Updated: September 16, 2020 7:08:34 am
Also on the list are over 500 entities restricted for various reasons by the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The granular data even includes those arrested for exchanging demonetized banknotes.
From the defendants in the AgustaWestland bribery case to a group of youths who stole cell phones, hundreds of those charged with financial crimes, corruption, terror, racketeering, narcotics, gold and wildlife smuggling are a significant part. , up to 6,000, of the Indian individuals monitored by Zhenhua Facts, an investigation of The Indian Express has revealed it.
Among the high-profile entries recorded in Zhenhua’s Overseas Key Individuals Database (OKIDB) are cases of income tax evasion against 19 companies founded by friends or relatives of former Satyam Group president Ramalinga Raju ; the forage scam corruption scandal where officials and suppliers conspired to fraudulently drain the Jharkhand treasury; and the Vyapam scam involving the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board.
Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, whose Sky Light Hospitality Private Limited (now LLP) is under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate; Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who was accused of illegally denoting a major plot for the benefit of his relatives, and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, who was mentioned in a red corner notice in a laundering case of money are also mentioned in the database.
The scope of the monitoring of financial crimes extends to cases of corruption, bribery and fraud.
Also on the list are over 500 entities restricted for various reasons by the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The granular data even includes those arrested for exchanging demonetized banknotes.
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A cybersecurity expert who has worked with various government agencies in India explained: “We are looking at a crime map that marks the dividing lines in an open democratic system. Much of this may seem unrevealing, but OSINT (open source intelligence) needs a massive data analytics framework that leads to a fusion hub where leads are filtered and enriched by other sources. That explains the staggering variety of names on the list and its voluminous records. The result can potentially be manipulated to achieve different ends, from cultivating assets and interfering with social functioning to undermining or even delegitimizing institutions. “
The list of crimes registers more than 100 cases of terror. These include the fugitive Dawood Ibrahim, the late Tiger Memon; members of the Bangladesh Jamat-ul-Mujaheedin (JMB) investigated by the NIA in the Burdwan explosion case in 2014; Operations of the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) arrested in Chhattisgarh in 2013 in connection with 28 cases of kidnapping, murder, looting, arson and extortion; and militants from the Bodoland Democratic Front (Songbijit) arrested in Assam in 2015 with firearms and ammunition.
Since the mid-1990s, Indian intelligence and security agencies have detected multiple arms smuggling operations smuggling shipments of Chinese-made weapons illegally acquired from India across the China-Burma border and then through Northern Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Significantly, OKIDB has more than 40 bookmakers accused of betting and fixing points in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the 2015 Cricket World Cup. What perhaps explains the close surveillance of the IPL is the amount of Chinese investment in the tournament. Chinese mobile phone makers Vivo acquired the title sponsorship rights for the IPL in 2018 for Rs 2,199 crore over five years. While ongoing border problems forced Vivo out of the deal last month, its replacement fantasy sports company Dream 11 is owned in part by Chinese tech major Tencent.
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The database also focuses on other specific areas of Chinese interest, such as drug trafficking, gold, and wildlife. Due to its proximity to the Golden Triangle on its southwestern border, narcotics smuggling has always been one of China’s top concerns. Traditionally, China and India have been the world’s leading producers of plant-derived opioids and ephedrine.
In recent years, the Revenue Intelligence Directorate has arrested several China-based unions involved in gold smuggling. China continues to be a major destination for wildlife smuggled from the Indian wilderness. Traditionally, red sanders (sandalwood), those derived from big cats and ivory have been in high demand.
The database has granular details of hundreds of cases in which arrests were made for drug and gold trafficking, as well as those accused of poaching and wildlife smuggling, across India. These include:
* Six arrested in Mumbai in December 2013 on suspicion of trafficking 1.2 tons of ketamine worth an estimated Rs 118 crore.
* Personal security personnel of an IPS officer during his tenure in Chandigarh sentenced in 2013 for possessing 12 kg of heroin worth Rs 60 crore.
* Customs officer charged in connection with an attempted smuggling of 20 kg of gold, worth approximately Rs 6 million, to India via Kochi Airport in 2013.
* A Kotdwar resident arrested in 2012 for allegedly smuggling 67 kg of elephant tusks worth 50 lakh rupees on the black market.
The database includes illegal organ donations that were reported from hospitals in Amritsar, Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram, and Nalgonda. Significantly, China and India are among the most popular destinations for international patients seeking organ transplants.
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