5 Biggest Scams in India 😱😱😱

            😱😱 5 BIGGEST SCAMS IN INDIA 😱😱

1. Vijay Mallya – Rs. 9000 Crore

There was a time when people used to call him the ‘King of good times’, but today things are far from being good for him. We’re talking about liquor baron Vijay Mallya. In 2016, Mallya absconded the country and sought refuge in the UK after he was accused of fraud and money laundering in the country. Vijay Mallya allegedly owes various banks over Rs 9000 crores, which he'd taken as a loan to keep his now defunct Kingfisher airlines from failing.He was recently declared a fugitive economic offender under the Fugitive Economic OffendersBut what is Mallya up to now? While the Indian government is trying to extradite him from the UK, which does not seem to be happening anytime soon, Mallya on Tuesday in a series of tweets asked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to consider his “offer to repay 100%” of the amount borrowed by Kingfisher Airlines to the banks.

2. Coalgate Scam – Rs. 1.86 lakh crore

The coal allocation scam or ‘Coalgate’ is a political scandal that surfaced in 2012 when the UPA government was in power. The scam was brought to notice by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), when they accused the government of illegally allocating 194 coal blocks between 2004 and 2009. This was one of the scams that shook the whole nation from its core as many bureaucrats and politicians were involved in this. 

Although the CAG initially estimated the loss of over Rs 10 lakh crore, the final report mentioned the scam amount was Rs 1.86 lakh crore.   

3. 2G Spectrum scam – Rs. 1,76,000 crore

In 2008, the government came under scrutiny when it was alleged that they had undercharged mobile telephone companies for frequency allocation licenses that were used to create 2G spectrum subscriptions, and at the centre of this controversy was the former Telecom minister A. 

Raja himself. The CAG had stated that “the difference between the money collected and that mandated to be collected was Rs. 1.76 trillion.” (Rs. 1,76,000 crore)

 In 2012, the spectrum was declared as “unconstitutional and arbitrary” by the Supreme Court and led to the cancellation of over 120 licenses.

4. Commonwealth Games scam – Rs. 70,000 crore

In 2010, the Commonwealth Games held in India made more headlines for the controversies and corruption it was involved in than the games itself. The whole event was marred with accusations of criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery and the chairman of Common Wealth Games 2010 Suresh Kalmadi was accused of corruption and malpractices. 

It was also reported that the Indian athletes were forced to stay in terrible conditions instead of the accommodation allotted to them by the authorities. 

5. BOFORS scandal – Rs. 64 Crore

This is a major weapons-contract scandal that took place between India and Sweden during the 1980s and 90s. 

In 1986, India reportedly signed a deal worth Rs 1437 crore (approx) with the Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors AB, to supply their 155mm field howitzer to the Indian Army. 

Many politicians including the then PM Rajiv Gandhi were accused of receiving bribes or “kickbacks” worth over Rs. 64 crores for the deal. In today’s time, the Bofors scam is estimated to be around Rs. 400 crore.               

6. Nirav Modi PNB Bank fraud – Rs. 11,400 Crore

Diamonds are a man or woman’s best friend, but diamantaires like Nirav Modi are not.  One of the most controversial scams, this fraud reportedly took place through Punjab National bank’s Brady house brand. Not just Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and two senior PNB officials were also involved in this fraud. 

In 2018, PNB filed a case with CBI accusing Nirav Modi and the companies he was connected to of obtaining Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) from PNB without paying up the margin amount against loans.

 This meant that if those companies failed to pay the loan, PNB would have had to pay the amount. 

7. AgustaWestland chopper scam – Rs. 3600 Crore        

 

One of the infamous defence scandals in India, this case is about a 2010 deal signed between the UPA government and AgustaWestland for acquisition of 12 helicopters that were supposed to be used by the President of India, the Prime Minister and perform other VVIP duties.

 The deal was worth Rs 3600 crore and it was alleged that many middlemen include some politicians and defence officials received bribes to tweak the deal to help AgustaWestland. 

8. Satyam scam – Rs. 14,000 crore

This 2009 corporate scam is also known as ‘India’s Enron Scandal’ and revolves around B Ramalinga Raju and his Satyam Computer Services Ltd. 

The company admitted that they misrepresented, manipulated and falsified their accounts of over Rs 14,000 crore, in front of its board, stock exchanges, investors and other stakeholders. 

9. Hawala scam – $18 million

Hawala scandal came to public attention in the 1990s, which also threw spotlight on politicians like LK Advani, Arjun Singh, Yeshwant Sinha and Madan Lal Khurana and more who were said to be involved in the bribery. 

This scam revolved around the hawala brothers also known as Jain brothers, who were linked to a raid on terrorists. It was found that the payments of supposed black money were done by these politicians through the brothers.