SCANDALS IN INDIA

As per Transparency International, India is the world's 87th most corrupt nation with an integrity score of 3.3

1) BOFORS SCAM (1987 ) Rs 64 crore

came to light  through investigative journalism by Chitra Subramaniam and N. Ram of the newspapers the Indian Express and The Hindu.

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others(Hinduja Bros;Win Chadha) were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India's 155 mm field howitzer

The name of the middleman associated with the scandal was Ottavio Quattrocchi, an Italian businessman who represented the petrochemicals firm Snamprogetti

CBI filed a case against Quattrocchi, Win Chadha, also naming Rajiv Gandhi, the defence secretary S. K. Bhatnagar and a number of others

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Tees Hazari Court Justice Vinod Yadav on 04.03.2011 accepted the CBI's petition of withdrawing prosecution citing wastage of time and money(Rs 250 crore has been spent in the investigation)against one of the most wanted men in Bofors Kickback case, Ottavio Quattrocchi(the main accused in Bofors Gun Deal Kickbacks)

Bofors Scam Case Closure is a big relief to the main accused Q However, the ruling party at the centre instrumental for the closure must be aware that "Truth has no closure,"

Bofors scam investigations in the last 2 decades -

CBI filed a criminal case to find out who were the benficiaries of kickbacks on 20.01.1990

CBI filed 2  charge sheets in this case on 22.10.1999 and 09.10.2000

First in Malaysia in 2002, and then in Argentina in 2007, the CBI lost two appeals to have Mr Quattrochhi extradited,as the CBI's homework and presentation in courts in both countries was shoddy.(Quattrocchi, who fled from India in July1993, has never appeared before any court in India to face prosecution) 

The Delhi High Court on 04.02.2004 had quashed all charges under Prevention of Corruption Act and bribery against  Hinduja brothers( S P Hinduja, G P Hinduja and P P Hinduja) and  had also given clean chit to Rajiv Gandhi and S K Bhatnagar who were dead.

The Delhi High Court on 31.05.2005 had struck down all the proceedings and remaining charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy against the Hinduja brothers and A B Bofors which  was  challenged in the SCby Ajay Agarwal's petition and the matter is pending before it.

CBI removed the red corner notice against Quattrocchi and then sought permission to withdraw prosectuion against Quattrocchi in 2009

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in its verdict on 01.03.2011 ruled that that Quattrocchi and the late Win Chadha were liable to pay tax on the kickbacks received in the Bofors scam

Accordingly,242.62 million Swedish kroners were paid(by AB Bofors as commission to Quattrocchi and Chadha through AE Services and Svenska) to Quattrocchi and Chadha in kickbacks into the accounts of M/s Colbar Investments Limited Inc and M/s Wetelsen Overseas, controlled by Quattrocchi and his wife Maria Quattrocch.

2) TELGI SCAM: (1991) estimated to be more than 43,000 Cr Rupees

Fake stamp and stamp paper scam, better known as the Telgi scam, has penetrated 12 states and is estimated at a whopping Rs 20,000 crore plus. Between 1992 and 2002, 12 cases were registered against Telgi relating to counterfeit stamps in Maharashtra alone and 15 cases in other parts of the country,

3) FODDER SCAM ( 1996 ) Rs 950 Crores

involved the alleged alleged embezzelement 950 crores from the government treasury of the State of Bihar

The alleged theft spanned many years, was engaged in by many Bihar state government administrative and elected officials across multiple administrations  and involved the fabrication of "vast herds of fictitious livestock" for which fodder, medicines and animal husbandry equipment was supposedly procured

The CBI filed chargesheets against Laloo and 55 other co-accused Laloo's initial chargesheet, filed by the CBI relating to fraudulent withdrawals of Rs 37 Crores from the Chaibasa treasury