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Thousands of demonstrators, including members of the Roman Catholic church clergy, protested in the Philippines on Sunday, calling for the swift prosecution of top legislators and officials implicated in a corruption scandal that has buffeted the Asian democracy. Left-wing groups led a separate protest in Manila's main park with a blunt demand for all implicated government officials to immediately resign and face prosecution. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been scrambling to quell public outrage over the massive corruption blamed for substandard, defective or non-existent flood control projects across an archipelago long prone to deadly flooding and extreme weather in tropical Asia. More than 17,000 police officers were deployed in metropolitan Manila to secure the separate protests. The Malacanang presidential palace complex in Manila was in a security lockdown with key access roads and bridges blocked by anti-riot police forces, trucks and barbed wire railings. In a deeply ..
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday conducted searches at multiple locations in Delhi-NCR as part of a money laundering probe against a "fake" call centre that is alleged to have duped numerous foreigners to the tune of millions of US dollars, officials said. At least 15 premises in Delhi, Noida and Gurugram apart from those in Mumbai were raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED probe stems from multiple FIRs registered by Delhi Police against a person named Karan Verma apart from some others. Investigation found that the fraudsters were running multiple "fake" call centres located in Rohini, Paschim Vihar and Rajouri Garden areas of Delhi wherein foreign nationals were duped by fraudsters impersonating themselves as customer support of companies like Charles Schwab Financial Services, Microsoft, Apple etc. The accused also impersonated as police/investigating agency officers and "extorted" money from the victims threatening them with
Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia skipped the questioning by the Delhi government's ACB in connection with a case of alleged corruption in the construction of classrooms in government schools that was to be held on Monday, official sources said. The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) had summoned AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and former PWD minister Satyendar Jain for questioning. While Jain appeared before ACB on Friday, Sisodia was supposed to appear on Monday. Jain was questioned for over five hours by the ACB. "Manish Sisodia's counsel informed us that he won't be able to come today. He will be called again," an ACB source said. According to AAP sources, Sisodia had a pre-planned engagement and was not able to appear before the ACB. His lawyer has sent a reply to the ACB, party sources said. The summons came after the ACB registered an FIR in the matter on April 30 based on allegations of financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore in the construction of over
Long stays of officers in postings breed corruption and remedial measures should be taken to ensure that they do not stay beyond the prescribed time limit in any ministry, a parliamentary panel has said. There has been a rotational policy for all officers but it is not being implemented in toto, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice said in its 145th report, tabled in Parliament on March 27, on the Demands for Grants (2025-26) pertaining to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). There are officers who are posted in potentially favourable ministries or places for over 8-9 years, especially in economic and sensitive ministries, and are continuing their stay despite heads of organisations being replaced four-five times. This trend should be assessed, it said. Instances have come to notice where officers have "manoeuvred their postings in such a way that their whole career has been in the same ministry and hen
The Supreme Court on Friday granted pre-arrest bail to former Chhattisgarh advocate general Satish Chandra Verma in relation to the Nagrik Apurti Nigam scam case. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta asked Verma to cooperate in the investigation. During the hearing, senior advocate Vivek Tankha and advocate Sumeer Sodhi, appearing for Verma, submitted that the Chhattisgarh High Court has wrongly concluded that there was a need for custodial interrogation. They submitted that no offence whatsoever was made out on the basis of allegations. Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for the state government, opposed the anticipatory bail saying there was enough material against the law officer. The Chhattisgarh government had earlier told the apex court that it would not take any coercive steps against Verma in relation to the Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam case and issued notice to the state government. The allegations against Verma in the FIR are that he helped NAN
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Tuesday accused French consultancy firm Systra of "misrepresenting facts" to the French government after receiving suspension and termination of contract notices, calling it "an attempt to deflect attention from contractual breaches". In a late-evening statement, MMRDA, a state planning and development agency, dismissed media reports about corruption allegations levelled by Systra as "biased and unverified." Systra had never submitted any formal representation to relevant authorities, including the chief minister of Maharashtra, before the notices were issued, it claimed. "Notably, no such allegations were ever raised before any official forum prior to these notices," MMRDA stated, adding that the allegations of graft were made only after MMRDA issued suspension and termination notices. "This clearly indicates that the allegations are an afterthought aimed at deflecting attention from their own contractual breaches," .
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday she is weighing removing New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office after four of his top deputies announced their resignations in the latest fallout from the Justice Department's push to end his corruption case. Hochul, a Democrat, said she will convene a meeting of key leaders Tuesday in Manhattan for a conversation about the path forward." She said the departures of First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer and other top officials raise serious questions about the long-term future" of Adams' administration. Adams, also a Democrat, has been under increasing scrutiny since the Justice Department's second-in-command ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week to drop his corruption case to ensure his cooperation in Republican President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown raising questions about the mayor's political independence and ability to lead the city. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove wrote that the case had unduly ...
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Telangana registered a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case against the Deputy Transport Commissioner, Warangal district, and found assets worth over Rs 4 crore allegedly linked to him and his family members. The case was registered against the official after he allegedly acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income by indulging in corrupt practices and dubious means during his service, an ACB release said here. As this is an offence punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, preliminary searches were conducted on Friday at his house and various places belonging to him and his relatives. During the searches, property documents related to houses, open plots and agricultural lands were found in the official's name and in the names of his family members. Furthermore, bank balance amount, household articles, vehicles (four wheelers-3, two-wheeler-1), gold and silver ornaments and 23 foreign liquor bottles were found. The total
Bangladesh Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in a corruption case, overturning the High Court's earlier 10-year prison sentence. The verdict was delivered by a bench led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed after reviewing 79-year-old Zia's appeal against the High Court's ruling on Wednesday, the Dhaka Tribune reported. The Supreme Court acquitted Zia, the party's Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, and all other suspects in their appeal over the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, the report added. The Appellate Division noted that the case was motivated by revenge. Zia was sentenced on February 8, 2018, by Dhaka's Special Judge Court-5 to five years of imprisonment for alleged embezzlement of government funds in the name of the Zia Orphanage Trust. The same verdict handed down 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for five other accused, including Zia's son Tarique and former chief secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui. Each of the accused
With Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy accusing his government of corruption and ministers of extracting commission, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday challenged the JD(S) leader to prove his allegations with evidence. He said allegations should not be made without documents and proof. "Let him prove it. Ask him to prove that 60 per cent commission is taking place and there is corruption. Let him prove it. Not just making allegations, one has to prove it," Siddaramaiah told reporters here, responding to a question. He said the opposition's job is not only to make the allegations, they should also prove it with evidence and documents. Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Kumaraswamy targeted the Siddaramaiah-led government and accused it of corruption and extracting commission, while alleging that ministers themselves are involved in this. "Contractors supporting them (Congress party) are themselves saying that it (commission) has crossed 60 per cent and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to take to the witness stand Tuesday for the first time in his trial on corruption allegations, a pivotal point in the drawn-out proceedings that comes as the leader wages war in Gaza and faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes charges. At home, Netanyahu is on trial for accusations of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate affairs. Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, but his appearance on the witness stand will be a low point in his decades-long political career, standing in contrast to the image of a sophisticated, respected leader he has tried to cultivate. The trial will take up a chunk of Netanyahu's time at a crucial point for Israel. While he makes his case for weeks from the stand, he will still be tasked with managing the war in Gaza, maintaining a fragile ceasefire with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and keeping tabs on threats from the wider Middle East, including Iran. It will be the fir