The following are the scams of India since its independence. It may be seen from the details given below that all the major scams were perpetrated in India by scamesters with the help of politicians and bureaucrats:
Mundhra Scandal Fodder Scam Bofors Scandal Security Scam Lakhubhai Pathak cheating scandal Hawala Scandal Ketan Parekh Scandal Barak Missile Scandal The Tehelka exposé Telgi Fake Stamp Scam Food for Oil Programme Scandal Mid Day Meal Scam IPL Scandal Commonwealth Games Scandal 2G Spectrum Scam
Mundhra Scandal Fodder Scam Bofors Scandal Security Scam Lakhubhai Pathak cheating scandal Hawala Scandal Ketan Parekh Scandal Barak Missile Scandal The Tehelka exposé Telgi Fake Stamp Scam Food for Oil Programme Scandal Mid Day Meal Scam IPL Scandal Commonwealth Games Scandal 2G Spectrum Scam
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| T T Krishnamachari |
The speedy and transparent manner in which Chagla conducted the inquiry—it was all over, and the guilty were punished, in less than two years—ought to have been a model for all such probes. All its hearings were public and the proceedings were aired on loudspeakers. Mundhra was sentenced to 22 years in prison, and TTK lost his job.
Fodder Scam
Fodder Scam is a scam related to Animal Husbandry Department of Government of Bihar in which irregularities of nearly Rs 950 crores (US $ 210 million) were detected. The scam was unearthed in 1996 during the regime of chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, but it goes back to 1980s and is believed to have started during tenure of Jagannath Mishra
Fodder Scam
Fodder Scam is a scam related to Animal Husbandry Department of Government of Bihar in which irregularities of nearly Rs 950 crores (US $ 210 million) were detected. The scam was unearthed in 1996 during the regime of chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, but it goes back to 1980s and is believed to have started during tenure of Jagannath Mishra It was only after Special Investigation Team (SIT) under U N Biswas was constituted that investigation started at a brisk rate. Soon many heads started rolling and Yadav and members of his party had to lose their ministerial berths both at centre and state facing corruption charges.
Bofors Scandal
The Bofors Scandal was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s; the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India's 155 mm field howitzer. The scale of the corruption was far worse than any that India had seen before, and directly led to the defeat of Gandhi's ruling Indian National Congress party in the November 1989 general elections.
The case came to light during Vishwanath Pratap Singh's tenure as defence minister.
Bofors Scandal
The Bofors Scandal was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s; the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India's 155 mm field howitzer. The scale of the corruption was far worse than any that India had seen before, and directly led to the defeat of Gandhi's ruling Indian National Congress party in the November 1989 general elections.
The case came to light during Vishwanath Pratap Singh's tenure as defence minister.
The name of the middleman associated with the scandal was Ottavio Quattrocchi, an Italian businessman who represented the petrochemicals firm Snamprogetti.
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| Ottavio Quattrocchi |
The accounts were de-frozen on January 11, 2006. On January 16, the Indian Supreme Court directed the Indian government to ensure that Ottavio Quattrocchi did not withdraw money from the two bank accounts in London. The CBI (Central Bureau Of Investigation), the Indian Federal law enforcement agency, on January 23, 2006 admitted that roughly Rs 21 crore, about USD $4.6 million, in the two accounts have already been withdrawn. The British Government released the funds based on a request by the Indian Government.
Quattrocchi was detained in Argentina on 6 February 2007, but the news of his detention was released by the CBI only on 23 February. Quattrocchi has been released by Argentinian police.
Security Scam
In April 1992, the Indian stock market crashed, and Harshad Mehta, the person who was all along considered as the architect of the bull run was blamed for the crash. It transpired that he had manipulated the Indian banking systems to siphon off the funds from the banking system, and used the liquidity to build large positions in a select group of stocks. When the scam broke out, he was called upon by the banks and the financial institutions to return the funds, which in turn set into motion a chain reaction, necessitating liquidating and exiting from the positions which he had built in various stocks. The panic reaction ensued, and the stock market reacted and crashed within days.
Quattrocchi was detained in Argentina on 6 February 2007, but the news of his detention was released by the CBI only on 23 February. Quattrocchi has been released by Argentinian police.
Security Scam
In April 1992, the Indian stock market crashed, and Harshad Mehta, the person who was all along considered as the architect of the bull run was blamed for the crash. It transpired that he had manipulated the Indian banking systems to siphon off the funds from the banking system, and used the liquidity to build large positions in a select group of stocks. When the scam broke out, he was called upon by the banks and the financial institutions to return the funds, which in turn set into motion a chain reaction, necessitating liquidating and exiting from the positions which he had built in various stocks. The panic reaction ensued, and the stock market reacted and crashed within days.
Harshad Mehta was arrested on June 5, 1992 and investigations continued for a decade. During his judicial custody, while he was in Thane Prison, Mumbai, he complained of chest pain, and was moved to a hospital, where he died on 31st December 2001.
Lakhubhai Pathak cheating scandal
Lakhubhai Pathak, an Indian businessman living in England alleged that Chandraswami and K.N. Aggarwal alias Mamaji, along with Mr. Rao, cheated him out of $100,000.00. The amount was given for an express promise for allowing supplies of paper pulp in India, and Pathak alleged that he spent an additional $30,000.00 entertaining Chandraswami and his secretary.
Lakhubhai Pathak cheating scandal
Lakhubhai Pathak, an Indian businessman living in England alleged that Chandraswami and K.N. Aggarwal alias Mamaji, along with Mr. Rao, cheated him out of $100,000.00. The amount was given for an express promise for allowing supplies of paper pulp in India, and Pathak alleged that he spent an additional $30,000.00 entertaining Chandraswami and his secretary.
Rao and Chandraswami were acquitted of the charges in 2003, due to lack of evidence. Despite this, it remained a large black mark on Rao's administration.Hawala Scandal
The Hawala scandal or hawala scam was an Indian political scandal involving payments allegedly received by politicians through hawala brokers, the Jain brothers. It was a US$18 million dollar bribery scandal that implicated some of the country's leading politicians. There were also alleged connections with payments being channelled to militants in Kashmir. Those accused included L. K. Advani who was then Leader of opposition. He and others were acquitted in 1997 and 1998, partly because the hawala records (including diaries) were judged in court to be inadequate as the main evidence. The failure of this prosecution by the Central Bureau of Investigation was widely criticised.
Ketan Parekh Scandal
Companies when raising money from the stock market rope in brokers to back them in raising the share price. Ketan Parekh formed a network of brokers from smaller exchanges like the Allahabad Stock Exchange and the Calcutta Stock Exchange.
Ketan had large borrowings from Global Trust Bank, he got Rs 250 crore loan from Global Trust Bank. Ketan and his associates got another Rs 1,000 crore from the Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank despite the fact that RBI regulations ruled that the maximum a broker could have got as a loan was Rs 15 crore.
Now with the prices of select shares constantly going up, thanks largely to this rigging, innocent investors who bought such shares thinking the market as genuine, were at loss. Soon after discovery of this scam, the prices of these stocks came down to the fraction of the values at which they were bought. The scam burst and the rigged shares came down so heavily that quite a few people in India lost their savings. Some banks including Bank of India lost money heavily.
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| Ketan Parekh at court |
Barak Missile Scandal
The Barak Missile Scandal is a case of defence corruption relating to the purchase of Barak Missile Systems by India from Israel. The case is currently under investigation by the CBI, and several people including the Samata Party ex-treasurer R.K. Jain have been arrested. Others named in the FIR include politicians George Fernandes and Jaya Jaitly, and arms dealer and ex-naval officer Suresh Nanda.
On October 23, 2000, contracts had been signed by the Indian government to procure seven Barak systems at a total cost $199.50 million and 200 missiles at a cost of $69.13 million despite objections raised by several groups, including members of the team that had originally visited Israel to observe the missile performance, and APJ Abdul Kalam, then heading the Defence Research Development Organization.
The Tehelka exposé
In 2001 a sting operation conducted by Tehelka, alleged that 15 defence deals made by the government had involved some sort of kickback and the Barak deal was one of them.
In 2001 a sting operation conducted by Tehelka, alleged that 15 defence deals made by the government had involved some sort of kickback and the Barak deal was one of them.
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| George Fernandes had to resign |
The CBI lodged a First Information Report (FIR) on October 9, 2006 and claims that George Fernandes the Indian defence minister at that time and the Former Chief of the Indian Navy, Admiral Sushil Kumar were involved. The FIR notes that the Indian Defence Research & Development Organization had sought to block the import of the Barak system right until the end.Due to the scandal which emanated when the allegations first surfaced, George Fernandes had to resign his post as the defence minister, although he was later reinstated. In early 2006, R.K. Jain was arrested in the case.
Telgi Fake Stamp Scam
Telgi was arrested in 1991 by Mumbai police for fraud. During his subsequent prison sentence, he reportedly learned the art of forgery from an expert. He was released and, in 1994, acquired a stamp paper licence from the Government of India. He began printing fake stamp paper. He appointed 300 people as agents who sold the fakes to bulk purchasers, including banks, FIs, insurance companies, and share-broking firms. His monthly profits have been estimated as being in the neighbourhood of Rs 202 crore (US $20 million).
On 17 January 2006, Telgi and several associates were sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment. On June 28, 2007 Telgi was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 13 years and fined a whopping Rs 202 crore on various counts in one of the main cases of the scandal.
Food for Oil Programme Scandal
The Then External Affairs Minister, Natwar Singh was removed from the post on November 7, 2005 following a controversy over his alleged involvement in the United Nations Iraqi Oil for Food scandal.
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| Natwar Singh |
On August 8, Natwar Singh was suspended from the primary membership of Congress Party.
Mid Day Meal Scam
In January 2006, the Delhi Police unearthed a scam in the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. In December 2005, the police had seized eight truckloads (2,760 sacks) of rice meant for primary schoolchildren being carried from Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns in Bulandshahr District of UP to North Delhi. When the police detained the trucks it was found that the rice was being siphoned off by a UP-based NGO, Bharatiya Manav Kalyan Parishad (BMKP), in connivance with the government officials.
Mid Day Meal Scam
In January 2006, the Delhi Police unearthed a scam in the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. In December 2005, the police had seized eight truckloads (2,760 sacks) of rice meant for primary schoolchildren being carried from Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns in Bulandshahr District of UP to North Delhi. When the police detained the trucks it was found that the rice was being siphoned off by a UP-based NGO, Bharatiya Manav Kalyan Parishad (BMKP), in connivance with the government officials.
In December 2006, The Times of India reported a scam involving government schools that siphon off food grains under the mid-day meal scheme by faking attendance. The modus operandi of the schools was simple -- the attendance register would exaggerate the number of students enrolled in the class. The additional students would not exist -- they were "enrolled" to get additional food grains which were pocketed by the school staff. The scam was exposed, when P Asha Kumari, an assistant teacher at the government model primary school, Jakkur, in Yelahanka acted as a whistleblower. She informed the Lok Ayukta, who conducted a probe and indicted four persons for misappropriation.
The saga began on April 12, when Lalit Modi, the Commissioner of the Indian Premier League, tweeted details of the stakeholders in the new Kochi IPL team that was sold on March 21 for Rs 1530 crores. Sunanda Pushkar, a close associate of Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, owned 18 per cent free equity of the franchise. One of the partners in the consortium was Rendezvous Sports World which was given 25 per cent of the franchise at no cost; of this 18 per cent, was gifted to Sunanda, the balance was divided among three other members of Rendezvous.
The controversy heated up when after naming Sunanda, Modi tweeted that he was asked not to check the background of the controversial buyers. "I was told by him not to get into who owns Rendezvous, especially Sunanda. Why?"
Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs, insisted all along that any link with the Kochi team from his home state is just that of "a mentor."
The battle between Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor continued to unfold publicly as on April 13, Tharoor tweeted "I've had enough" with a link to his official press release.
Tharoor reasserted in his press release that his only role in the Kochi bid was that of an advisor and mentor. "Rendezvous includes a number of people, including many I have never met, and Sunanda Pushkar, whom I know well," he states.
Tharoor reasserted in his press release that his only role in the Kochi bid was that of an advisor and mentor. "Rendezvous includes a number of people, including many I have never met, and Sunanda Pushkar, whom I know well," he states.
The extensive coverage of the Modi-Tharoor spat by the national media, the allegations and counter-allegations made by the two sides attempting to score against each other, has all but brought to fore the untapped flow of illegal money in cricket
The raids conducted by the Income Tax department in Mumbai, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, have further dealt a severe blow to Lalit Modi, the man who made the shorter version of cricket more popular than anything and converted IPL into a multi-billion dollar business. 
Lalit Modi, whose career as IPL commissioner and an all powerful BCCI official is under clouds of uncertainty, has paid a heavy price for spitting venom against a minister of the ruling party and attacking its integrity and reputation.Fresh corruption charges rocked the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2010. The UPA Government at the Centre and Sheila Dikshit-led Delhi government are in trouble, as the CVC recommended CBI probe into the alleged irregularities.
The Opposition parties have raised a hue and cry over the issue and also demanded a judicial probe into the CVC report, indicating corruption in constructions in the CWG stadiums. The BJP estimated that the scam would be to the tone of Rs 30,000 crore.
The agencies under the CVC scanner are PWD, MCD, DDA, CPWD and RITES. In another development, a fresh case of money laundering involving a UK firm came into light.
According to a TIMES NOW expose, funds worth 2,47,469 Pounds were transferred October, 2009 from the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games to a UK-based company AM Films UK Ltd. Suresh Kalmadi, who heads the committee, hasn't yet reacted to the report.
The money was reportedly transferred during the Queen's Baton Relay function in London. In addition to that money, 25,000 pounds are being transferred into AM Flims account every month. In total, about 4,50,000 pounds have been transferred to UK so far.
The Congress Party reacted to the latest development, saying a probe will be conducted, if necessary and the guilty will be punished. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has asked Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar to review the status of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) projects.
2G Spectrum Scam
The 2G spectrum financial scandal in the Telecommunications and IT Ministry under A.Raja is noteworthy as the largest political corruption case in modern Indian history, amounting to a record $40 billion loss from underpricing to the Government of India.
The alleged modus operandi was telecom bandwidth being grossly undervalued and offered to a chosen few with vested interests, on a dubious 'First-Come-First-Served' basis. It is alleged that it should have been put under a transparent auction system, purportedly advised by higher office.
The bandwidth-spectrum allocation of 2G bandwidth had later come under criticism for gross irregularities. An FIR filed by the CBI claims that the allocation was not done as per market prices, resulting in a scam worth
200 crore (US$44.2 million). However it had been alleged by Arun Jaitley of Bhartiya Janata Party that the scam is worth around
170,000 crore (US$37.57 billion). The Comptroller and Auditor General holds Raja personally responsible for the sale of 2G spectrum at 2001 rates in 2008, resulting the previously mentioned loss of up to Rs. 1.70 lakh crores (US$40 billion) to the national exchequer. 
The financial scam eventually led to Raja's resignation on the 14th of November, 2010. There will be further criminal investigation and action on Raja with reports being filed by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
These are, of course, only some of the scams. There have been many other scams and if we add up the sums involved in each scam, the total, in my opinion would be sufficient to wipe out the fiscal deficit of the Union Government.
Had these scams not occurred in India, there may have been no hardship for the common man as enough funds would have been available for sanitation, cleanliness, nutrition, health care and education etc. The desired infrastructure would also have come up and India would have been one of the most prosperous countries in the world.
However, due to the greed of the scamesters, politicians and bureaucrats, we are still a poor country because most of the 75% of our population living in the villages is poor. We cannot fill up the gap between India (Urban India) and Bharat (rural India) till we get rid of all scamesters, corrupt politicians and their willing more faithful than the King servants, the bureaucrats.
Courtesy:
- Satbir Singh Bedi
- www.zeecric.com
- wikipedia
- www.breakingnewsonline.com
