Our Leaders recognised internationally for bribes - MP indicted by US Court
A Rajya Sabha Member was charged yesterday by a US Federal Court with participating in an alleged international racketeering conspiracy involving bribes of state and central government officials in India to allow the mining of titanium minerals.
He, along with five others are charged with conspiring to pay at least $18.5 million in bribes to secure licenses to mine minerals in the eastern coastal Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The mining project was expected to generate more than USD 500 million annually from the sale of titanium products, including sales to unnamed "Company A," headquartered in Chicago.
As per a release of the US Department of Justice, one of the defendants is K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, aka "KVP" and "Dr. KVP," 65, a Member of Parliament in India who was an official of the state government of Andhra Pradesh and a close advisor to the now-deceased chief minister of the State of Andhra Pradesh, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
As alleged in the indictment, the defendants used U.S. financial institutions to engage in the international transmission of millions of dollars for the purpose of bribing Indian public officials to obtain approval of the necessary licenses for the project. They allegedly financed the project and transferred and concealed bribe payments, and used threats and intimidation to advance the interests of the enterprise's illegal activities. The indictment further alleges that Sunderalingam met with Rao to determine the total amount of bribes and advised others on the results of the meeting, and he identified various foreign bank accounts held in the names of nominees outside India that could be used to funnel bribes to Rao. Rao allegedly solicited bribes for himself and others in return for approving licenses for the project, and he warned other defendants concerning the threat of a possible law enforcement investigation of the project.
The release clarifies that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt .
The Department of Justice proclaims, "Fighting global corruption is part of the fabric of the Department of Justice; Criminal conspiracies that extend beyond our borders are not beyond our reach."
We had a visionary leader who had declared long ago that corruption is a global phenomenon .