Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya aren't only fraudsters to have fled India; RTI shows 184 others on loose: Exclusive report

Firstpost
March 04, 2018

It appears Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya are not the only fraudsters who have successfully managed to flee the country. Since 2015, there are hundreds of cases of financial scams registered with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Mumbai. According to information obtained by activist Jeetendra Ghadge through RTI request, 184 of the people accused in those scams are absconding.
In 2015, 105 cases were registered with the EOW. The number was at 119 in 2016, and in 2017, it was 109. Out of which, 73 cases of 2015 remain under investigation. As many as 103 from 2016 and 107 cases from 2017 are still under investigation.
The EOW usually looks into high-profile swindlers because it investigates scams only over Rs 50 lakh. The total amount involved in cases for last three years are: Rs 5,560 crore in 2015, Rs 4,273 crore in 2016, and in 2017, it is 9,835 crore. In all, it is a whopping Rs 19,668 crore in three years. However, the refund investors have received from EOW stands at an abysmal Rs 2.5 crore among 74 investors.
The scams here mostly concern ponzi schemes, where large sums of money are taken for nonexistent projects. Typically, the operator initially pays a handsome dividend to the investors to lure them into investing more. Those returns are paid through the money invested by others instead of the profit earned by the concerned investor.
In December 2017, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) took up investigations into 63 companies for illegal pooling of money, or ponzi schemes, reported The Times of India. “The count of such companies being referred to the white collar crime probe agency is also the highest in the last three financial years, according to data available with the corporate affairs ministry,” the report read.
Devidas Tuljapurkar, former joint secretary of the All India Bank Employees Association, said such schemes thrive on the hurry of the common people to get rich. “In India, there is a considerable section of the society that is still not financially educated,” he said. “People are gullible, and want to get rich quick. And scamsters exploit that sentiment. The reason why there is no prompt investigation is that it is easy to manage things in India.”
Ghadge said the main reason behind sluggish investigations is “the political intervention, corruption, short staff and lack of expert officers who can investigate complex financial frauds.” The same RTI information notes there are 79 vacant posts of PSI in the EOW.
"There seems to be a tsunami of financial fraud in this country mainly because these fraudsters have no fear of the law,” said Ghadge. “With some political influence and by bribing officials, an accused can easily get away. We cannot blame the EOW or CBI, the government is ultimately responsible for not fixing the law and order machinery.”
http://www.firstpost.com/india/nirav-modi-vijay-mallya-arent-the-only-fraudsters-to-have-fled-india-rti-shows-184-others-are-on-the-loose-exclusive-report-4375961.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ED tracks Swiss Bank A/Cs of Agusta scamster

The Poineer February 10,2019 Rakesh K Singh The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has tracked a dozen Swiss bank accounts in the name of Rajiv Saxena, who is key accused in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. The ED has also found out accounts held by  his family members and associates where the kickbacks in the now scrapped deal were allegedly parked. Two bank accounts are in the name of Rajiv Saxena’s  associates Pankaj Jain and Sumita Jain who are also the authorised signatories. The  third is in the name of another associate Ajit Singh Bubber, but Rajiv and his family members are authorised signatories. The remaining nine accounts are largely owned and operated by Rajiv, his family members and associates. Rajiv Saxena was deported by the UAE authorities on January 30 and the ED formally arrested him the next day and a court later granted his remand to the agency. He is currently undergoing custodial interrogation by the ED. The agency had in 2017 arrested his
Read more

J&K Cricket Board Scam: Chargesheet Filed Against Farooq Abdullah, 3 Others By CBI

OUTLOOK July 16, 2018 The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah and three others. The CBI on Monday filed a chargesheet against former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and three others in a special court in Srinagar in connection with alleged irregularities and misappropriation of funds in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. After the fall of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP government, this is the biggest development that has taken place in the state. The National Conference has not reacted to the chargesheet so far. The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah, the then president of JKCA, Md Saleem Khan - the then general secretary, Ahsan Ahmad Mirza - the then treasuer and Bashir Ahmad Misgar, an executive in the J&K Bank. The BCCI gave Rs 112 crore t
Read more

Election Commission proposes 10% hike in poll campaign expenditure cap

 The Indian Express' Dated: September 10, 2020 BY:  RITIKA CHOPRA The Law Ministry, sources said, received a proposal from the EC last week on amending Rule 90 of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 to raise the expenditure cap ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar. The Election Commission (EC) has proposed a 10 per cent increase in the campaign expenditure limit for all future elections given the constraints posed by the  Covid-19   pandemic ,  The Indian Express  has learnt. The Law Ministry, sources said, received a proposal from the EC last week on amending Rule 90 of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 to raise the expenditure cap ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar. The current ceiling for state polls in Bihar is Rs 28 lakh. This will increase to Rs 30.8 lakh once the Law Ministry accepts the proposal and notifies the change. The last hike in the expenditure ceiling was effected before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. According to government sources, the EC has argued that
Read more