Names Ambani brothers, Naresh Goyal, Dabur family members
Training its guns on black money stashed in Swiss banks, India Against Corruption (IAC) on Friday called for an immediate halt to operations of HSBC in India, alleging its involvement in money laundering and hawala.
At a packed press conference here, Arvind Kejriwal and lawyer Prashant Bhushan of IAC said their allegations were based on the list of 700 people who, they claimed, had accounts in HSBC’s Geneva branch. They said the names were in a CD given by the French Government to India in July 2011.
According to Kejriwal, it was a Congress leader who gave IAC some names on the list, which were cross-checked by them. The list, he said, included names of top corporates such as Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways, one Motech Software (said to be a Reliance company), three members of the Dabur family, Annu Tandon, Congress MP from Unnao and her husband, among others.
“Since the Income-Tax Department has raided 125 people from this list and three among them – P.S. Kalra, Vikram Dhirani and Praveen Sawhney – have admitted that they had Swiss bank accounts that had not been declared for taxation, one could reasonably assume that the information about the others would be correct,” he said.
Kejriwal alleged that the statements of the three people, copies of which were distributed at the conference, showed that HSBC “is openly and brazenly running a hawala racket in India.”
He said as per the statements of these three men, one just needed to contact HSBC in India to open a Swiss account. “They would send someone to your home, get forms filled up, take money in cash and the account would get opened in Geneva or Dubai….”
“Perhaps it is easier to open a Swiss bank account than one in State Bank of India,” he said, and added that this raised questions about terror, drug and hawala money easily flowing to and fro, threatening the country’s economic sovereignty.
No comments: HSBC
HSBC Bank in India declined to comment on IAC’s allegations even as it acknowledged taking note of it. The bank said it cannot comment on the specific details of the allegations that have been made, which relate to issues in the past. “HSBC takes compliance with the law, wherever it operates, very seriously,” it said in a statement, adding that group was committed to investing in and growing its operations in India.
Cong rubbishes Charge
IAC accused the Manmohan Singh Government and former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, of “misleading Parliament and shielding big names” and demanded that IT raids be conducted on all the 700 names on the said list.
Meanwhile, the Congress rubbished Kejriwal’s charges. Party spokesperson Rashid Alvi said the UPA Government had initiated a number of steps against black money.
Serious, says BJP
The BJP, however said the allegations were “serious”. “The Congress is not serious in addressing the menace of black money,” party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
Keywords: Kejriwal, HSBC, hawala accounts, HSBC Geneva, Mukesh Ambani, Ambanis, Goyals, Burmans, I-T Department searches, HSBC India operations, Dabur, Kejriwal expose, Prashant Bhushan, India Against Corruption, Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal
Comments:
United Plunderers Alliance (UPA) strategy is to appease its
constituency by acts like providing "clean chit" to corrupt people
like Azharuddin, Chidambaram, Salman Khurshid and its partner in
"CRONY CAPITALISM" like Reliance, Jet Airways, Monsanto, Coca Cola,
Foreign Insurance companies, Media Mafia (NDTV, Sanjay Jha (Hamara
Congress), Vinod Sharma (HT) etc) and foreign banks like HSBC. Where
they have WILL to assist in investigating their own scams! Infact why
should they help in exposing their corruption themselves??? Indians,
only solution is Jan Lokpal Bill which allows solution for such
conflict of interest situation created by Government themselves!!!''
Any observation like this is not reasonable unless he exhibits proof for
this kind of allegation.
Kejriwals allegation till date are absolutely correct. Since 1968 there were reports in media that huge amount of black money is stashed abroad but till today no govt dared to bring it back. Why should any govt bring it back? No govt wants to expose itself and their friends in other parties. Businessmen have been funding politicians expenses, besides funding elections, providing aircraft/helicopter/buses/cars and politicians returned their favour by grabbing and snatching land from the poor in favour of businessmen. Politicians/MLAs?MPs/Ministers framed policies in parliament to favour and benefit businessmen/industrialist. See, just yestderday how CBI mentioned that Late pramod mahajan, then telecom minister favoured Sunil mittal to the tune of Rs.850 crore by allotting him extra spectrum in 2002. These things have been happening and are very much there in the public domain.Netas are plundering the nation and are allowing foreign banks like HSBC to carry out money laundering business
Where is APJ Kalam now a days ???
I do not see a single commment from him on this,
At one hand multiple books on how to make India great and other hand
when the heat comes up, nowhere to be seen or say about India,
Indianness, Indian People etc !!!
Where is APJ Kalam now a days??? Does anyone know????
Or is he waiting for a consensus to emerge???
No one is above law.
Nation comes first.
Al ill gotten wealth has to be restored with retrospective and with interest.
Public of India has the full right to know : good -bad and ugly.
All exposes should be analysed and scrutinized and truth has to be exposed.
Nation comes first -People come before.
By the people for the people NOT SELF.
Democracy is for the people not individuals.
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