Moin Qureshi case fall out

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Exclusive report

Moin Qureshi case fall out

Govt seeks pay offs to top CBI officials from abroad

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 28

The government is seeking specific information from various countries including Dubai (UAE), Singapore, Hong Kong, UK and other world destinations whether huge payments have been made to certain officials.

The government has specific information, based on investigations done by its agencies including Income Tax that controversial meat exporter Moin Qureshi had paid crores of rupees through hawala operator Sathish Babu Sana and Sukesh Gupta of Hyderabad.

These payments have been made through hawala channels over a period of six years since the days when A P Singh was CBI director. Singh was asked by the Modi government last year to step down from the UPSC as inquiries are on against him. Even his successor Ranjit Sinha is also under the scanner. Now the allegations of huge pay off s surfaced against exiled CBI director Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana. Alarmed by series of bribery allegations against the directors of the anti-corruption watch dog, the government has decided to play tough. It decided to send

Letters Rogetory (LRs) to several countries containing names of at least 10 officials who served the government or retired. These sources refused to confirm the names of these officials mentioned in the LR s. None of them was willing to say whether the name of exiled director of CBI figures in the LR. But they confide that the Modi government is determined to cleanse the CBI and other such probe agencies with a heavy hand now.

It has emerged that Sathish Babu Sana was the conduit of channeling the illegal gratification on behalf of Moin Qureshi and channelised extorted money on his behalf. The Prasad brothers in Dubai were also part of this operation. Qureshi & his family members held several bank accounts in various countries. The agencies have given a list of 55 foreign bank accounts into which proceeds of crime were found transferred in seven countries. These were in the US France, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Italy and the UAE. .

Qureshi has been extorting and obtaining illegal money from various persons for getting their work done through public servants, said a source in the CBI.

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Banning “Barter Trade” with PaK: PMO to decide

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Banning “Barter Trade” with PaK: PMO to decide

NIA says Barter-trade generated Rs 1000 crore terror funding

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Sep 11

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) will take a final call on banning the “Barter Trade” between India & Pakistan which was aimed at promoting trade & harmony between the people in J & K and PoK.

Highly placed sources in the government say that the PMO is seized of the matter after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) strongly recommended the closure of the barter trade. The NIA had sent its report to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which is turn has referred the issue to the PMO as it has wider implications.

Incidentally, it was the Union Home Ministry which had initiated the Barter-Trade agreement with Pakistan in 2008 at the bidding of the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh within days of returning to India from his US trip in 2008 to promote harmony between the people on both sides of Jammu & Kashmir. It was decided that no cash will be involved, only 21 items will be trade for mutual exchange and the value of items will be fixed by traders mutually. The goods should be produced in J & K and PoK only. But what happened thereafter, was an eye-opener to agencies. For example the Californian Almonds made their way from Pakistan to J&K on the ground that these were produced in PoK.

Lokmat was first to break the story “Barter Trade or Terror Funding” on January 23 this year in its editions saying the NIA had undertaken countrywide raids and scrutinizing records of 350 traders in Delhi & J & K. At that time, the NIA estimated that the hawala racket could be of the order of Rs 300 crores. Top sources have now told Lokmat that the hawala scam could be of the order of Rs 1000 crores.

The NIA submitted detailed report listing how hundreds of cores of rupees reached terrorist groups and stone pelters in the Valley thanks to the “Barter-Trade” route. The NIA said the barter-trade generated more than Rs 3000 crores in cash and at least Rs 1000 crores of this amount had gone to the kashmiri militants and their patterns which included Hurriyat leaders. The NIA submitted a detailed account of money-trail beginning with traders on the borders to traders in Delhi and major cities and how money re-routed to Hurriyat leaders and Kashmiri militants. The NIA also gave detailed account of how bank channels were used for over-invoicing and under-invoicing and went on unchecked for nearly eight years.

It said that terror funding by LeT, JeM and other outfits and the alleged transfer of cross-LoC trade proceeds are "interlinked". It gave clinching evidence to the MHA how large amount exchanged through import and export of goods has been ultimately used to foment "civil unrest" in Kashmir. The NIA suspects that some traders even provide trucks to hide arms and ammunition smuggled from Pakistan.

It is learnt that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh who undertook 4-day visit to J & K discussed this issue with the state Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also as she had urged the Prime Minister that Barter-Trade agreement should not be scrapped.

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"Barter Trade" or Terror Funding

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

"Barter Trade"  or Terror Funding 

NIA raids J&K Trade centers, exposes Rs 300 crore  hawala racket 

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Jan 23

The National Investigation Agency is investigating whether two barter trade centers between India and Pakistan are generating hundreds of crores of “Hawala” operation helping terror groups.

In a massive operation recently, the NIA seized records of over 350 traders from Kashmir and also in Delhi to investigate whether barter trade route was used to fund separatists and terror activities in the Valley and elsewhere.

The NIA sleuths raided barter trade centers in Uri and Poonch earlier this month after getting intelligence inputs that barter trade resulted in under-invoicing and over-invoicing. The NIA estimates that Rs 300 crores of undue profit was made by traders operating in Uri and Poonch centers which was passed onto the separatists and terror groups. Essentially, Pakistani traders sold their goods cheap to their Indian counter-parts so that they can make a killing. Since this trade is cash-less and goods can only be exchanged only by goods, the value is fixed mutually. Once the traders in J&K get the goods, these are sold to wholesale merchants in Delhi, Jammu and Punjab. These goods are sold to merchants at 40% of the prices while rest of the money is paid in cash.

It may be mentioned that barter trade between India and Pakistan started during the Manmohan Singh regime in October 2008 through a special agreement. The two centres were opened in Uri and Poonch to held the traders of these regions on both sides of the line of control. Under the agreement, no cash will be involved and only 21 items were permitted for mutual trade and exchange of goods. The value of the items is to be fixed  by the traders.

The NIA sleuths are now scrutinizing the documents seized from Uri, Poonch and whole-sale markets in Delhi and other parts. A highly confidential report has already been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Barter trade agreement is monitored by the Ministry of Home Affairs and not by the Commerce Ministry. It has been pointed out by NIA that an amount of Rs 300 crores was made in excess by traders in Uri & Poonch and this money reached in the hands of the separatists.

The NIA is also finding out if some bureaucrats in the J&K government and politicians are also behind the inflated transactions and benefited in either way.

The Custodian of LoC trade Farooq Ahmad Shah has told the sleuths that on average the trade between two parts of Kashmir is worth over Rs 30 million ($440,000) per day: “On average we are allowing 40-50 trucks each day, four days a week from both the sides.” He said that the need for banking facilities has been brought to the notice of the higher authorities.

WATCH OUT, CORPORATES !

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Tax in India has long been a matter of negotiation rather than obligation. Earlier this year, pending indirect tax disputes in concerned appellate tribunal and the high courts and Supreme Court stood at 136,365. The number was so staggering that the government was forced to find excuses to withdraw appeals in minor disputes ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh. Yet the tax revenue now frozen in disputes at various levels is well over five lakh crore of rupees. Besides, Indian companies" 'hunger' for exemption led successive regimes to succumb to make changes in to the tax laws. It has resulted in many large companies being 'zero-tax'. The country's tax administration has, over the decades, left its public finance permanently starved.