9 scams that robbed Indian taxpayers' money

Over the years there has been rampant corruption in India which has resulted in decay of the precious taxpayers' money. From fodder to coal gate, Satyam to Nirav Modi, 2G to defense arms deal, India has witnessed scams of epic proportions. Let's look at 9 notable scams that have occurred in India.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud was carried out by celebrity diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who allegedly siphoned off over Rs 13,500 crore of taxpayers' money. The fraud took place through Brady house branch of Punjab National Bank. Punjab National Bank said that its own officials violated rules and issued illegal guarantee documents to help the celebrity jeweller secure credit from overseas bank branches using SWIFT financial communication system. The scam occoured between 2009 and 2017. Fugitive Nirav Modi has been arrested in London and extradition hearings are in process.

Coal allocation scam (or Coalgate) came to light in 2012 and occurred when the UPA government was in power. In a draft report issued in March 2014, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) office accused the Government of India of allocating coal blocks in an inefficient manner during the period 2004-2009. The scam occurred after the government in power, instead of allocating coal blocks through a bidding process, chose to allocate them for lesser consideration. On September 24, 2014 Supreme Court cancelled allocation of 214 out of 218 coal blocks which were allotted to various companies since 1993.

In 2012, irregularities in the utilisation of the funds given by the centre for the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) came to light. NHRM is a central government scheme meant for improvement of health care in the rural areas. The scam crippled development of rural health care and cost over Rs 10,000 crore to the exchequer.

India hosted Commonwealth Games in 2010. Pilferage of around Rs 70,000 crore was done while organising facilities and infrastructure for the sports event. The Central Vigilance Commission, involved in probing alleged corruption in various Commonwealth Games-related projects, found discrepancies in tenders, such as payment to non-existent parties, wilful delays in execution of contracts, over-inflated prices and misappropriation of funds. Suresh Kalamadi, who was the chairman of the organising committee of CWG and former member of Indian National Congress, was jailed in 2011.

This case pertains to a 2010 deal signed by the Indian government and AugustaWestland (helicopter manufacturer) for acquisition of 12 helicopters that would perform VVIP duties. It was alleged that the middlemen received about Euro 30 million (approximately Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland to influence the Rs 3,600 crore deal in its favour. The deal involved paying money in the form of kickbacks to prominent politicians, defense officials and bureaucrats of the ruling party. The key accused in the case is British national, Christian Michel who has been extradited to India in 2018 from the UAE and is currently in Tihar jail.

In 2008, A. Raja the then minister of communications and IT was accused of undercharging mobile telephone companies during the 2G spectrum sale. As per 2012 Supreme Court ruling, the spectrum sale was "unconstitutional and arbitrary" and lead to cancelation of 122 licenses issued in 2008 under telecom minister A. Raja. The Time magazine has listed this as one of the top 10 abuses of power. However in 2017, a special court acquitted all accused in the 2G spectrum scam based on the fact that CBI could not find any evidence against the accused in last 7 years. In 2018, CBI and ED filed appeal against this verdict in the high court of Delhi.

In 2006, Indian Navy inked a $6 billion deal for Scorpene submarines. Sensitive data relating to military purchases of this multi-billion dollar deal was leaked by senior defense officials working in the navy war room located inside Prime Minister's secretariat. Key accused in the case were arms dealer Ravi Shankaran and Abhishek Verma. Even after years of legal battle in UK court, Indian government could not succeed in Ravi's extradition. The scam led to a loss of estimated Rs 18,000 crore to the exchequer.

Thousands of tonnes of food grains meant for the poor and under privileged of the state of Uttar Pradesh had been siphoned off and exported to countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh between 2002 and 2010. Central government, through welfare schemes such as Antyodaya Anna Yojna and mid-day meal scheme for below poverty line people, provide food to lakhs of poor families. But the food meant to feed poor families was diverted to the open market through this scam. Some of it was even confiscated from Nepal and Bangladesh border. The scam cost the exchequer an estimated Rs 35,000 crore.

Way back in 1996, India and Sweden signed Rs 1,500 crore contracts for acquisition of 410 howitzer guns. The scam is related to kickbacks received by politicians from Bofors AB, a bank based in Sweden. It was alleged that money marked for development projects was diverted to secure this contract at any cost. In this scam, Indian politicians received kickbacks worth Rs 64 crore.