As the COVID-19 situation is worsening the health, population, and economic sectors of our country, the government is urging the people of India to donate funds to cover up the expenses. In many places throughout the world, the economy has been reduced to shreds and is extremely sluggish. Many businessmen, celebrities, and athletes of India have joined hands to help contribute to the country during this crisis. It’s important to know, and surprising as well, that some people have proved to be more destructive to the economy than the pandemic itself. There were a few people in the past who affected the economy through corruption and conspiracy. Here is a list of 9 of the biggest financial scams that drained billions of dollars from the economy of India.
1. Vijay Mallya (Rs 9,000 Crores)
Vijay Mallya was called the “The King Of Good Times”, but now his life is far from being good. This was one of the biggest scams in India. The liquor baron fled the country and sought refuge in the United Kingdom after being accused of fraud and money laundering in the country. He owes more than Rs 9000 crores to various banks from which he took loans. He took these loans for the operation of Kingfisher airlines. Now, he is declared a fugitive economic offender. The government has made several attempts to deport him from the UK. He has recently made an offer to the Finance Minister of India to repay 100% of the amount that he had borrowed from the banks for Kingfisher airlines.
2. Coalgate Scam (Rs 1.86 Lakh Crores)
The coal allocation scam in India, popularly known as the Coalgate scam, received attention in 2012 when the UPA government was in power. It was a huge political scandal that was brought in front of the public eyes by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) when they blamed the government for distributing 194 coal blocks between 2004 and 2009. This was one of the biggest and widespread scams as many politicians and officials were involved in this. Later, the loss reported was about 1.86 lakh crores.
3. 2G Spectrum Scam (Rs 1.76 Trillion)
The government came under inspection when it was claimed that they had charged mobile telephone companies less for frequency allocation licenses that were used for the creation of 2G spectrum subscriptions. The Telecom Minister A. Raja was at the center of the controversy. The spectrum was later declared as ‘arbitrary and unconstitutional’ by the Supreme Court, which led to the cancellation of more than 120 licenses that were to be allocated.
4. Commonwealth Games Scam (Rs 70,000 Crores)
The Commonwealth Games scam in India was a very heart-wrenching and controversial scam that came to the surface in 2010. At that time the scams became more popular than the games themselves. It was reported that the Indian players were forced to face terrible living conditions rather than living in the accommodation allotted to them. The whole scam was a mess of criminal planning, forgery, cheating, and conspiracy.
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5. BOFORS Scam (Rs 64 Crores)
This weapons-contract scandal took place between India and Sweden in the 1980s and 90s. According to reports, India signed a deal with Sweden which was worth Rs 1437 crores approximately. The Swedish arms manufacturer was supposed to supply 155mm field Howitzer to the Indian Army. Back then, many politicians were accused of receiving bribes for the deal, and even Rajiv Gandhi was included among these politicians.
6. Nirav Modi’s Punjab National Bank Fund Scam (Rs 11,400 Crores)
One of the most famous and controversial scams in India is that of Nirav Modi. This fraud took place through PNB (Punjab National Bank) Brady house brand. It was reported that along with Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi, and two senior PNB officials were involved in this fraud. PNB filed a case against Nirav Modi in 2018. They said that Nirav Modi was connected to various companies and obtained LOUs (Letters of Undertaking) without paying the margin amount against loans.
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7. AgustaWestland Chopper Scam (Rs 3,600 Crores)
This infamous defense scam was about a deal signed between the UPA government and AugustaWestland in 2010 for possession of twelve helicopters for usage by the President of India, PM of India, and to perform other VVIP duties. This deal was worth Rs 3600 crores, and it is believed that many third parties were included in this deal, and some politicians were also bribed to sign this deal in the name of AgustaWestland.
8. Satyam Scam (Rs 14,000 Crores)
‘India’s Enron Scandal’, also known as the 2009 corporate scam, brought the misconduct of Satyam Computer Services Ltd to the surface. B Ramalinga Raju admitted to their investors, boards, stock exchanges, and other important shareholders that they manipulated their accounts over Rs 14,000 crores.
9. Hawala Scam ($18 Million)
Hawala scandal came to the surface in the 1990s. Reports claimed that many politicians like Yeshwant Sinha, Madan Lal Khurana, LK Advani, and Arjun Singh were involved in the case. The main scammers were the Hawala brothers who were connected to a raid on terrorists. The payments of the black money were supposedly done by the politicians through these two brothers.
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