NGO Corruption in India

Monday, 8 April 2019

Sabal Bharat Sansthan Jaipur – A Political Scandal in the Brewing

In a country where unemployment is at its highest, people are desperate to take any opportunity that comes their way. This is a fact that fraudsters count on, playing on the poor, vulnerable, and unemployed. One of the biggest scandals of India is fraud NGOs that target people such as these. These fraud NGOs of India claim they will help you, but do nothing for you.

One such organization is Jaipur's Sabal Bharat Sansthan. They have created a website that appears very professional, but what they offer is fake hope. Its main goal is not to get people the help and skills they need for employment, but to scam people of their money. The organization conducts exams across a number of cities around the country. Their target is unemployed and poor.

Under the guise of a government-funded organization, this company is run by founder Sunil Gurjar. His is a name that should be quite familiar, as he was involved in a big Rajasthan political scandal several years ago. Many people have their hands in this organizations' running; bureaucrats, government, civil servants, corrupt officials, and public servants. They all work together to take money from the poorest to line their own pockets. If you look on their website, https://www.sabalbharat.org/sabal-bharat-team, you will see that all of the members are retired bureaucrats.

The harsh reality of NGOs in India is that they paint a wonderful picture of what people can have, a settled life, a good job, and the skills to succeed. These are the dreams that people live for and the dreams that fraud NGOs of India rely on.

https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/textiles-ministry-files-complaint-against-ngos-1346760-2018-09-23

The organization begins by targeting those in need. They tell them what they want to hear and invite them to take a simple exam. They are offered free food, lodging, and accommodations, as well as skill training for a variety of areas, such as banks, hotels, and IT companies. All of this for taking one simple exam that will determine your skill level and, based on those merits, will allow you to be awarded one of their scholarships. They even have a specific syllabus' for their various levels of education.

It's the Sabal Bharat Exam that is the modus operandi of this organization. This is where they collect money. Candidates are required to pay an exam fee of INR 560 (about $9.00). That may not sound like a lot, but for the poor, it can be. And they are doing this on a large scale, taking this small amount for thousands and thousands of candidates, twice a year, in all the states of India, you can do the maths.

The exam is pretty much the only real thing about this company. After all, they need to have something tangible to make people believe they are a legitimate government-funded organization. It's the claims they make that, successful candidates can benefit from a number of training programs, are a lie. It's a fraud organization of Skill India program.

The state that their training programs are geared towards skill development, claiming to help empower people. Candidates are led to believe that, after having this training, they will be able to navigate the corporate world and find better employment opportunities.

After taking the exam, candidates are told that results will be published on their website and via text in no more than 2 months. However, those results never come. Sure, they post one or two results on their website, but it is believed that these candidates don't even exist. Once they have your money you won't hear from them again. Many candidates are still waiting, several months on, to hear anything at all.

The trick here is the small amount they take. It's enough to keep them under the radar. It also helps that they are hand-in-hand with many high ranking political and government people. Not many people are willing to fight to get back such a small amount. But the damage that this company has done to their hopes and self-esteem is irreparable.

https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-fraud-NGOs-in-India

It's more or less like a Ponzi or pyramid scheme. Each district salesperson is required to bring in as many candidates for testing (revenue) as they can. In order to give the test, they will have to pay the fees. The fees collected are pure profit. Once you have created your own infrastructure of people beneath you, you just sit back and let the money flow in.

The number of people who have contacts Sabal Bharat after taking the exam and hearing nothing back is high. These people are waiting for results to see which Sabal Bharat program they have qualified for. The founder, Sunil Gurjar, is not interested in helping people through education. He is only interested in helping fill his coffers.

The worst thing about this organization is that they have strong political and government ties. It's because of this that Sunil Gurjar manages to get away with cheating such a large number of people and there is no one who can speak out against him or his organization. It also casts a shadow over the legitimate government funded Skill India programs that actually do help people.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/99-ngos-are-fraud-money-making-devices-hc/story-2AMyh5VMGA0edUtvtRnAMP.html

In truth, the Sabal Bharat Exam holds no value and you will gain nothing from taking it. You will, however, lose time and money. It's important to know how to identify a fake NGO, and one step is to learn more about the background of the individual running the organization.

If you check the background of Sunil Gurjar, you will find it isn't his first encounter with the law. However, he seems to have no fear of breaking laws because no one will go up against him to stop him. You may recall the Bhanwari Devi Murder Case. It was one of the biggest political scandals of India that affected the entirety of India's middle class. It involved the sexual exploitation and murder of a government employee and was a campaign against Mahipal Maderna. In the end, it caused a downfall of Rajasthan's Congress government. And the person behind it? Sunil Gurjar!

So, if you have been considering getting any help from Sabal Bharat or taking their exam, think twice. All you end up doing is wasting energy, time, and money to get nothing in return.

References-

Tata Tapes Controversy - illegal Tapping of Phone Calls of Nusli Wadia

A big political scandal in India took place in the 1990s that involved the owners of a company called Tata Tea, terrorist group ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam), and the Assam government. Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, the then Chief Minister of Assam alleged that Tata Tea was involved in conduct deemed anti-national.

The situation came to light when a journalist for Indian Express, Ritu Sarin, published a story regarding illegal tapping of phone calls of Nusli Wadia, a business tycoon. The transcripts were published and involved a number of high profile individuals, including a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, and Ratan Tata.

The History Behind the Controversy

It was during the 1990s that the ULFA, a banned terror group, had been very active in the Assam area. The group had been extorting funds from tea companies as a means of funding their activities. Fear made most of the tea companies pay the ULFA, however, Tata Tea refused. In 1997, ULFA was responsible for a number of militant activities and terror attacks. One such attack was the failed attempt at an assassination against the Chief Minister who headed the Assam government, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. It brought publicity to the breaking down of law and order of the Assam region, which negatively impacted the Mahanta government. It was during similar circumstances in 1990 that his previous government was dismissed.

Mahanta visited Calcutta to raise funding for his party before the assembly elections but did not get a good response from the tea companies, more importantly from Tata Tea, who refused to pay anything.

In August of 1997 an ULFA member, Pranati Deka, was arrested, along with her baby and two others. They found a visiting card on one of the accomplices belonging to one of Tata Tea's senior executives, Brojen Gogoi. It was reported that he had gone with Deka to Mumbai for her to give birth and cover her medical costs and lodgings. Tata Tea had paid INR 50,000 and claimed it had not been aware of Deka's link to the ULFA.

Tata Tea top officials were interrogated by the Assam police, leading to the arrest of General Manager, SS Dogra under the charge of aiding and abetting ULFA in their unlawful activities. Gogoi was also wanted for questioning but authorities were unable to arrest him at the time. He was reported to have been abroad studying, however, reports claimed he was using a guest house in India to avoid the police. It wasn't until September that he turned himself in.

The Tata Tapes

The Tata tapes held conversations that took place between Nusli Wadia and a number of powerful industrial and political individuals. The tapes proved that the Tatas were attempting to coerce the central government to step in to deal with the issues they were having with the Assam government. It was also suggested that the Tatas were aware of Gogoi's whereabouts and had lied to the Assam government when questioned.

The mystery in this situation is who actually tapped Wadia's phones, The Central Government denied that it was them, and a probe was launched to find out who was responsible for infringing on these individual's privacy.

The controversy brought to light what the Assam tea industry was dealing with for the past two decades, grabbing the attention of the entire country. The industry had been putting up with extortion, kidnapping, and murder by militants of both the ULFA and NDFB (National Democratic Front of Bodoland).

References:

1. http://indiatodaygroup.com/itoday/20101997/cov.html
2. http://www.india-today.com/btoday/22101997/tata.html
3. http://www.rediff.com/news/oct/13assam.htm
4. http://www.rediff.com/business/sep/15tata.htm
5. http://www.rediff.com/business/sep/16assam.htm
6.https://web.archive.org/web/19971007063854/http://www.expressindia.com:80/ie/daily/19971007/28050903.html
7.https://web.archive.org/web/19971023074806/http://www.expressindia.com:80/ie/daily/19971006/27950853.html

Radia Tapes Controversy - How one women controlled entire government policy in India through sexual favours

The Radia Tapes Controversy (also known as the 2G Spectrum Scam) is one of the Scandals of India took place between 2008 and 2009. It involved political lobbyist, Nira Radia of Vaishnavi Communications, and several of her media friends, such as Vir Sanghvi, Hindustan Times' editorial director, and Barkha Dutt, the group editor of NDTV. In these tapes, they are heard making promises to Radia, her political friends, and her corporate clients. The tapes show how one woman attempted to influence government policy via the control of journalists and politicians, how she destroyed careers and reputations.

During a one year period, the Home Ministry gave the Indian Income Tax Department to go-ahead to tap Radia's phones. It was part of their ongoing investigation into the possibility of money laundering, tax evasion, financial practices that were restricted. The decision was made after finance ministry had received an anonymous letter claiming Radia was a covert operator to a foreign government.

One question that was asked was, why was this particular anonymous letter taken so seriously? And how did it make it's way to the ministry's highest levels? It is believed that the letter came from a powerful organization that was known to some of the ministry's important people.

It was in 2010 that a magazine called OPEN published a story that included transcripts from some of these conversations between Radia and others involved, where Radia attempted to make deals related to the 2G Spectrum Allocation. Radia attempted to use people from the media to influence the decision of having A. Raja appointed as the telecom minister. Radia influenced news reports and Parliament discussion at the request of corporate houses.

The Motive Behind The Scandal

The motive here was the abuse of power by one small group of very powerful people within the public sector; politicians, journalists, and businessman. This group attempted to subvert the democratic system for their own benefit and interests.

Those involved tried to claim it was a breach of privacy, being tapped secretly. However, the argument is that it involved public interests, therefore the public should be made aware of what was going on. The media felt they had an obligation to report this to the public and their fundamental rights for freedom of speech. At one point, a media blackout that banned the publishing of the tapes would have defeated both freedoms of expression and public interest just to save the privacy of a small powerful, but a corrupt group of people trying to manipulate the system.

One main player who tried to prevent publication of these transcripts was Ratan Tata, an Indian industrialist. However, it was felt that the conversations revealed a number of immoral and illegal acts that the public had a right to know about. The strange part is that, where other people's reputations and careers were ruined, Tata emerged from the incident with barely a scratch to his, even though he was heard on these tapes trying to manipulate policy.

It was reported that only 100 out of 5,800 tapped conversations had been made public and these were enough to reveal how India was being run, the subservience of politicians, how court decisions can be fixed, how MP's will lobby for big business houses, and that everything in the country is managed by corporate.

References

1. http://expressbuzz.com/nation/radia-tapes-featuring-senior-scribes-create-stir/224516.html
2. http://business-standard.com/india/news/radia-shuts-vaishnavi/454061/
3. https://www.ibtimes.com/indian-medias-mighty-stand-exposed-wrong-side-2g-spectrum-scam-248166
4. http://www.zeenews.com/news670068.html
5. http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4595860
6. http://news.oneindia.in/2010/11/21/does-media-follow-unethical-biased-journalism.html
7.http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/96109/Top%20Stories/%27Radia+lobbied+to+get+Raja+telecom+ministry%27.html
8. http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/some-telephone-conversations
9. http://www.tehelka.com/story_main47.asp?filename=Ws1911102G_FALLOUT.asp
10. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_leaked-tapes-cbi-says-it-has-5851-recordings_1470650
11. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/120849/India/jpc-on-radia-tapes.html
12. http://www.mid-day.com/news/2010/apr/290410-india-inc-tapped-phone-tapping-leaked-report-ratan-tata-mukesh-ambani-sunil-mittal.htm
13. http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?268071
14. http://business.outlookindia.com/view.aspx?vname=IMP-Prabhu%20Chawla%20Gas%20judgement%20discussion-20090620-143207.wav
15. http://www.dnaindia.com/blogs/post.php?postid=318
16. http://openthemagazine.com/article/nation/i-am-there-you-want-me-to-speak-to-anyone
17. http://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/favourite-lobby-horses/265345
18. http://business.outlookindia.com/view.aspx?vname=Barkha--18-188819-0-10-20090522-094851.wav
19. http://business.outlookindia.com/view.aspx?vname=Barkha%20Dutt-02-188819-0-01-20090522-104733.wav
20. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_barkhagate-protests-in-140-characters-leave-no-space-for-gray-areas_1471128

Wednesday, 13 March 2019

India's Biggest Issue Is Unemployment and the Scams Related To It

One of India's largest issues is its unemployment problem. In a bid to tackle this issue, the government created a number of organizations to help the working class. There are also many non-government organizations (NGO) who work to benefit those in need of help and jobs.

The main purpose of these organizations is to connect with the poor and those in need. These are the people who don't have the necessary resources to do well in the corporate world. They achieve this by giving individuals the skills needed to do well in their jobs through free skills training. They also help people with opportunities to find work.

However, not all NGOs are out to help the working class. Some of these organizations that claim to be working for the benefit of the people are actually deceiving them. In fact, NGO corruption in India is a bigger problem than unemployment.

Fraud NGOs of India

Fraud NGOs of India, like any scam, preys on the weak, the poor, and those who are most vulnerable. They will offer something that these people desperately need to lure them in. The list of fraud NGOs in India is sadly, a long one. These NGOs and non-profit organizations over-shadow the legitimate ones and the beneficial work they do. One of these organizations is Sabal Bharat Sansthan in Jaipur.

Who is Sabal Bharat Sansthan?

This organization claims that it is an NGO. It was founded by Sunil Gurjar. Gurjar is one of the most powerful brokers in political circles. He is also the son of Nasirabad, a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). You may also recognize his name from a major sex scandal that rocked India, the murder of Bhanwari Devi.

The organization claims to help empower young people through education. They also claim that they will find them good positions in the workforce. To the mass of jobless individuals, this sounds like a wonderful opportunity. They are desperate to find good paying jobs and have the skills to grow. This is what Sabal Bharat Sansthan relies on, and how they draw victims in. It's one of the biggest scams in India.

How This Organization Works

Sabal Bharat Sansthan starts by inviting people to take their “Sabal Bharat Exam”. They claim that the exam will help them test people for a number of skills. They offer different levels, with a course to match that level. Examples of these courses are the 5th pass, 10th pass, 12th pass, and then graduation. People at each level are judged based on their general knowledge and mental ability of these levels.

It all seems legitimate so far. In fact, if you have a look at their website, it seems pretty well laid out and professional. Their site claims that their selection process is based purely on merits once the exam results are given.

There are 3 main programs of selection that Sabal Bharat Sansthan offers; the Sabal Residential, Sabal Scholarship, Sabal Bharat Exam and the Sabal Employment. They also offer a Sabal Sports Talent program. The selection for this program is based on the marks received.

These exams are said to be non-biased. There are 100 questions to be answered. Results are given on their website and sent to those who participated via a text message. It ensures that results will be given 2 months from the time the exam was taken. However, these alleged results are never declared on the website, nor do the applicant receive them via text. To appear legitimate, they will occasionally declare a couple of results. Whether these are legitimate people who have taken the exam is another question.

Overall, barely 50 to 100 candidates ever get chosen for a scholarship out of thousands of applicants. Reading hundreds of reviews from those who have taken the Sabal Exam, an overwhelming number of people are still waiting, months after they took the exam. It seems all this company does is take money from these candidates. They then let these people come to take their exam, to make them think the organization is legitimate. After that, your money is gone and you have nothing to show for it. This organization takes advantage of those in need and is making millions off of them:

An exam fee costs INR 560 (about 7.80 USD). It may not sound like much but for India's poor and unemployed, this is a lot. Let's take that figure and times it by 10,000 candidates. This equates to INR 5,600,000 (around 78,692.51 USD). But this organization gets hundreds of thousands paying their fee. INR 560 times 100,000 candidates equates to 56,000,000 (about 786,895.66 USD). Add to this that the exams happen twice a year throughout India.

The Reality of NGOs in India

You're probably wondering how this can be allowed to happen? Why doesn't the government or politicians stop this from happening? The sad fact is, organizations like Sabal don't prosper without political backing of some sort. We also pointed out that the founder of Sabal is Sunil Gurjar. He is a major power player in the power circles of Rajasthan. People who are afraid of the law fear this man. In fact, even the police fear him, which is why there are no cases made against him.

Gurjar was linked to one of the biggest sex scandals that rocked India. He defrauded his own brother-in-law. He had the police tell the victims that they needed to settle the issue with Gurjar directly. They did not want to get involved! This is how Indian law works.

If you don't believe this to be true, just look up the Bhanwari Devi murder scandal. Or Google Sunil Gurjar Congress MLA or Sunil Gurjar Sabal Bharat, or Sunil Gurjar Nasirabad or Sunil Gurjar Bhanwari Devi. There are many stories regarding his illicit actions. In Rajasthan, his active involvement in the disappearance and murder of Bhanwari Devi is well known. He is also known for being involved in the downfall of another powerful man, Mahipal Maderna. The story around the Rajasthan Political scandal claims that he planned this drama to take Maderna down. However, it all got out of control, which resulted in the death of Devi.

Let's put this into perspective. How legitimate could an NGO for the needy and poor be, being run by this type of person? This is the kind of person who looks to exploit those he can. What better way than to set up a fraud skill India program? How likely does it seem that even 50 students will successfully come out of this program?

Gurjar's motive is to claw in millions using his political backing. In this way, he is unstoppable.

Sabal Bharat is the top fraud NGO in India.

The truth is, if you have paid to take the Sabal Bharat Exam, there is little chance of you getting your money back or getting any help from this fake organization. You can guarantee that they will not help you find employment or train you in the skills needed.

How To Identify Fake NGOs

For a start, don't fall for an organization that seems too good to be true. Steer clear of NGOs that are founded by anyone linked to sex scandals in India. There are many legitimate and reliable NGOs in India. You can also apply directly to the Skill India program, which is run by the Indian government.

References-

Saturday, 9 March 2019

The 1982 Bobby Murder Case

In 1982, Bihar was rocked by a big political murder scandal. A young woman, named Swetnisha Rani, or Bobby by those close to her, was found murdered, with a number of Congress government ministers being investigated. At the time of the murder, the government was run by Jagannath Mishra, a veteran Congress leader. Many of the culprits were not named until the murder case was re-opened by a police officer who was determined to find the truth in her death.

The Murder

The mysterious death of a young woman and politicians goes hand in hand. 35-year-old Swetnisha Rani worked as a typist for the Bihar Legislative Assembly. She was the adopted daughter of former acting Council chairman, Rajeshwari Saroj Das. It is believed that Bobby was intimate with a number of powerful politicians. Bobby had dropped out of college and had a few broken marriages. She also had 2 children by her second husband. It was in 1978 that she became a telephone operator at the Bihar Assembly.

On May 8th, at around 4 am, there was quite a bit of activity at the Das household, located on Strand Road. Several cars were seen arriving and leaving the property. It was 4 hours later that the lifeless body of Bobby was removed from the home in a coffin. She was later buried in the Pirmohani Cemetery.

When originally questioned, Das told authorities that Bobby had gone out the evening of May 7th, returning home late. He claimed she started getting pains, was vomiting blood, and then died. Das added that Bobby had once had a fall from a rickshaw, suffering some internal injuries. The curious thing is that, when the police searched the home of Das, they found very few of Bobby's belongings.

The Investigation

The investigation showed that Bobby had died in the early hours on May 8th, 1982. Her body was then buried 4 hours later. What is interesting in this case is that there are two death certificates. Also, with Bobby seeming to have relations with some powerful people, many people demanded retribution and justice for the poor girl.

Death Certificates

The first death certificate was created at the time of death before she buried. This was issued by Dr. K.K. Jha, the doctor for the Assembly. He stated that Bobby's probably caused of death was due to internal hemorrhaging. The certificate also stated Dr. Jha had examed the body at 4 am on May 8th.

The second death certificate was created by Dr. Ashok Kumar Thakur. Thakur was a cardiologist at Indira Gandhi Institue of Cardiology. He stated Bobby's cause of death was due to cardiac arrest. He said this happened at 4:30 am on May 8th.

It was Kishore Kunal, then Senior Superintendent of the Police, who felt her death was unnatural and registered a case for further investigation. However, because the body was in such a state of decomposition, they were unable to find anything unusual about her death.

This didn't stop Kunal, who immediately ordered a chemical test on the remains. The results of that test came back a week later. It stated that Bobby had a lethal dose of a phosphorus pesticide, called Malathion, in her system.

If Bobby had died a natural death, as was originally claimed, why would there be a need for two death certificates? And why have two separate doctors examine her body at such odd hours?

More Than Meets The Eye

Further investigation brought to light new facts, which were contradictory to Das's story. It was discovered that Bobby had been taken to Patna Medical College on the 7th of May. She was brought there via an MLA's vehicle and quickly admitted to the emergency ward. Hospital records show that she was suffering from Mandrax poisoning. It appeared she had taken 4 tablets. However, she was taken away before she responded to the treatment. The next morning she collapsed. It is believed by the police that, before making her take the poison, she was given a sedative.

As Kunar continued the investigation, he was pressured to watch his step. She was believed to have had affairs with some MLAs, a deputy minister, and an employee of the Assembly who was high ranking. Eventually, the Opposition joined in, stating that the Chief Minister was blocking the culprits from being arrested because of their political standing.

Kunal had the backing of many supporters, Karpoori Thakur, leader of the Opposition, and Ashwani Sharma, a dissident leader. Under normal circumstances, those involved a murder would have been arrested already. However, because the case involved politicians who believe they are immune to the law, it was taking more time. Eventually, the CBI was called in to probe the investigation. To date, it is still unknown who killed Bobby.

References-

1.https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19830615-bihar-legislative-assembly-typist-death-becomes-mysterious-770752-2013-07-18

2.https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/crime/story/19840615-bihar-assembly-secretariat-typist-death-cbi-demolishes-murder-theory-of-the-police-803057-1984-06-15

3.https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/nyregion/35-years-later-sister-in-durst-case-is-still-looking-for-answers.html

4.https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/history/blogs/tales-from-the-morgue/2011/07/07/1982-broken-melody-the-death-of-bobby-fuller/31501763/

5.https://www.deccanherald.com/content/126556/bihar-netas-flirt-sex-aur.html

2013 Indian Helicopter Bribery Scandal - Agusta Westland Chopper Scam

The Indian Helicopter Bribery Scandal, which took place in India between 2010 and 2013, is a case multimillion-dollar corruption. It involved middlemen and Indian officials being paid to buy helicopters for a number of high-ranking politicians. The funds were transferred via UAE and UK bank accounts. It wasn't until 2013 that it came to light. The scandal has been referred to as “Choppergate”, and the Chopper scam.

The Scandal

In February of 2010, a contract was signed by the MoD for the purchase of 12 AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters. The helicopters were for the Communication Squadron of Indian Air Force. The fleet of helicopters was to be used for VVIP duties for India's President and important state officials.

In February 2013, Italian authorities arrested Guiseppe Orsi, who was Finmeccanica's CEO. Finmeccanica is also the parent company of AgustaWestland. The charges against Orsi related to bribery and corruption. This created controversy over the helicopter deal that was made in 2010 between India and AgustaWestland.

The Investigation

The day after the news about Orsi's arrest and the allegations made against him, A.K. Antony, the Indian Defence Minister, ordered an Indian National Parliamentary investigation into the contract. Several allegations of corruption and bribery were made against a number of senior officials and AgustaWestland, that involved a contract for a new helicopter fleet that was being bid on.

In the investigation, a number of military officials were accused of taking bribes from the helicopter manufacturer to ensure they won the bid for a $500 million dollar (₹36 billion) contract. The contract was for supplying 12 AW101 AgustaWestland helicopters to be used for performing VVIP duties for India's President and important state officials. Allegations were made by Italian prosecutors that Ahmed Patel, the political secretary to Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, received illicit payments from the deal.

The CBI's preliminary inquiry discovered that there was enough evidence to bring to trial 12 individuals and 4 companies involved with the scandal:

Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi - former Indian Air Force Chief

Juli, Docsa and Sandeep Tyagi – the 3 brothers of S.P. Tyagi

Satish Bagrodia - brother of former Union minister Santosh Bagrodia

Pratap Aggarwal - Chairman and Managing Director of IDS Infotech

Abhishek Verma – billionaire Indian arms dealer and middleman in the conspiracy

Anca Neacsu – Verma's wife

Christian Michael James – an established arms dealer and middleman

Carlos Gerosa - middleman

Guido Haschke - middleman

Finmeccanica – based in Italy

AgustaWestland- based in the UK

IDS Infotech – based in Chandigarh-based

Aeromatrix – based in Chandigarh

SP Tyagi's Role

Originally, it was stated that the Indian Air Force opposed the purchase of the AW101 helicopters due to them being incapable of high-altitude flying. It was alleged that the Air Chief marshal tweaked the altitude requirements, making AugustaWestland a more favorable choice. This worked to help them win the deal for the chopper contract.

Effects on the UPA Government

The Italian investigation states that the Indian Prime Minister was referred to in a number of conversations that took place between 3 of the middlemen involved in the controversy; Christian Michel, Carlos Gerosa, and Guido Haschke. Gandhi stated at the time that their party had nothing to hide.

AK Antony stated at the time that any company found to be involved in taking a bribe would be blacklisted, and legal action would be taken against them. During the same time, a series of damaging corruption scandals had hit the ruling Congres party. This resulted in the opposition calling for the resignation of Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.

In 2014, the deal with AgustaWestland was canceled by the UPA government on the grounds that the integrity pact had been violated.

References-

1.https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/from-news-break-to-in-depth-analysis-et-first-on-chopper-scandal/newslist/52290885.cms
2.https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/five-things-to-know-about-agustawestland-vvip-chopper-scam/articleshow/51992563.cms
3.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-agustawestland/indian-court-holds-two-more-people-sent-from-uae-in-helicopter-bribery-case-idUSKCN1PP294
4.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-agustawestland-extradition/key-accused-in-agusta-westland-chopper-scam-extradited-to-india-idUSKBN1O32KW
5.https://sites.tufts.edu/corruptarmsdeals/the-indian-vvip-helicopter-deal/

NGO Corruption in India

Monday, 8 April 2019

Sabal Bharat Sansthan Jaipur – A Political Scandal in the Brewing

Tata Tapes Controversy - illegal Tapping of Phone Calls of Nusli Wadia

Radia Tapes Controversy - How one women controlled entire government policy in India through sexual favours

Wednesday, 13 March 2019

India's Biggest Issue Is Unemployment and the Scams Related To It

Saturday, 9 March 2019

The 1982 Bobby Murder Case

2013 Indian Helicopter Bribery Scandal - Agusta Westland Chopper Scam

Blog Archive

Total Pageviews