Siemens AG - one of the main promoters of BIAL pleads guilty to corruption and bribery charges.
"On Monday December 15th Siemens pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and corruption and agreed to pay fines of $800m in America and €395m ($555m) in Germany, in addition to an earlier fine of €201m."
http://www.economist.com/...
No wonder Siemens AG is so obstinate when it comes to criticism about BIAL! And they lecture to us Indians about how corrupt we are.
BIAL promoter pleads guilty to bribery
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Corruption - Who is more corrupt?
Mcadambi,
The Siemens nod to pay the fine is a result of investigation institution the USA has. Imagine such an investigation could nailed down the corrupt giver and taker.
I am eager to see a finger pointed towards the real underhand beneficiaries of BIAL project. May be we will not hear anything on this front.
Recently present Karnataka Govt allowed the contract for advertising Hoardings after it had declared initially that it has banned/stopped the contract award. We all know who the beneficiaries are?
Yesterday there was a news item in Deccan Chronicle, that HSR project has been canceled. Even though many would have support the cancellation of this project. But the real reasons cited are due to elevated toll-way project. The contract for Elevated project is executed by one of the committee members in ABIDE committee.
US antigraft laws
We all know where India stands w.r.t anticorruption acts.
Recently, Banglore Metro disqualified M/s East Coast Construction Industries (ECCI) that executed the Malleswaram underpass and the Magadi Road underpass because one of it's officials was caught redhanded bribing BDA officals.
One wonders if GoK will cancel the permit of Siemens AG in view of the corruption report and disqualify Siemens AG from bidding for further projects.
What hapenned to BDA official who was caught red handed?
ECCI official was charged not the BDA official
Any reasons for not charging the official?
Detailed report
http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/07/stories/2008110759110300.htm
And here is the report wherein Bangalore Metro sought to disqualify East Coast Construction:
http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/27/stories/2008112761670400.htm
Why shouldn't the Government of Karnataka crack the whip on Siemens AG in light of this bribery scandal?
Considering that Siemens AG has done a lousy job by blatantly violating it's contractual obligations w.r.t BIAL, any action taken on Siemens AG is justified.
Bribe and Prostitution
In just five years Sweden has dramatically reduced the number of its women in prostitution. In the capital city of Stockholm the number of women in street prostitution has been reduced by two thirds, and the number of johns has been reduced by 80%. There are other major Swedish cities where street prostitution has all but disappeared. Gone too, for the most part, are the renowned Swedish brothels and massage parlors which proliferated during the last three decades of the twentieth century when prostitution in Sweden was legal
How did this happen? Simple rule.
The clients are to blame for buying the services of the women, and that the women are not to pay the price for their circumstances.
Buying of sex is a criminal offence in Sweden while selling of the same is legal.
Similarly If we make taking of bribe a criminal offence proscecutable by law we will make the bribe giving a redundant act. Responsible people in power who have a lot at stake will fall in line. There is no need to run behind the elusive fly by night bribe givers. Fining and proscecuting bribe givers is inneffective as a new one will spring up where the previous one vanished. Lokayukta has caught so many people what is the prosecution rate?
More on corruption at Siemens
I wonder why BCIC is not complaining against Siemens AG. Bangalore's show piece project is being promoted by a highly corrupt MNC. And we seem to be doing nothing about it.