It is not just businessmen and corporate houses, but politicians, too, who use the complex web of shell companies that crisscrosses Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to launder and stash their ill-gotten wealth.
The century-old building is falling apart as if in pain and shame, having lost not only its glory but also its honour. Once home to families of freedom fighters, Nagin-das Mansion on JSS Road in Mumbai, is now a symbol of the biggest corporate fraud in India. It is from here that fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi ran his flagship companies—Firestar Diamond Inc and Diamond R Us—which are at the centre of the 11,400-crore Punjab National Bank scam.
The Enforcement Directorate has a list of around 40 other companies of Modi that are registered at this address, such as Moon Valuers Pvt Ltd, Moola Consultants Pvt Ltd, Ghazalah Investments Pvt Ltd and Bentley Realty Pvt Ltd. The ED believes these are shell companies formed for routing unaccounted money. Some of them have been forced to shut shop after their names were struck offby the Registrar of Companies; some others have changed name and address.
The proliferation of shell companies in cities big and small has become one of the biggest threats to the economic stability of India. “There has been a practice of creating some non-compliant companies, commonly known as shell companies or proxy companies, to route the financial transactions and money from the main frontman companies,” said P.P. Chaudhary, Union minister of state for corporate affairs. “The government has struck off approximately 2.26 lakh companies in its first drive against non-compliant companies. We have written to the chief secretaries of states that the properties of these 2.26 lakh companies should not be allowed to be transferred or sold. In the second drive, the government issued notices to approximately 2.25 lakh non-compliant companies. The ministry is examining the responses of these companies. Till now we have struck offthe names of around 1 lakh non-compliant companies of these 2.25 lakh.”
Denne historien er fra February 03, 2019-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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Denne historien er fra February 03, 2019-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
