Over the past few decades, fraud has occurred often in India and has become a means of making money. Fraudsters come up with a variety of schemes to entice people and earn money. In recent years, frauds have caused Indian banks to lose millions of rupees. Out of 168 countries, our nation ranks 76th in terms of how corrupt it is. In this essay, we'll talk about 5 similar financial frauds that happened in India.
1. Coalgate Scam
A controversy that occurred under the UPA government is known as the Coal Allocation Scam or Coalgate Scam. It became relevant in 2012 due to accusations made against the government by the then-Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) regarding the distribution of coal blocks among public and private businesses.
194 coal blocks were sold to these public and commercial businesses for captive usage out of the total 216 coal blocks allotted between 1993 and 2010. The final report submitted to Parliament showed the sum to be Rs. 1.86 lakh crore, contrary to the CAG's contention in its report that the exchequer incurred a loss of almost Rs. 10.7 lakh crores.
2. Commonwealth Game Scam
In 2010, the scandals and corruption surrounding the Commonwealth Games in India garnered more media attention than the actual competition. According to the reports, Swiss Timings received a contract worth 141 crores from Suresh Kalmadi for its timing apparatus.
This amount was shockingly 95 crores higher than necessary. He was the chairman of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, charged with corruption and other wrongdoings, and the entire event was contaminated by claims of forgery, cheating, and criminal conspiracy. It was also claimed that the Indian athletes were forced to live in appalling conditions rather than the housing offered by the government.
3. 2G Spectrum Scam
After the Indian Coal scandal, the 2G spectrum scam is currently one of the largest suspected fraud cases. It is a mixture of three cases, two of which were registered by the CBI and one of which was filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The United Progressive Alliance's former telecom minister A. Raja was charged in this case along with 14 other individuals, including officials from government agencies, telecom corporations, and private businesses (UPA).
On November 16, 2010, the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) of India stated that the telecom ministry had sold 2G mobile network licenses at throwaway rates rather than through free and fair auctions, resulting in an estimated loss to the Indian national exchequer of Rs. 1.76 lakh crore.
A. Raja and 14 other people are charged by the CBI in a 127-page charge sheet that has 88,000 annexures in 2009 in the special court created for the 2G case. A. Raja and Kanimozhi were among the suspects who were all declared innocent on December 21st, 2017, by Special CBI Judge OP Saini due to a lack of evidence.
4. Vijay Maliya Scam
Vijay Mallya made the decision to enter the international aviation industry in 2007, despite the regulations forbidding it, because he had at least five years of domestic experience. He was nonetheless adamant about becoming global. As a result, he bought Air Deccan, a company that had been operating on international routes. Due to government policies, he attempted to attract FDI investment but was unsuccessful. Due to non-payment, the Kingfisher employees went on strike and eventually quit. In 2012, the government revoked Kingfisher's license, and the airline subsequently stopped operations.
Then he sought assistance from several institutions, including 17 PSU banks and 2 private sector banks. He borrowed money from these banks but could not pay them back. Then, after making a request to the government for a debt restructuring, he used his political connections as a Rajya Sabha member to convert his debt into equity at a price of about Rs. 65 per share when the actual market price was closer to Rs. 40.
5. Nirav Modi PNB Bank Scam
One of India's largest public-sector banks, Punjab National Bank, reported a fraud of INR 11,400 crores at its Mumbai branch's Brady House in 2018. The defendant was Mr Nirav Modi, a well-known Indian diamond manufacturer. According to reports, the PNB scam is one of the most prominent fraud instances in Indian banking history. Modi's properties and assets, valued at thousands of crores, have so far been sealed and sold at auction by the Indian government. But the government has yet to be successful in getting all of the money recovered.
Written By: Anusuya Dey
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