Mrs Bedi, please don't say“Is Bollywood, Dirtywood or Blackwood?"

After the CNN-IBN & Cobrapost expose on the black money in Bollywood, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi tweeted out her reaction, questioning whether black money is the reason why Bollywood did not support the Anna movement.

  Bedi tweeted, “Is Bollywood, Dirtywood or Blackwood? Was that the main reason this ‘Wood’ did not come out in support of Anna‘s movement despite requests?”
   Popular film directors and producers were caught on camera discussing how to use black money in Bollywood. Ra.One director Anubhav Sinha was caught explaining how one can become a ghost producer for his films. Well known producer Vashu Bhagnani, producer of films like Coolie No.1 and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, was also discussing the same.
  Reacting to this, Bedi further tweeted, “this much money is on record. How much cash is stashed only God knows. Nature will have its own way to recover!”

  When a follower asked her on Twitter why she needs the support of Bollywood, when she is calling it ‘Dirtywood’, Bedi tweeted, “we sought the support of ‘Black-Bolly Wood’ because media carries their message and common man follows them.

Ra.One director, Vashu Bhagnani caught in black money expose

Sab ganda hai par dhandha hai yeh! This Bollywood song somehow has become the rationalisation of the Mumbai film industry. It was thought that a growing corporatisation of the film industry would help to get rid of its black money, which was major source of finance till the 90s, but a CNN-IBN & Cobrapost expose tell a different story — Bollywood hasn’t changed one bit.

  A Cobrapost undercover reporter met Anubhav Sinha, director of one of the most expensive Indian films Ra.One, in his office in Mumbai posing as an investor who wants to launder his black money. Anubhav Sinha is caught explaining on camera how one can become a ghost producer for his films.

  “There are some instances where investors put their money but don’t put their name anywhere,” Sinha said. He also suggested to the undercover reporter to invest in the film in similar fashion.
  The deal with Sinha was finalised in 75 percent black.
  Also caught on camera was well known producer Vashu Bhagnani, producer of films like Coolie No.1 and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
  “Eight crore in cash and two crore cheque. But the paper work will be only for 2 crore,” Bhagnani said to the undercover reporter. He also explained how the black money can be made into white through distribution rights.

  “We will share the profit you make. This way your money gets white and you get its perfect value,” Bhagnani said.

  Did Ms Bedi ever tried to expose the corruption in police department where she served for so many years. Today, a common policeman’s earnings is not less than a first class employee, where they are hiding that black money.

  Secondly , take any business, since time immorial, black money plays the main role in establishing a business. Without the help of black money, no business could be established. Even a hawker to sell vegetables or any produce, he has to grease the palm of police, perhaps she must be fully aware of this fact. If she has some problems in counting the bribes in police, not only myself, there could be a very long queue of police bribery victims.

  Thirdly, she should know that the team of which she herself a member, for what that team is fighting for and on paid news she is diverting the attention of the public. But say indirectly by doing so she is helping the government in diverting the public attention from the main issue of corruption by politicians.

  Forthly, you could have glore of examples courts sentencing the civilians for having assests more than their income but no politician is sentenced for that crime, why? Their cases are adjourned as political motivation. Take the latest example of Uttar Pradesh former Chief Minister Mayawati, as she is freed from the court, Delhi’s as well as other states’ walls having so many of posters with a lifesize photo of Mayawati sachche ka bol bala jhuthon ka munh kala.

  Bharat got freedom in 1947, thousands of scams are there but none was sentenced, if for own sake, someone is put behind the bars, he/she enjoys more having 5-star facilities. Of which A.Raja, Kalmandi and others are the living example. Did any civilian get or may have such facility on the same charge, show at least an example.

  More so, some time back, BJP MP Varun Gandhi, through RTI, had sought some information regarding Swiss bank account holders, what happened.

  There is an old saying rich makes the law which grinds the poor is proved every moment.

See the following two reports:--

Varun files RTI to get information on MPs’ Swiss accounts

New Delhi: BJP MP Varun Gandhi today resorted to RTI to seek names of members of Parliament and others who have allegedly stashed black money in HSBC, Geneva, the details of which have recently been shared with the Finance Ministry.

The Pilibhit MP shot off a six-point RTI application seeking names of Indians who have allegedly deposited their money in the bank, the action taken by the Central Board of Direct Taxes against them and related details in this regard.

Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi. Reuters

In his application, he wanted to know from the Finance Ministry the list of persons who have deposited more than Rs 50 crore in the HSBC, Geneva and people who have been questioned or surveyed in this regard.

The MP also wanted to know if the Income Tax department has made any recovery from the account holders of HSBC, Geneva.

Varun said he decided to seek reply through RTI because the government was indulging in obfuscation by taking cover under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with Switzerland.

He said he would approach court in government fails to give him necessary information.

Black money: Why is India doing private deals with tax cheats?

Why is India privately closing tax evasion cases by letting Indian Swiss account holders pay their dues on the quiet without formally announcing a voluntary disclosure scheme?

According to a Bloomberg report, an amnesty offer is being made to 100 wealthy Indians on a list of 700 citizens with HSBC accounts in Geneva that French authorities gave to the Indian government last year.

If the Indians agree to bring the money back to India and pay their taxes, the taxmen will not levy any penalty or hold any criminal proceedings against them. Moreover, the names of HSBC clients won’t be disclosed until the income tax department begins prosecuting them.

As a Firstpost story noted earlier, this clandestine effort to collect taxes is not without its hazards. “When the holding of undeclared foreign currency accounts is a crime, how can the tax department deal with it as if it was something normal?

Two, since the Swiss bank list is available both to our politicians and the tax department, what is the possibility that this power will not be used to blackmail people and collect bribes?

Three, when black money is such a big issue politically and geopolitically, can the tax department just do quiet deals with tax evaders?”

However, the Business Standard reported that the finance ministry officials have denied any amnesty to tax evaders for repatriating money parked in Swiss banks accounts to India. However, the government’s white paper on black money which was tabled in Parliament in May to deal with the problem of tax evasion, listed a one-time tax amnesty to recover funds stashed abroad but didn’t suggest any kind of immunity to the tax defaulter. “The Central Government may consider bringing a compliance scheme with reduced penalties, and immunity from prosecution, especially to bring back money kept abroad.’’

In fact the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee mentioned that the liability of Swiss banks to Indians has dropped from Rs 23,000 crore in 2006 to Rs 9,300 crore in 2010, and cited the experience of the US, the UK and other European countries in getting black money stashed overseas through voluntary disclosure of deposits.

A Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme was launched by the finance ministry in India in 1997 and it had helped the government increase its revenue collections dramatically in that year.

The issue gained momentum once again when captains of industry and business impressed the need for encouraging disclosure of unaccounted money kept in tax havens which could be used to fund infrastructure projects in the country.