Page 9 - Corruption

India ranks 93 among 180 countries in Global Corruption Index: Report

In the Corruption Perceptions Index, India secured the 93rd position with a score of 39

India ranks 93 out of 180 countries in corruption perceptions index 2023

India ranked 93 out of 180 countries on the corruption perceptions index for 2023 as its overall score remained largely unchanged, according to a Transparency International report. The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. In 2023, India's overall score was 39 while in 2022, it was 40. India's rank in 2022 was 85. "India (39) shows score fluctuations small enough that no firm conclusions can be drawn on any significant change. However, ahead of the elections, India sees further narrowing of civic space, including through the passage of a (telecommunication) bill that could be a 'grave threat' to fundamental rights," the report said. In South Asia, both Pakistan (133) and Sri Lanka (115) grapple with their respective debt burdens and ensuing political instability, it said. "However, the two countries ha

Malaysia charges ex-min for not declaring assets in corruption probe

Malaysia charged a former minister on Monday with failing to declare assets, the latest step in a corruption probe that's targeting several people connected to a former prime minister. Former Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin, who left office more than 20 years ago, is a key ally of ex-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed. Both argue that the probe is politically motivated and that prosecutors have ignored potential corruption among allies of the current government. A frail Daim, 85, who was just discharged from hospital, turned up in court in a wheelchair. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to declare 71 assets ranging from luxury cars to a raft of companies, properties and land. He faces up to five years in jail and a fine if found guilty. After his court hearing, Daim called Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim a wolf in sheep's clothing who cried reforms but instead abused government institutions to pursue his political foes. He pointed to the case of Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zah

Technology is most effective mantra to attack corruption: Yogi Adityanath

During the event, around 1,000 students from universities and colleges were provided with smartphones. CM Yogi handed over smartphones to 15 students

Assam govt, CM most corrupt in India: Rahul during Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

Kickstarting the Assam leg of 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed the state perhaps has the "most corrupt government" and the "most corrupt CM" in the country. Addressing a public gathering at Haloating in Sivasagar district, where the march entered Assam from Nagaland, Gandhi slammed the ruling BJP and its ideologue Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for "spreading hatred and looting public money". "Perhaps, the most corrupt government in India is in Assam. You know what is happening here. We will raise the issues of Assam during the Yatra," he said. In the afternoon, Gandhi addressed a street meeting at Deberapar in Nakachari of Jorhat district and alleged that a lot of injustices are being done against tribals, tea workers and other indigenous communities of Assam by the BJP-led government. "Corruption is rampant in Assam. We all know that perhaps the most corrupt CM in India is the Assam chief minister," he added. Talking about Manipur, fr

Bangladesh's Nasir Hossain sentenced to two year ban by ICC for corruption

Bangladesh all-rounder Nasir Hossain was on Tuesday banned from all cricket for two years, with six months of that suspended, after he accepted three charges of breaching the Emirates Cricket Board's Anti-Corruption Code. Hossain, who was charged by the ICC (in its capacity as the Designated Anti-Corruption Official under the ECB Code) in September 2023, admitted to three charges. Charge No. 1 relates to "Breach of Article 2.4.3 of the Code, in that he failed to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (without unnecessary delay) the receipt of a gift that was offered to him that had a value of over US$750, namely the gift of a new iPhone 12," said the ICC in a statement. He also "failed to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official full details of the approach or invitation he received to engage in Corrupt Conduct via the new iPhone 12. "Charge No. 3 - Breach of Article 2.4.6 of the Code, in that he failed or refused, without compelling justification, to ...

Congress tried to spread corruption from generation to generation: Lekhi

The amount of cash recovered from Dheeraj Sahu's premises is the highest among corrupt people so far. Its amount has reached Rs 300 crore

Congress' Jagadish Shettar questions BJP's moral right to raise corruption

He asked, why the Prime Minister did not direct Central investigating agencies to do an enquiry into the Karnataka contractor's allegation of demand for 40% commission during BJP's rule in the state

Corruption, nepotism replaced by growth & development in last 10 yrs: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said a golden future awaits the country's youths as corruption, nepotism and casteism have been replaced by growth and development in the last 10 years. Speaking at the inauguration of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's (ABVP) national conference at Burari here, he said education is not just for shaping careers but also for nation building. A golden future awaits the country's youths. In the last 10 years, great changes have taken place in the country with corruption, nepotism and casteism replaced by growth and development, Shah said. Youth power is the backbone of the country and drives its growth and development, he said. "India's time has come and the whole world looks up to it for solutions to various problems," he added. Conserving cultural heritage and development are not contradictory. No one believed the Ram temple could be constructed in Ayodhya, the minister said. Lauding the ABVP, Shah said it has not only struggled agains

Delhi BJP makes fresh graft charges against AAP govt, alleges corruption

The BJP's Delhi chief alleged further that 95 per cent payment was made in connection with four tenders worth Rs 14,64,000 that were floated for sites that do not exist

Netanyahu's trial in corruption case to resume under shadow of Gaza war

A district court here will resume hearing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption case on Tuesday after a more than two-month hiatus due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas on October 7. Under the so-called Case 4000 or the Bezeq-Walla bribery case, Netanyahu allegedly took regulatory steps beneficial to Bezeq Telecommunications in exchange for favourable media coverage on the Walla website, earlier owned by Bezeq. The Jerusalem District Court will resume hearing on 74-year-old Netanyahu's corruption case on Tuesday. In June, the three judges in the case recommended that the prosecution withdraw the bribery charge. The prosecution, however, declined to withdraw the charge and decided to continue the trial as planned, after which the court heard the testimonies of the people concerned. The last hearing in the bribery case was held on September 20, afte

TMC raises MGNREGA dues issue in Lok Sabha, minister alleges corruption

The Trinamool Congress on Monday alleged that the Centre has imposed an 'economic blockade' against the West Bengal government by blocking funds for schemes like MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana as it demanded an immediate payment of the dues. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in response alleged corruption in handling of the central funds in the state and said a CBI enquiry has been ordered into the matter. Raising the issue in Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour, TMC's Sudip Bandyopadhyay said that an amount of around Rs 18,000 crore is pending due to the state. "Under MGNREGA, (PM) Awas Yojana, National Health Mission, all money allocated by government of India has been blocked since (sic) last two years, amounting up to Rs 18,000 crore," the TMC MP said. He also said that TMC MPs had come to meet the Minister of State for Rural Development Niranjan Jyoti in Delhi but she left without meeting them, and the lawmakers were later forcibly removed from the ministry's premises. "We MPs and our

BRS disbursing Rythu Bandhu's money to contractors illegally, alleges Cong

Reddy said that he has submitted a complaint to the CEO of the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme of the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the same

CBI conducts raids over 'graft' in Rs 2,200 crore J&K hydro power project

The CBI is conducting searches at six locations in four cities in connection with the alleged graft flagged by former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik in awarding the contract for the Rs 2,200-crore civil work for the Kiru Hydro Power Project in Kishtwar in 2019, officials said on Saturday. The searches are spread across three locations, including the premises of Kanwaljeet Singh Duggal of Mainstream IT Solutions Private Limited and D P Singh, they said. Three premises of the company and Duggal in Delhi and one each in Shimla, Noida and Chandigarh are being covered during the operation, the officials said. This is the fourth round of searches in the case in which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had already carried out similar operations on April 21 and July 6 last year and May 17 this year, they said. Malik, who was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir from August 23, 2018 to October 30, 2019, had alleged that he was offered a Rs 300-crore bribe for clearing two ..

Pak apex anti-graft body files corruption case against Imran Khan, his wife

A Pakistani accountability court on Friday filed a corruption case against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, his wife and other suspects in a Rs 50 million corruption case. The National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) Deputy Prosecutor General Muzafar Abbasi and investigative officer Umar Nadeem filed the case in an accountability court in Islamabad. A total of eight people have been charged in the case.

CBI closes corruption case against ex-Union minister Jayanthi Natarajan

The CBI has filed a closure report in a corruption case against former Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan over the diversion of forest land for a steel plant in Jharkhand in violation of laws in 2012, officials said. After six years of probe, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed the closure report before a special court last week as it could not find enough evidence in the case to proceed with prosecution, the officials said. The federal probe agency had registered the case against Natarajan, the then managing director of Electrosteel Casting Limited (ECL) Umang Kejriwal and the company on September 7, 2017, after a three-year-long exhaustive preliminary enquiry it had registered in 2014 on the Supreme Court's directions. The CBI had registered the FIR based on enquiry findings, which allegedly showed that ECL had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Jharkhand government for setting up a steel plant in Jharkhand in 2004. In 2006, the state ...

Promise of pre-poll freebies is corrupt practice under People Act: SC told

Promise of pre-election freebies by political parties is a corrupt practice and "bribe" under the Representation of the People Act which is a ground for declaring an election to be void, the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday. A three-judge bench was deliberating on pleas including the one filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay opposing promises of such handouts by the parties during polls. The petitions have sought direction to the Election Commission to invoke its powers to freeze the election symbols of these parties and cancel their registration. Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, appearing for the petitioner, told the bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud that the 2013 judgement delivered by a two-judge bench of the apex court in the matter of S Subramaniam Balaji vs The Government of Tamil Nadu and others required reconsideration. In its 2013 judgement, the apex court had noted that after examining and considering the parameters laid in section 123 of the Representatio

Congress symbol of corruption, nepotism and appeasement: PM Modi in Raj

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the Congress is a symbol of corruption, nepotism and appeasement -- three evils preventing India from becoming a developed nation. Addressing a public meeting in poll-bound Rajasthan's Baran district, the prime minister said Congress leaders are unruly and the people of the state are suffering as the ruling party has handed them over to robbers, rioters and criminals. "As long as three enemies of the country -- corruption, nepotism and appeasement -- are among us, it will be difficult to fulfil the resolution to make India a developed nation. The Congress is the biggest symbol of these three evils," Modi told the gathering. "Be it Congress MLAs or ministers, everyone is unruly and the public is suffering. The Congress has handed over the people of Rajasthan to robbers, rioters, tyrants and criminals," he said. "Today, even children in Rajasthan are saying 'Gehlot ji, you won't get votes'," he added. The prime minister also targeted the

Bihar to set up permanent checkposts in a bid to curb illegal sand mining

The Bihar government has directed district authorities to construct permanent checkposts at sensitive locations to curb illegal sand mining in the state, an official said on Monday. The process for setting up such a surveillance infrastructure has already been initiated in Bhojpur, Jamui, Nawada, Rohtas, Aurangabad and Kaimur districts. The move comes after attacks on police personnel and officials of the Mines and Geology Department by the sand mafia were reported from several districts. "Instructions to construct checkposts were issued to district authorities in a recent meeting chaired by the director of the Mines and Geology Department of the state government," the official said. According to the minutes of the meeting, a copy of which is with PTI, four permanent checkposts will be built in Patna. "Officials have been directed to identify locations and construct checkposts in Banka, Saran, Kaimur, Gaya and Patna districts at the earliest. There are around 267 sand ghats in the

Siddaramaiah govt completes 6 months, says steps taken to reduce corruption

As his government completed six months in office on Monday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said his administration has taken decisive steps to reduce corruption and initiated thorough investigations in various cases. He said his government is committed to building a state that not only meets the immediate needs of its people, but also lays the foundation for a prosperous future. In the elections to the 224-member Assembly held in May this year, the Congress ousted the BJP from power with a landslide victory. The Congress got 135 seats to BJP's 66. "As the Chief Minister of Karnataka, it brings me immense pride to mark the completion of six months of our government's tenure. In this short span, we have been steadfast in our commitment to empower the people of Karnataka and craft a sustainable and progressive future for our state," Siddaramaiah said in a statement. "Our governance model, the New Karnataka Model, is a testament to this commitment. It is a model that intertwines