Swamy to write to the PM to prosecute a senior Finance Ministry official without naming him but all hints point to Adhia

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy is expected to file Sanction for Prosecution against Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia under Prevention of Corruption Act. Though Swamy did not name him in a series of tweets on Friday evening, his mention of accepting gold bars from Nirav Modi by an official clearly means that he meant Adhia’s controversy in accepting gold bars.

When caught for accepting gold bars, Adhia deposited in Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Gift keeping unit known as Toshakhana[1]. He was supposed to inform CBI and Toshakhana is not used for this purpose[2].

The BJP leader was for many months unhappy with the Finance Secretary Adhia for slowing down or diluting the cases against P Chidambaram and his family under Black Money Act and Benami Act[3]. He was also unhappy against CBI’s Special Director Rakesh Asthana for delaying the Aircel-Maxis probe involving Chidambaram and son Karti. The case got on the fast track after CBI Director Alok Verma’s intervention and vetoing Asthana.

On Saturday evening Swamy tweeted that he is going to file Sanction for Prosecution:

One senior official took gold biscuits from Nirav Modi for himself and his daughter. He is part of the Gang of Four to save PC. My letter to PM will name him and ask for Sanction to prosecute him under Sections of Prevention of Corruption Act. — Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) June 9, 2018

He also said that Nirav Modi was allowed to escape and the January 2017 raid details on his showrooms were hushed up by senior officials in the Finance Ministry. The DRI and Income Tax raid details of Nirav Modi was withheld from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The January 2017 raids exposed the banking frauds committed by the fugitives Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. As a reference to Hasmukh Adhia, Swamy said that certain Gujarat cadre officers think no one can touch them:

Nirav Modi was raided by Revenue Intelligence on 14/1/17. But action was blocked by these babus. Hence NM fled abroad. In mid 17/12/17 PNB expose forced MoF to act. Some babus from Gujarat think no one can touch them. But my wife is Gujarati so no immunity. — Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) June 9, 2018

In another tweet also Swamy’s expressed his displeasure about the officials conniving with P Chidambaram’s ilk of corrupt people and sabotaging the probes:

It is sad to see that while some of us in BJP and some patriots in the investigating agencies are working day and night to to bring crooks to book, there are some landlord minded senior bureaucrats who are helping the crooks by writing anonymous letters. — Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) June 9, 2018

Apart from hushing up the Chidambaram case and Nirav Modi case, Swamy was unhappy with Adhia for mishandling the GSTN and Vodafone International Arbitration case, favoring a second arbitration in London[4].

In the famous Subramanian Swamy vs Manmohan Singh case, seeking Sanction for Prosecuting Telecom Minister A. Raja, Supreme Court has passed a landmark judgment that the sanctioning authority should take a decision in three months and one more extra month may be taken to take a decision. In Adhia’s case, Swamy has to apply for Sanction for Prosecution to Finance Minister. If no decision is taken, he can go to the court.

PGurus has written a series of articles[5] on the mistakes of Adhia with respect to the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)[6].

References:

[1] Is Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia shielding PNB scamsters Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi? Mar 21, 2018, PGurus.com

[2] Exclusive: Finance Secretary Received Gold Biscuits as Gift for Diwali But Failed to Order Probe – Mar 7, 2018, TheWire.in

[3] Income Tax is still hushing up the probe against Chidambaram family under Black Money & Benami Acts – Mar 20, 2018, PGurus.com

[4] Did Hasmukh Adhia compromise India’s national interest in the Rs.40,000 cr Vodafone Arbitration? Mar 24, 2018, PGurus.com

[5] GSTN tender scam – Will Hasmukh Adhia speak now? Why was Rs.1400 crores allotted bypassing the Union Cabinet? Mar 29, 2018, PGurus.com

[6] Did Hasmukh Adhia convert GSTN into a UPA-3 project? Mar 30, 2018, PGurus.com