committee discussed the pending chargesheet against PJ Thomas.

But Swaraj, who contested this statement of the Attorney-General during an interaction with the media, said it was the first issue she raised at the selection committee meeting. “But I was told that there was no case pending against Thomas,” she said and added that this would be brought to the notice of the SC through an affidavit.

The court, which has adjourned the case to February 3 has asked the government to explain how the selection process was undertaken by the government. “How any officers were taken into consideration? What is the basis and process of shortlisting? Why didn’t the government record in writing reasons for the rejection of the dissent expressed by the Leader of the Opposition,” the court asked and directed the government to file answers to these queries before next hearing.

The Bench also noted that Thomas did not have much experience in investigation, vigilance and banking — key areas dealt by a CVC in his capacity as the supervising authority for CBI. “The bio-date of Thomas is also silent on the pending chargesheet,” the bench noted.

ET 28th Jan 2011

BJP Leader To File Affidavit In SC

THE Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday accused the government of lying before the Supreme Court that the high-powered committee was not aware of the charges against PJ Thomas when it selected him as Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, who was a member of the three-member panel, said she will approach the apex court on the issue.

Reacting to the developments in the Supreme Court, Swaraj said she had told the selection panel about the case against Thomas. “I personally brought this fact to the notice of the prime minister and home minister in the meeting itself even though they persisted with this appointment,” the BJP leader told reporters.

The BJP leader, who had given a dissent note against the appointment of Thomas as CVC, said she has decided to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court. “The government is speaking one untruth after another. So I have decided to file a detailed affidavit on the issue,” Swaraj said.

The BJP, which had boycotted Thomas’ swearing-in ceremony, brought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh into line of fire, saying he was directly responsible for Thomas’ appointment as CVC. The party said the prime minister should spell out whether he was not aware of the criminal case pending against Thomas.

“We want the prime minister (Manmohan Singh) to tell the nation what he knew and how much. Don’t you know how your government works? You preside over an empire of scandals and corruption and you say you don’t know,” BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference.

He said the government had never stated that it was unaware of the pendency of prosecution against Thomas. The Supreme Court’s questioning of the government over Thomas’ appointment as CVC has reinforced the BJP’s stand on the issue. Despite Swaraj opposing Thomas’ name, the committee gave its approval to his name. “After due consideration, the majority of the Committee recommended the name of PJ Thomas for appointment as CVC, with Sushma Swaraj recording the disagreement,” the panel’s official note had said.

ET 28th Jan '11

Find black money sources: SC to govt
Court Seeks Report On Steps Taken Against Foreign Account Holders

THE Supreme Court has asked the Centre to track the sources of black money stashed away in foreign banks and not to treat the issue just as a tax-evasion problem. The court directed the government to let it know within a week what action has been taken against 26 Indians who parked unaccounted money in Germany’s Liechtenstein Bank, and posted the case for further hearing on February 3.

"Looking at the issue from the taxation point of view is just one aspect but there are other serious matters associated with the black money which we are concerned about,” a bench comprising Justice B Sudershan Reddy and Justice SS Nijjar said on Thursday. “What are the sources of the money? Where has the money come from? It might be because of arms deals, smuggling, narcotics, drug trafficking or something else. These are more serious issues, when you know the name, what action have you taken," the bench asked.

The government had furnished in a sealed cover information on black money deposited by 26 Indians in Liechtenstein Bank supplied by the German government. It, however, had said that such names could not be made public as it impinged upon the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAT) with Germany.

The court, however, said, “some names have been given to you in respect of a bank. What steps have you taken? Have you set the law in motion. They are Indian people and are amenable to Indian law". “This is a serious matter which we are concerned about. You know the names, (you know) where the money is lying, still you are talking about double taxation issue." "We want to know what steps you have taken against the people who have accumulated so much money in foreign banks. What are the sources of the money." The court was hearing a PIL filed by former law minister Ram Jethmalani and others seeking direction to the government to retrieve the huge amount of black money stashed in the foreign banks.

Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam informed the court that the government was taking action under international agreements and action against erring persons. Various agencies were working on the case and investigation is going on.

The bench also issued notices to the Centre, RBI, Enforcement Directorate and the Central Vigilance Commission on a PIL filed by Julio Ribeiro, former police commissioner of Mumbai, seeking direction to the government to ratify a UN convention on corruption to facilitate retrieving of black money from foreign banks.

ET 28th Jan "11

Hasan Ali may face several cases
Rohini Singh NEW DELHI

HASAN Ali Khan, the absconding Punebased businessman, could be charged under various national security laws, a top official involved in investigations told ET on the condition of anonymity. Solicitor-General Gopal Subramanian, in a confidential letter to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, has emphasised that the matter of Hasan Ali be examined from the point of view of national security. Subramaniam gave this opinion with regard to a writ petition filed in court in 2009. Investigators had seized notarised affidavit signed by Hasan Ali which contain references to financial transactions related to overseas accounts.

The veracity of the notarised affidavit was confirmed by the Indian embassy in the UK. Investigators are also trying to ascertain the real beneficiary behind Hasan Ali's spectacular wealth. Investigators say funds might have been amassed from defence deals and Hasan Ali could be a front for a politician. The main reason for suspicion is Hasan Ali amassed . 36,000 crore in overseas bank accounts in less than 15 years with no known sources of income. Moreover, Hasan Ali has had financial dealings with international arms supplier Adnan Khashoggi.

An Enforcement Directorate investigation has revealed that Hasan Ali had rather modest beginnings. He started a car rental service and a travel agency in 1993 which he wound up in 1994. Subsequently, he started working with his brother-inlaw, Hyder Ali Khan, and got embroiled in some petty bank cheating cases and other criminal cases in Hyderabad. Investigators also discovered that a stud farm in Gongupalli in Andhra Pradesh, which he allegedly owns was purchased by one Saujad Nawab. The purchase of land for this stud farm was illegal since the state government had assigned land to landless people, the person said.

The government had sent letters of rogatory, which are formal requests, to the US, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK and the UAE. A response received from the US has confirmed that Hasan Ali had transferred $700,000 from Sarasin Bank, Basel, Switzerland, to SK Financial maintained with Barclays Bank in London. Officials of Sarasin Alpen India who were interrogated by ED officials in Bombay have revealed that Sarasin Alpen is a subsidiary of Bank Sarasin of Switzerland which holds 60% shares in the company but did not divulge information on the transaction carried out through the Swiss bank by Hasan Ali.

Pranab Mukherjee had said on Tuesday that there were several cases against Ali, including a double passport case, apart from avoidance of taxes. Mukherjee had also said ED had received information on three Swiss bank accounts allegedly held by him, where no amounts were left. “One account where $60,000 were deposited, and next day the amount was withdrawn. There was no trace of that,” he said.

ET 28th Jan '11

(is it possible to change the thread title since after 2G many more scams and related developments are also discussed here. Suggestion - 2G, Other Scams and Black Money and Follow Up)

Today's ET has 6-7 articles on scams, black money and corruption including an editorial (the editorial does not sound like Paltu Popat type)

Remove the shield of the corrupt

The government needs to do more than just pay lip service to anti-corruption measures — a lame Lokpal Bill is the latest example. With public opinion building up, redrafting the Bill to strengthen anti-graft public offices looks the only way forward
Arvind Kejriwal

WHY IS IT THAT NO ONE GOES TO JAIL despite overwhelming evidence against corruption in public domain? Because we have such anti-corruption laws and agencies that are effective on paper alone.

At the Centre, we have the central vigilance commission, which, though independent, is an advisory body. Predictably, advice against a senior officer is rarely accepted. According to a former central vigilance commissioner, during his tenure, whenever he felt that an officer ought to go to jail or needed to be dismissed, all he got was a warning. The CBI, though independent, is completely under the control of the government. Before starting an investigation or before prosecuting an officer or politician, it has to take permission from the government, which often runs on the support of those who have to be investigated or prosecuted. The anti-corruption machinery at the state level is similarly compromised. It is either in the control of the state government or merely advisory in nature.

Likewise, our anti-corruption laws are highly inadequate. You will be shocked to know that even when someone is convicted of corruption, there is no provision to recover the loss he caused to the government or to confiscate his illgotten wealth. He can actually come out of jail and enjoy the bribe money! Therefore, we need complete overhaul of our anticorruption setup if we are serious about tackling corruption.

Many people ask me, “Can India turn around?” Indians are by and large honest, intelligent and hard-working. They are victims of a rotten system.

Corruption in the 1970s in Hong Kong was much worse than what we have in India today. Collusion between police and mafia increased and crime rate went up. Lakhs of people came on the streets. As a result, the government was forced to set up an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), which was given complete powers. In the first instance, ICAC sacked 119 of the 180 police officers. This sent a strong message to the bureaucracy that corruption would not be tolerated. Today, Hong Kong has one of the most honest governance machinery.

India can also turn around if we have a similar anti-corruption body.

One thought that so much public anger was a great political opportunity for a sincere government to push for radical reforms of anti-corruption systems. However, public criticism seems to have made little difference to the Manmohan Singh government. For the Lokpal Bill drafted by the government, which is being touted as an antidote to corruption, is an insult to the whole nation.

It proposes to set up an institution of Lokpal to enquire into complaints of corruption against politicians. But Lokpal will neither have powers to suo moto initiate enquiry into a case directly, nor can it accept a complaint from the public. One could make a complaint to the Speaker (or chairperson). Only the complaints forwarded by the Speaker could be enquired into by the Lokpal. Speaker, being from the ruling party, will naturally forward only those complaints that are against Opposition party MPs.

After conducting an enquiry, Lokpal will not have the power to take action. It will forward its report to the Speaker and the Prime Minister. If the complaint is against a Cabinet minister, the Prime Minister will decide whether to take action against the minister on the basis of Lokpal’s report. In the coalition era, would the PM have political courage to act against his ministers? For instance, if such a Lokpal had recommended A Raja’s prosecution, would Manmohan Singh have had the courage to prosecute Raja? In the case of PM and MPs, the Bill says that the decision to prosecute will be taken by the House. So, if Lokpal made a report against the PM or an MP of the ruling party, will the House ever give such a permission?

On the face of it, the government’s Bill sounds absurd. It is meant to completely insulate the political class from any kind of action.

In contrast, civil society has drafted an alternate Lokpal Bill. The first draft was prepared by Prashant Bhushan, Justice Santosh Hegde and myself.

The Bill was subsequently discussed widely at several public platforms and improved on the basis of public feedback. It has been vetted and is being supported by Kiran Bedi, Fali S Nariman, Shanti Bhushan, Anna Hazare, National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) and many others.

It suggests a Lokpal completely independent of the central government. The part of CBI that deals with corruption should be merged with the Lokpal. The CVC and the vigilance setup in the central government should be merged with the Lokpal. The Lokpal shall have jurisdiction over bureaucrats, politicians and judges. The Lokpal shall have powers to initiate investigations and prosecution without needing permission from any agency.

If charges are proved and conviction takes place, loss to the exchequer caused by his wrongdoing shall be recovered from all those convicted. Public grievances are often linked to demands and expectations of bribery. The Lokpal shall act as appellate authority and supervisory body for grievance redressal systems in all central government departments.

The Lokpal shall be responsible for providing protection against physical and professional victimisation of whistleblowers. Members and chairperson in the Lokpal shall be selected through a transparent and participatory process. The functioning of the Lokpal shall be completely transparent to avoid it from becoming a hub of corruption. A complaint of wrongdoing against an official of the Lokpal shall be investigated and acted upon within a month through a transparent enquiry process. Similar independent bodies called the Lokayuktas have been suggested for states. The existing Lokayuktas in some states are advisory and ineffective.

Although a copy of this Bill was sent to the government about two months ago, there has been no response so far. The government does not seem to be in a mood to take genuine steps. The Opposition would be well advised to stall Parliament for the enactment of civil society-drafted Lokpal Bill than for JPC.

The Hong Kong government enacted ICAC Bill because lakhs of citizens took to the street. In India too, people will have to take to the street.

To demand an effective and strong Lokpal, thousands of people in Delhi will march from Ramlila Grounds to Jantar Mantar on January 30. Such marches are taking place in more than 20 cities in India and in some cities in the US. India must come on streets on January 30 to shout ‘Enough is enough’.
(The author is co-founder of Parivartan)

Lokpal Bill unacceptable ET Editorial

Why Have A Toothless Watchdog?

THE long-awaited Lokpal Bill is finally in the works. But unfortunately the Bill as it stands today is riddled with loopholes (see Arvind Kejriwal in ET, Jan 27), defeating the very purpose for which it has been drafted: to tackle the scourge of corruption. The Lokpal cannot, under the proposed Bill, investigate any case against the Prime Minister in the arena of external affairs and defence. This means corruption in defence deals, a la Bofors for instance, will be completely outside its jurisdiction. It will have jurisdiction only over members of Parliament and ministers, besides truncated jurisdiction over the Prime Minister. Bureaucrats will continue to be dealt with under the existing mechanism. The Lokpal will not have powers to inquire into complaints, suo motu. Complaints against MPs can only be made to the Speaker, who will then decide whether to forward them to the Lokpal for investigation. Since the Speaker is invariably from the ruling party, it requires no great intelligence to realise where such an arrangement will lead: in the Indian scenario, a surfeit of investigations against Opposition MPs and none against members of the party in power. That is not all. After completing its inquiry, the Lokpal will have no power to take action. The best it can do is forward the report to the Speaker and the Prime Minister for such action as the latter may deem fit.

The composition of the Lokpal — three retired judges — is equally unsatisfactory. By limiting the choice to retired judges, the Bill creates a vested interest within the judiciary to give decisions in favour of the government. A strong and independent judiciary is, perhaps, the only safeguard against excesses of the executive. But with selection of Lokpal judges in the hands of a body that is heavily weighted in favour of the ruling party, as with the selection of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner at present, it is almost a given that we will destroy what little remains of an independent judiciary. In addition, we will get a Lokpal, sans teeth. Given what is at stake, the government must refrain from pressing ahead with the Bill in its present form. Numerous alternatives have been suggested. This, indeed, is an occasion, if ever there was one, for Dr Manmohan Singh to show his mettle.

I think it is important for every one to carefully watch the following two debates on the issue of CVC and Blood money in Swiss banks.

One show did not even have a congress member present, the party having declined to talk about it.

In the other Mani Shankar Aiyer is openly called not being in Indian national interest by Vishwa Bandhu Gupta, Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Delhi. Vishwa Bandhu Gupta lays bare ALL the claims of the current govt and calls them a lie repeatedly showing with relevant sections of Indian law what the honest course of action should be.

I post the links to first parts. The other parts are also there.

http://www.timesnow.tv/Debate-CVC-affai ... 363814.cms

http://www.timesnow.tv/Debate-SC-openly ... 363817.cms

The CVC Thomas refuse to quit saying to do so now will leave his name tainted!

Hasan Ali could just be benumb for 2Gs sonia and Rahul. The problem is how do you prove? He could just be getting few lambs every year to hold this money. It is so depressing. The national mafia press and Italaian MAFIA are working so closely with each other. Every one knows empress has no clothes but no one dare to touch her.

ramana wrote:The CVC Thomas refuse to quit saying to do so now will leave his name tainted!

This is the joke of the century. Lies and more lies are going on.
Sequence so far:
(1) The government proposes CVC's name as next CVC to Parl committe consisting of Shusma Swaraj (leader of opposition in LS)
(2) Sushma Swaraj goes on record opposing him. She signed the file and went on record.
(3) CVC did not resign
(4) SC questions
(5) Atorney General says it is prerogative of the Government and court should shut up and the CVC is higher integrity
(6) SC asks again about the procedure this time
(7) Now they say that they do not know, PM does not know yada yada
(8) NDTV puts an investigative report to put proof that it is true that PM really does not know that CVC is tainted and Sushma actually put the things on record.

Life goes on with lies....

ramana wrote:The CVC Thomas refuse to quit saying to do so now will leave his name tainted!

This may turn out to be good in the long run for the opposition, and a mill stone around the GoI's neck. The supreme court is bound to make harsh observations, and in the worst case, may strike down his appointment. In the best case, it will make uncharitable observations against the whole process, keeping the corruption focus on congress for much longer.

If Thomas had resigned now, the court would have wound down the case, with probably laying down guidelines for future appointments. The congress could claim, as it did in case of Raja and Kalmadi, that they took corrective steps

In a way, keeping the CVC/2G scam in limelight longer will keep the heat on the govt.

I have an innocent pooch, for time being lets ignore the 'foreign' money part i.e. what about the loads of money these guys have stashed in our country itself ? It may in form of land/property in relatives name or merely 1000 rupee note bundles buried under the basement, the kind of figures one comes across for asset declaration published before a general election is a dead give away of the fact that nothing is right in our country.

Have a look at the assets declared by the Pup himself.

http://www.timescontent.com/tss/showcas ... Asset.html

22 lakh in 2004 and 2.25 crore in 2009 .

For those who think Swiss money trail is gonna be followed and we will manage to get something back; I have only one request kindly pass me whatever it is you guys are smoking.

Sanku Maharaj whether we like it or not what MSA is saying is 400% halaal i.e. there is no way we can get all that money from the Swiss gobermund, didn't you hear about repeated reference to 'actionable' information see words 'action' and 'Congess' cannot coexist in a same sentence heck these are the guys who claim to have got us independence by sheer weight of 'actions' like attending round table conferences and singing 'bhajans'.

negi wrote: Sanku Maharaj whether we like it or not what MSA is saying is 400% halaal i.e. there is no way we can get all that money from the Swiss gobermund.

Negi-ji; Arnab has become nasty, he does he investigation, calls people to make a statement and after they have made it, lets it rip.

Kindly check out his feature today on Swiss Banks consortium views. Of course the bugger had filmed it all before, but was allowing MSA to do his uber-poodle act.

I am afraid MSA is just lying. The income tax commissioner helpfully pointed out how; and now Arnab is chipping in today episode.

In any event; the issue is not merely bringing back the money the issue is also the criminal acts that have resulted in the money.

And not GoI can not make the argument "cant do it"; they have to, and other nations have demonstrated that at least something could be done.

^ That's why I mentioned in nukkad watch DD News instead, didn't you listen to Pranab da's Q&A session with media couple of days back ? The other countries (specifically USA) who has managed to get some of that money back was due to an out of court settlement reached between the Unkil and the UBS as the former actually caught an employee of UBS selling some fraudulent scheme in Massa, and this is true only for UBS.

The only point I was trying to raise with my previous post was if the politcos in this country can openly lie about their assets before a general election and no one even bothers to question it then how do you expect the same leaders in the government to act against their own interests and pursue the Swiss banks for all that money , all this when GoI can easily raise smoke screens about dual taxation avoidance and other imaginary bilateral treaties. With GoI at least you have RTI but what would you do with the Swiss (we don't even have a 15k range n tipped ICBM ) ?

Sir, you really believe Pranab on DD News? The income tax head honcho laid out exactly what US did, and what stopped India from doing it?

I are different points here; even if India cant get back the money, it can at least put a lid on the leak?

My previous company (now extinct) was partner of Huawei in BSNL multi-million GSM lines tender. As per a senior person who was involved in the bidding process (back-door entry) with Huawei, Raja got Rs 1700 Cr as bribe for that.
According to that person, Huawei expressed their inability to arrange that amount in Indian currency to Raja. Rajaji agreed for the total amount in India currency notes to be printed in state press of China and delivered to him. The quality of currency notes was equivalent to what is printed in India.

"Edited the post to make it clear on quality of notes. Sorry guys for realizing it late that it may confuse others."

I hope I am posting in the right thread. If not, some guidance will help.

So what you are saying is Raja also abetted counterfeit currency? And if you comapny is now dissolved amd sure folks would like to know the names involved.

This also puts a new twist on the fake currency racket which so far had TSP involvement.

That means India is a real banana republic. Scary stuff and I hope that printing currency is not true

Baba ji has indirectly implicated the RBI itself.

Yes. As serial numbers will be duplicated otherwise. Maybe folks should check the serial numbers when the raid the Radia related entities.

Also maybe Raja gave those Chinese notes to MK as his cut?

I do not have any names to disclose. Raja also awarded the second tender to Huawei on more or less the same conditions.

I too couldn't believe when I heard this for the first time but you know our politicians. AFAIK, lots of people know about this fake currency but prefer to keep silent. Chinese companies have long arms and deep inroads in India. They can get any information about me sitting in China.

I am a reader on BRF since 2001. I generally refrain from posting but I feel sorry and disheartened at the current state of affairs of my country and that's why I have 3 posts in my name.

I just shared the information I had without thinking of what implications it will have. The booty was shared at all levels and hence silence. All I can do is pray and hope that the modus operandi for 2G scam loot is not same.
Corruption has marred this country as no other and my heart bleeds.

You keep this up you will end up with more post count. Either spill it all or hold it. No point in dribbling. Till now Raja's role in the 2-G scam was about spectrum allocation. What you are saying is about counterfeit money and thats a real crime.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters ... eople.html

India's 'black money': 'Hoodwinking' the people?

This week, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee unveiled what critics said was a laundry list of tedious platitudes and obscure, non time-bound plans to check the "menace of black money". This includes joining a "global crusade" against it, creating appropriate legislation and institutions to deal with such funds and imparting skills to officers tasked with detecting such funds. In effect, what the government is saying is that after 63 years of independence, India has no institutions or trained people available to curb a brazen and thriving underground economy which rewards tax evaders, humiliates tax payers and widens inequity. There is enough evidence to show that there is little political or administrative will to curb "black money". India has double taxation treaties with 79 countries. But 74 of these treaties need to be tweaked significantly to include exchange of banking information between the countries. (Letters have been issued to 65 of these countries to initiate negotiation, says the minister.) India has apparently chosen 22 countries and tax havens for negotiating and signing exchanging tax information. Last year, a law to prevent money laundering was given more teeth - but laws are often flouted with impunity in the world's largest democracy. The government says it plans to hone direct tax laws further to begin taxing deposits in foreign banks and interests in foreign trusts.

It also talks about a new amnesty scheme for "black money", which is really a slap in the face of the honest tax payer. Since Independence, the government has offered the "voluntary disclosure scheme" six times, most recently in 1997. Less than $1bn was declared, which most experts believe was a fraction of the black money in the market at that time. India's autonomous federal auditors once remarked that the disclosure schemes encourage people to become "habitual tax offenders", knowing full well that they can hoard money without paying income taxes.

Independent economists believe that despite the government's recent noises, "black money" will continue to blight India and its economy. For one, it is a systemic problem. Those who don't pay taxes or stash away illicit money overseas comprise the political and professional creme de la creme - politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants, judges. That the government is not keen upon cracking down on illicit capital flows was evident, analysts say, when, in 2008, it refused to accept a compact disc from Germany containing names of account holders in a Liechtenstein bank. Last year, under opposition pressure, the government accepted the CD, but refused to disclose the 26 names of Indian account holders in it. Many believe that a year is enough for the account holders to move their money out of the bank. "Unless there is political will to dig out black money, nothing will happen," says Arun Kumar of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, who has investigated India's underground economy in detail. And the humiliation of the honest citizen will continue.

Baba wrote:Rajaji agreed for the total amount in India currency notes to be printed in state press of China and delivered to him. The quality of currency notes was equivalent to what is printed in India.

and how were these notes "delivered"? There are tons of more sophisticated ways of accepting bribes

Since Independence, the government has offered the "voluntary disclosure scheme" six times, most recently in 1997. Less than $1bn was declared, which most experts believe was a fraction of the black money in the market at that time.

Well, the data is wrong...the last VDIS, done by PC, yielded ~8000 crores, or nearly USD2 billion...which would mean disclosed income of nearly 6-7 billio, assuming 30% tax rates...

What prevents India from
1. declaring sanctions on all tax havens?
2. blacklisting foreign entities (esp banks - UBS et all)?
until which they co-operate with us in bringing our red money back to our people. If nothing else, this will bring some international attention that they can do without.

Cough cough - did any one say involvement of the highest levels of government and their confidence stemming from their knowledge of the achilles heel of the major opposition party that has prevented and will prevent them from taking action whenever their time comes?

Any one noticed the smirk on Pranab da's face when he announced that in one of Hassan Ali's account, $60,000 was deposited was withdrawn the next day with no trace thereafter? It was as if he was chiding everyone.

skumar wrote:What prevents India from
1. declaring sanctions on all tax havens?
2. blacklisting foreign entities (esp banks - UBS et all)?
until which they co-operate with us in bringing our red money back to our people. If nothing else, this will bring some international attention that they can do without.

1. So Mauritius, Singapore, Zurich, Cyprus, Cayman Islands, Jersey, just to take random names...Goodbye foreign investment!

2. Possible, but as the US example shows, the legalities are mighty difficult to bridge..But arm twisting the bank is a plausible possibility..

somnath wrote:

skumar wrote:What prevents India from
1. declaring sanctions on all tax havens?
2. blacklisting foreign entities (esp banks - UBS et all)?
until which they co-operate with us in bringing our red money back to our people. If nothing else, this will bring some international attention that they can do without.

1. So Mauritius, Singapore, Zurich, Cyprus, Cayman Islands, Jersey, just to take random names...Goodbye foreign investment!

2. Possible, but as the US example shows, the legalities are mighty difficult to bridge..But arm twisting the bank is a plausible possibility..

1. I guess the conditional part was missed. So, if we show some proof of criminal intent / wrong doing (not necessarily with a water tight case and not necessarily to be proven in courts) and request for details about named persons, we get the details or you get - sanctions. BTW, Singapore is not much of a tax haven anyway.

Note that all of these tax havens are modelled after the Swiss and most of them are sensitive to insinuations especially the Swiss with their past links to the Nazis whereas some solicit red / black money.

2. The US was able to do much more with much less - no links to terrorist financing in the UBS case etc.

A feature in the media (IT) on the $8 billion account of Hasan Ali,also had details of commissions recd. from Boeing,a hint at an Air-India scam.With the connection with infamous arms giant Kashoggi clearly established,have the recent deals with Boeing for the P-8 and C-17s also linked to these accounts? It would be very intersting for the investigative agencies probing the case to also look at the potential mega defence deals in the offing and any connections with Hasan Ali with any of the contenders for the MMRCA contest,artillery,etc.,given Kashoggi's global clout .However,Boeing's deals now must surely come under a cloud.

Swiss 'waiting' for Indian info to act against 'black money kingpin'/

Amid a raging controversy over black money allegedly stashed by stud farm owner Hasan Ali in Swiss banks, Switzerland has said it is awaiting a "complete" request from India for help in this case since 2007. Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice (FoJ) had last told Indian authorities in August
related stories * Govt must plug this black hole

2010 to complete their request and the request has not been completed so far, an FoJ spokesperson told PTI. India had first sought legal assistance from the Swiss authorities in January 2007 in this case, but Switzerland can provide help only after India makes a request "complete" with facts corresponding to fraudulent conduct of the accused, the official said in reply to emailed queries by PTI.

Besides, the Swiss government's internal probe in the case of Hasan Ali, who is alleged to have stashed billions of dollars of illicit wealth in Swiss and other foreign banks, has found no reality in the presumed transfer of USD 6 billion to his accounts in Swiss bank UBS, he added.The spokesperson said that numerous communications have taken place between the two countries in connection with this case, but Switzerland can provide legal assistance in the matter only after the request corresponds to a tax fraud.

Addressing a press conference on the black money issue, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said last week that investigations were ongoing in the Hasan Ali matter and the case was being pursued, both by the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department.

Mukherjee said that there were several cases against Ali, including a double passport case and avoidance of taxes and the ED had received information on three Swiss bank accounts allegedly held by him, where no amounts were left.

"One account where USD 60,000 was deposited, and next day the amount was withdrawn. There was no trace of that," Mukherjee said, adding that the government had seized some documents related to Ali's foreign bank accounts that later turned out to be forged.

"On the basis of forged document no information can be given (by Swiss banks)," the Minister added. In reply to queries on this matter, the FoJ spokesperson provided an entire chronology of the case since 2007.

"In January 2007, Indian authorities submitted in the context of criminal proceedings against Hassan Ali Khan (namely for money laundering) a request for legal assistance to FoJ. They asked Swiss authorities to freeze his bank accounts and to hand over the relevant banking documents."

In the same month, FoJ informed the Indian authorities that "concerning the presumed transfer of 6 billions USD domestic inquiries has revealed that the supposed transfer to UBS accounts has no reality."

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Swiss-wai ... gpin/H1-Ar

2G scam: Sibal's one-man panel submits report, blames 'some officials'

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/2g-sc ... s/744066/1

Chidu today said CVC Thomas affair is well known, contradicting his own AG that PM is unaware. So Chidu is putting PM in a situation.

Panel discussed corruption case against Thomas: PC - http://www.hindustantimes.com/Panel-dis ... 56767.aspx

CBI ends suspense; arrests A Raja over 2G scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday afternoon arrested tainted former Union telecom minister A Raja, his brother A K Perumal, along with his aide R K Chandolia and former telecom secretary Siddharth Behuria in connection with the 2G Spectrum scam.

Earlier in the day, CBI questioned A Raja for the fourth time in connection with the funding and allegedly showing favours to some telecom companies in granting 2G spectrum between October 2007 and 2008.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Member of Parliament, who was questioned earlier on December 24 and 25 last year and January 31, was called to the CBI office on Wednesday morning and quizzed, official sources said.

uhh, before you rabid nationalists start questioning the CON'gress and this farce, please know that the system is working.

Raja arrest an instance of law taking its own course: Cong

"Congress had said earlier also that all such cases should be investigated and enquired properly and law will take its own course," AICC General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi told reporters.

He dismissed as a "silly judgement" a question whether the arrest of a former Minister in the UPA government showed that the dispensation was corrupt.

Raja's arrest is a hogwash of the highest order. This is being done to face the electorate in Tamilnadu in the upcoming assembly elections, to face the opposition with a fait accompli in the budget session, to scuttle the opposition demand for a JPC and not least of all to extract more seats and power sharing (something that the DMK has successfully denied) in TN. The Congress President and the DMK Chief are scripting this drama very closely. Both need each other at this stage at the Central and State levels and have to ensure that more beans are not spilled in this drama.

^^^ +1 SS sir.

Further enough time was taken to distance themselves from Raja.

Happy that the goon has been arrested.I do not think DMK will get away easy.The Congress is writing the script not mu.ka.This will not go entirely Kalaignars way.he has to play by the Congress script.CBI will ensure that 'King' implicates 'sweet speech'(who is neck deep in this) and if possible 'Kanni mozhiyin thai'(also involved).

svenkat, I read the DMK strategy is to pin the blame on Raja and wash their hands off. Will that fly? I dont think TN people are that naive.

Any way who is "sweet speech"?