Corporate frauds and role of media in the cover up - J Gopikrishnan (Special Correspondent – The Pioneer)

In older days elders tell the children when refuse to take food or sleep, about the arrival of dacoits on horses. But now for the past two decades, after the so called or half baked or convenient form of liberalisation, the reality is, the horses have changed to crores worth vehicles or private jets. Look at the way the governments shut eyes, when Corproates loot the natural resources like minerals, gas and spectrum. In earlier days, when a corruption case or scam is found, normally people belong to three sets are found as accused. First is obviously politicians belong to ruling class. But now days it is sad or distressed to note the roles of certain politicians from opposition side are also in this loop. The advanced way of corruption is to keep the people from opposition in the loop to create silence. The biggest example of such unholy friendship is exposed when the CAG Reports on the blatant corruption in Air India and KG Basin are tabled in Parliament. These two crucial CAG Reports on blatant corruption were tabled in the Parliament, barely an hour ago when the Monsoon Session of the Parliament is adjourned sine- die on September 9, 2011. The CAG Report on KG Basin exposes how Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Group looted the country and the collusion of the people in power in facilitating the loot. The CAG Report on Air India exposes how the top management and people in government helped Jet Airways, King Fisher and Emirates by sickening the National carrier. It shows how the Boeing made bumper, when Government of India allowed the unwanted purchase of 111 aircrafts. Have we heard any objection from the major Opposition Leaders, except people from Left side in this country on this matter? After Anna Hazare started protest, we often hear an orchestrated campaign – ‘Parliament is Supreme’. These people conveniently ignore the basic fact that – We the People made Constitution is Supreme. Hushing up and avoiding debate on these two crucial explosive CAG Reports in Parliament exposes the hidden deals between certain people from Opposition parties and perpetrators of corruption in Government. The CAG Report on 2G Spectrum Scam has not debated in Parliament and we have seen how the Public Accounts Committee’s Report on Spectrum Scam was collapsed. Nira Radia tapes tell us how the corporates finalise the debate and avoiding of certain people from speaking list. Arun Shourie, who was supposed to initiate the debate on KG basin controversy and Pricing of Gas, was sidelined in Rajya Sabha. Talks between Nira Radia and NK Singh, former bureaucrat turned MP in Rajya Sabha reveals how corporates controls the debates in Parliament. Fearing Arun Shourie on exposing the KG Basin violations, who was supposed to initiate the debate, was changed to the fifth speaker. As fifth speaker, Arun Shourie got only very little time. The Nira Radia tape tells how they managed to make BJP leader Venkaih Naidu as the initiator of the debate. This is a clear example how the Opposition parties are also involved in corruption, which is a dangerous thing in the democracy. Second set of persons accused in the corruption cases are normally bureaucrats, who were administering or forced to administer corruption for the tainted rulers. In some cases, there were incidents of charge sheeting of scapegoats or innocent persons. Third are obviously the bribe givers. It ranges from petty contractors in municipality level corruptions to big corporates who grab the wealth of the country. But the 2G Spectrum Scam unexpectedly has exposed the role of another two sets of people. It exposed how certain people from Judiciary and Media were colluded with corporate crimes. Involvement of Judiciary and Media, where the society banks on when other establishments naturally collapse due to the pumping of money by Corporates is totally a sad and unfortunate affair. Nira Radia tapes tell us how judgements were created. Hushing the truth by the former Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, when Madras High Court Judge Justice Reghupathy was pressured by former telecom minister A.Raja is a dark era in the Indian Judiciary. For quite some time, there was a tendency in Indian courts to reject the Public Interest Litigations, having big ramifications in corporate sector, on looting natural resources. At one point, Courts even scolded the PIL petitioners and asked them not to involve in corporate affairs. Any way the Judiciary has almost corrected itself after SH Kapadia became the Chief Justice of India. Fortunately the mindset of Indian courts is changing now. The epicentre of 2G Spectrum Scam lies in the unholy relation between the corrupt politicians and corrupt persons in judiciary with the corporates. The saddest and unfortunate part was the criminal silence of the media on this big loot. Indian media kept silence, when Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communication and Ratan Tata’s Tata Teleservice got GSM license in 2007 at a six year old price without any auction. Just getting telecom licenses at a six year old price at a cheap price of Rs.1658 crores, within six months Tata sold its 26 percent of the shares to Japan’s DoCoMO at Rs.13,000 crore. Anil’s bid to make profit in the same way was collapsed by his enemy and brother Mukesh. The persons who approached the Supreme Court through Public Interest Litigation were fired out. This unholy alliance with certain persons in Judiciary and Media gave courage to former telecom minister A.Raja to go ahead with 2G Spectrum scam in full scale within months. Thanks to Subramanian Swamy and Prashant Bhushan for bringing the scamsters before the Law, when all shut their eyes on the day light looting of India’s natural wealth. Indian media started facing an acute problem from mid 90s, after Corporates started infiltration by investing or providing funds. This scenario became worse, when in around 2005 Ambani brothers started fighting, using media to mudsling rivals. Slowly, Tata Group, which was known for business ethics were also forced to do the same dirty tricks. From owners, then editors and ultimately journalists from top to bottom were purchased by the Corporate tycoons in a planned way to plant favourable reports or attacking reports on their rivals or hushing up the non-favorable things against them. Even court judgements or the damning CAG or CVC reports against the corporates hushed up by the media. First corporates investing or providing funds or non-returnable or soft loans in media, then they started purchasing journalists, now they create their own men and women as journalists or editors. Now they acquired the media houses and adopt ‘catch them young’ policy in recruiting journalists. For the past two decades we are hearing big claims on foreign investment and fund flow from abroad. From where these funds are coming? Is it coming from the rich and big countries like USA, Middle East or European countries? It is coming from the unheard little islands known as tax havens like Mauritius, Cyprus, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Luxemburg or British Virgin Islands. It is very sure that people or governments from these little known places have nothing to do with India. The money coming from these places are not their hard earned money. It is nothing but the corrupt or looted money from India, which is routed back here in other form. In other words this dubious money routing process is the whitening of the black money. Bringing this money to India by India’s corrupt people and corrupt corporates is just for evading of Indian Tax and whitening the looted or ill-gotten money. Earlier days, these kind of operation were through Singapore or Middle East. Now they have strict rules and such practices are now shifted to so-called tax havens. In 2001, the Central government had legalised the money flaw from Mauritius and provided tax exemption by entering into a dubious treaty called Double Tax avoiding treaty. This dubious Treaty is the fountainhead of the current problem of dubious money pumping in India. Ill-gotten, looted or kick backs gained from India by politicians, dealers and corporates would first illegally transferred out of India and reach in some fictitious entity in the Tax havens. The illegal transaction is even through the international narcotics or terrorist fund flow routes. These tax havens live on these illegal dumping of money by charging certain percentage. This dumped money from the tax havens return back to India with dignified form of global investment. Look at the names of the entities of tax havens which pump money to India. Thy may be named in fancy titles – ABCD Investments, XYZ Investments, ABCD India Equity Fund XYZ Future India Fund etc....In the 2G Spectrum Scam, we have seen certain curious names – Zebra Investments, Giraffe Consultants, Parrot Investments, Tiger Trustees, Cheetah Consortium, Swan Telecom. See their share holding pattern. No body knew who owns this company and government neither asks them. Who owns Zebra? Answer is owned by a consortium of Giraffe and Parrot. Then who owns these companies? Answer is Giraffe is owned by Parrot and Tiger and Parrot is owned by Tiger and Chettah. Same way these fraud corporates answer, Tiger is owned by Cheetah and Swan. Like wise they say Chettah is owned by Swan and Giraffe. So who owns Swan? Answer is simple – Swan is owned by Zebra and Tiger. There is no transparency in Indian financial and company records to clarify who is the human face behind these companies, though all know all these zoologically named companies are owned by Anil Ambani. CBI now says they have found Tiger Trustees sold its shares Swan Telecom to a Delphi Investments in Mauritius. Anil Ambani has courage to say he doesn't who owns the Delphi, to whom he sold his Tiger. CBI now says Delphi then sold to Singapore based Maavi Consultants, which in turn connected to Swiss. There is no need of super human intelligence to understand all these dubious named companies across the world belong to Anil Ambani. But due tot his political clout CBI sleuths can’t touch him. So for saving face, CBI fixes some staffers of Anil Ambani as scapegoats. Why no Anil Ambani or Ratan Tata in CBI chargesheet on Spectrum Scam. People will hush hush to you – Our Stock Market will collapse. What happens if stock markets collapse? Nothing to you and me, who lives according to the law of the land. The stock market collapse will only affect those who speculates in the stock market, those who trade through dubious fictitious Participatory Notes. Who owns these Participatory Notes? Indian authorities and Regulators will say – it is owned by XYZ consortium in some other Tax Haven, which is owned by ABCD consortium in another Tax Haven. Our Government will never tell us who are the real owners of these funny named companies who need not to pay single penny as tax. In 2009, the SEBI’s website listed who are the so called Foreign Institutional Investors. Out of the 50-60 sixty companies with fancy names, 35 companies from Mauritius share a single address, same phone number. It never disclosed the real owners' name. Indian media knew all. But the Corporates who infiltrated into its heart and brain by investments and manpower had forced to keep in a silent mode. Indian media has no shame in praising Mukesh Ambani’s 28 storied home in the heart of the Mumbai city. How a 28 storied building come under the definition of a home, according to the building rules of local administration? None asks this valid point. They conveniently ignore how Mukesh Ambani grabbed the land of Wakaf Board and demolished the Orphanage in that land, where 100s of kids lived, to build a palace. This incident tells us; not only politicians, but also religious leaders are also a saleable commodity in front of Corproates. Only one Muslim MP shouted in the Parliament. But Indian media avoided the speech of Hyderabad MP Asadudin Owasi. Very few newspapers reported Owaisi’s speech – "Mr.Mukesh, how can you sleep at the palace you built by demolishing the orphanage were the hundreds hapless kids slept? ". Fortunately some social activists are fighting on this cause. Let us wish them success and dream one day the Justice would send JCB's to demolish this mad structure. It is a known secret that the high and mighty who controls this country use the private jets of Mukesh Ambani. Then how can Indian Parliament, which is filled with the cronies and stooges of this high and mighty people can debate on the CAG’s report which expose the loot of Mukesh Ambani in KG Basin. So the CAG Report which exposed on KG Basin loot by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group and corruption in the purchases in Air India was tabled on our great Indian Parliament just an hour before it adjourned sine die. Corporates buy all. Even the Left wing ultras. They give money to Maoists in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand for looting the minerals. For Corporates, no difference in between main stream politicians or naxals. Who controls the area is the only matter of concern for them. Nira Radia tapes tell us what was Ratan Tata’s conversations on bribing for mining minerals from Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. Tata Group was caught several times for providing money to ULFA terrorists in North East and LTTE for protecting their tea estate business. Two weeks back Essar Group’s staffer was caught for providing money to Maoists in Jharkhand for mineral business. Parliament has no shame in re-nominating the jailed Amar Singh in the Standing Committee, which debates on Lokpal Bill or Judicial Accountability Bill. Look at the composition of the each and every Standing Committee of Parliament. Sure, you can see at least three to four members MPs belonging to each of corporate lobby are included to infiltrate or safe guard the business interests. Now days some politicians have got courage to tell us to keep quiet after casting vote and obey what Parliament dictates. However, whatever may be criticisms, the success of Anna Hazare’s battles gave us some sort of hopes on the existence of corrective forces in our democracy. Meanwhile, there lies a huge responsibility with us also. We should do it for the sake of our Nation. It is a simple thing. Next time, please definitely go to polling station and vote judiciously, forgetting petty caste, communal barriers. Select clean people to deliver clean administration. This is the only practical first step to bring transparency in our Nation. (Courtesy : CUSAT_EBRF Seminar)