Where is the Money Going?
Municipal Engineer Found With Rs. 20 Crore ($3 Million) Stashed at Home
Pranab Adhikari, a sub-assistant engineer in charge of approving building plans in Howrah, West Bengal, was caught red-handed accepting a bribe of Rs. 1 lakh ($1,500) last week. When officers of the anti-corruption branch searched his modest home at Bally, they found a staggering Rs. 20 crore ($3 million) in cash hidden under the floor tiles, in cupboards, inside mattresses, sofas, and even inside the commode in the bathroom. read more
U.S. Firm Admits to Bribing Officials to Win Contracts in Goa and Guwahati
A U.S. construction management company, Louis Berger, has agreed to pay $17.1 million in criminal fines to resolve charges that it bribed officials in 4 countries, including India where it won two water developmental projects in Goa and Guwahati. The firm paid bribes of $976,630 for its Goa project, including to a minister whose name has not been disclosed by the U.S. Department of Justice. read more
Cricket’s Day of Reckoning
Reality caught up with Indian cricket on Tuesday with the Justice RM Lodha committee announcing a two-year ban on former champions Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Two prominent club officials, Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra, also got life bans for betting on IPL games or being in contact with illegal gamblers. But will this verdict succeed in cleaning up Indian cricket? read more
Tax Evasion Just Got Tougher With New Indo-U.S. Deal
India and the United States have signed a tax information sharing agreement that will make it more difficult for Indians and Americans to dodge tax by stashing it abroad. This will also boost Indian tax revenues as tax authorities will get information about Indians working in the U.S. read more
Vyapam Scandal: Body Count Rises, So Does Political Temperature
The Vyapam scandal in Madhya Pradesh, a large examination rigging scam with thousands accused, has seen the death of more than 40 people connected with it – including a journalist and the dean of a medical college – many in suspicious circumstances. This has deepened suspicions about a systematic elimination of people linked to the racket, with opposition parties demanding an independent CBI probe. read more
Govt to Incentivize Card Payments, Reduce Cash Transactions
If the Finance Ministry has its way, people could soon get income tax benefits for paying with credit or debit cards. The proposed changes would reduce tax avoidance and also help build a credit history for people wanting to avail higher credit. read more
Maharashtra Suspends 100 PWD Employees for Corruption
In the past six months, the Maharashtra government has suspended about a hundred employees of the Public Works Department, allegedly one of the most corrupt departments in the state. In April, executive engineer Satish Chikhlikar in Nashik was found to have assets worth Rs 14.28 crore ($2.2 million). read more
Jayalalithaa Back as CM, But Her Acquittal is Based on Math Errors
Jayalalithaa returned as chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the fifth time on Sunday, but media reports have pointed out the mathematical errors in the Karnataka High Court order that acquitted her two weeks ago. The judge reportedly increased Jayalalithaa’s income and reduced her unaccounted assets, thereby showing a lower percentage of disproportionate assets – this was the basis for acquitting the AIADMK leader of corruption. read more
Lok Sabha Passes Black Money Bill, Provides 2 Months' Window to Disclose Overseas Accounts
As part of the NDA government's crackdown on black money, the Lok Sabha passed a bill on Monday that makes hiding wealth overseas a criminal offence, attracting up to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. The bill also provides for the attachment of domestic property in India for those convicted under this law. read more
Satyam Fraud Trial Finally Ends, Raju Gets 7 Years’ Jail
Ramalinga Raju, the founder of Satyam Computer Services, may have confessed to fraud in his 2009 letter, but the court still took 6 years to convict him and his brother, along with 8 others, in the country’s biggest accounting fraud case. read more
Real Estate Sector to Get a Regulator and Much-Needed Transparency
The government has amended the real estate bill to create a regulator for the industry, to protect homebuyers and curb undeclared ‘black money’ in property transactions. This will boost investor confidence in real estate as well as recover crores of rupees in lost taxable income that goes unreported. read more
1,000 Aspiring Policemen Arrested for Cheating in Bihar's Latest Scandal
Police have arrested around 1,000 aspiring constables for using impersonators to sit their exams for them in Bihar, in the latest cheating scandal to hit the state. Some 50,000 candidates sat the written exams last October, but many of them were not the same ones who turned up for the physical fitness tests. read more
IAS Officer Who Took on Sand Mafia Found Hanging in Bangalore
The death of a young, upright IAS officer under mysterious circumstances in Bangalore on Monday has triggered protests in Karnataka, with the opposition BJP demanding a CBI probe and questioning the Congress state government’s commitment to protecting honest officials. 36-year old D K Ravi had been involved in several stand-offs with local politicians for confronting the sand mafia in Kolar and for his drive against tax defaulters. read more
Former PM Summoned By Court Over Coalgate, Congress Rallies in Support
The investigation into the coal scam reached its next stage with a court summoning former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday to appear before it on April 8. The Congress party rallied behind Singh, despite this fresh blow to the Gandhi dynasty that was in power till last year. read more
Jaitley’s Budget Targets Black Money Overseas, But Domestic Cash Economy Remains Bigger Concern
In his first full Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced plans on Saturday for a tough new law to tackle black money with imprisonment up to 10 years and 300% penalty on tax for concealing income and assets abroad. But the new law has also raised fears that it would put unbridled powers in the hands of enforcement agencies. And it is not likely to make any dent in the huge amount of black money in the economy. read more
The First Governor to Be Named in a Cheating Case
Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav is under pressure to resign after he was named on Tuesday in a FIR on a recruitment scam. Yadav is perhaps the first state governor to be booked in a cheating case. It is alleged that he had recommended the names of five candidates for recruitment as forest guards. read more