French tax-fraud investigators have stolen Swiss bank data

Dec 9, 2009, 9:30 GMT


Paris - An employee for the Swiss bank HSBC in Geneva stole data
from thousands of secret bank accounts and handed the information
to French tax-fraud investigators, the daily Le Parisien reported
Wednesday.

This alleged data theft may have been the source for the list
 of 3,000 owners of secret Swiss bank accounts that French Budget
 Minister Eric Woerth said in August were being investigated for
tax fraud.

The former HSBC employee, whom Le Parisien named Antoine,
was a manager in the bank's computer services department and
currently lives in France under a false identity.

The accounts cracked by Antoine reportedly include those
 of a well-known French comedian and several politicians,
a source close to the investigation told Le Parisien.

Some accounts were listed under codes that suggested they
belonged to intelligence services. Other accounts belonged
to Colombian nationals and 'Chinese authorities,' the source said.

In a first reaction, HSBC confirmed that data had been stolen,
but said it involved 'not more than 10 clients' and that the '
data are old and not sensitive.'

In August, Woerth said he had obtained a list of 3,000 French
citizens who held secret accounts in Swiss banks worth
some 3 billion euros (4.42 billion dollars).

At the time, Swiss authorities accused him of having obtained
the information illegally. But he claimed that it was given to
him voluntarily by Swiss banks in France.

The 38-year-old Antoine reportedly
came to France on his own at
 the beginning of 2009 and
 immediately contacted French tax authorities.

Swiss authorities had demanded that
 he be returned to face charges,
but France rejected the request,
sending instead a transcript of his testimony.

Source:Le Parisien

Ahmedabad co-op bank chairman in police custody for fraud

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 8:37 IST


Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad People's Cooperative Bank
fraud case took a new turn when chairman, Nayan Majmudar
and bank's manager RD Shah were produced in the chief
 metropolitan magistrate KB Mehta's court.

The duo was remanded to three days police custody.

Majmudar and Shah have been accused of allegedly
extending loans to Pratik Shah, the director of
 Pentium Infotech Ltd and Hirak Biotech Ltd,
without following the guidelines set by
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The duo extended loans to Pratik by
submitting forged documents. On Tuesday
CID crime police inspector (PI),
Anirudhsinh Jadeja produced the duo before the court.

The public prosecutor pleaded the court
 for three days remand as they had to
investigate details about how the duo managed
 to get forged documents.

Earlier, on Monday
the CID crime arrested Majmudar and Shah in
connection with the case. Sources said that
 land belonging to Platinum Corporation Ltd,
 a new name for Pentium Infotech, was shown
to be more than its value and mortgaged for
a loan from the Ahmedabad People's Co-operative Bank.

The bank had given Rs74 crore in loan without
 adequate collateral to Pratik Shah against
a fixed deposit of Rs50 crore.

Dubai desert storm impacts Chennai companies

9 Dec 2009, 1206 hrs IST, 

Hemamalini Venkatraman & V Balasubramanian,

 

CHENNAI: The Dubai desert storm which sent world markets into

a tizzy has far from settled. Down South, in Chennai to be specific, several 

companies with substantial stakes in Dubai fear that they have to

bear the cascading effect of the Dubai crisis. 

Consultants and senior bank officials ET spoke to have identified 

ETA Star Group (with an exposure of close to Rs 10,000 crore

in Dubai) as one of the leading corporate houses which may

have to bear the biggest brunt of this crisis. 

The extent of damage could, however, not be ascertained. 

Coming Monday (December 14) will be a crucial date 

as ‘Sukuk’, the Islamic bonds, get due for payment. 

The quantum of damage will be determined depending 

upon the realisation, a leading banker, on condition of anonymity told ET. 

The ETA Star group, co-promoted by Chennai-based BS Abdur Rahman, 

has receivables for various projects executed to the tune 

of 800 million Dirham (around Rs 10,000 crore). 

 

These include metro rail, Burj-Dubai project and

infrastructure development-related ones. 

These bills are outstanding since July 2009, sources said.

Mr Rahman, vice-chairman of the Dubai-based group,

is also the chancellor of BS Abdur Rahman University, Chennai.

His sons are actively involved in the ETA Star Group's operations

in West Asia and India.

 

Several prestigious projects that the group has executed

in TN include the Chennai Citi Centre -- the most expensive 

shopping mall in TN, Chepauk Stadium, Marina Lighthouse, 

Valluvar Kottam, Government General Hospital, Gemini Flyover,

Kodambakkam Flyover and Raheja Towers.

 

The East Coast Construction, which is implementing 

projects worth Rs 500 crore for the TN govt, 

including the secretariat, and West Asia Maritime

are part of the ETA Star Group. 

Since the group employs a large number of Tamils,

the crisis may affect the job front as well. In recent years,

the group has started investing more in India in areas like

real estate, housing, retailing and power. It had embarked 

on a mega IT park in Chennai but slowed it down after

the global financial meltdown. 

When contacted, ETA Star ED Abid Junaid refused to 

comment. Repeated mails sent to top ETA group 

officials remained unanswered. 

Meanwhile, the director of another Chennai-based company —

National Asphalt Products and Construction (NAPC) — 

Varun Manian said his company had been trying to re-work

its business plans over the last six months to minimise impact. 

Dubai contributes around 15% to the company’s Rs 650 crore turnover. 

Incidentally, RBI guidelines stipulate that all equity

investments abroad by Indian companies have to be 

repatriated by dividends. So, companies that have set 

up subsidiaries through the equity route would be severely

impacted. 

 

The Chennai-headquartered company that executes

infrastructure works, specialises in earth-moving and

road development activities. "We have started shifting 

our machines and equipment to Abu Dhabi. 

 

Our customers (including Emaar) are seeking discounts 

that are absolutely unviable since we operate on thin margins.

The Road and Transport Authority of Dubai have asked us 

to stop work," he told ET. 

NAPC expects to take a hit of 10% to 12% on its revenues this year. 

Consolidated Construction Consortium (CCCL)

chairman and CEO R Sarabeswar told ET that the current

scenario has to be viewed in the context of the anticipated 

ripple-effect this will create in the next three months.

Large projects are still available in Abu Dhabi. 

"We have seen no direct impact," he said. In Dubai, 

CCCL has executed many projects —building factories

and villas worth 20 million dirhams. It is expecting to bag

a couple of private contracts for around 35 million dirhams. 

Rakindo honcho Prasad Koneru said his company, which

operates out of Dubai, has not been impacted at all. 

A senior official of an infrastructure company said special

purpose vehicles have their own cash flows and hence, 

companies that have been project-financed are not really 

in a precarious situation. 

However, another top bank official said there are cases wherein,

transactions involving other countries where Dubai is used as the

trans-shipment point, have been hit. For example, companies

shipping their products to the Middle East and North Africa

markets have been hit by the Dubai bubble. 

Ashok Leyland and Hyundai have been using this logistics

hub to gain entry to high-risk countries, where they de-risk 

by opting for Islamic Banking channel. Meanwhile, a few 

contracting companies, routing their exports through Dubai,

are said to have taken a hit to the extent of $1 million or so. 

 

Sources:ET