CVC for stricter laws to confiscate 'benaami' properties

Will work to deter investment of wealth earned through corrupt activities abroad

PTI | September 13, 2010



The Central Vigilance Commission has sought stricter laws to confiscate 'benami' properties in order to deter people from spending or investing money acquired through corrupt means.

The anti-corruption watchdog is also planning to strengthen rules to check investment of wealth earned through corrupt activities in other countries.

The CVC has prepared a blueprint of 'National Anti-Corruption Strategy' to deal with many issues adding to corruption and ways to deal with it by formulating stringent and result-oriented policy.

"The strategy recommends a set of action to be taken by the government and a set of action by the political entities, judiciary, media, citizens, private sector and civil society organisations.

"To ensure that the strategy does not remain a mere document, it is envisaged to ensure its effective implementation by developing suitable parameters for evaluating and monitoring the progress of its implementation.

The CVC would review the progress on an annual basis and submit a report to Parliament," the Commission said.

"An effective anti-corruption strategy should aim at measures which make it difficult for the corrupt to spend or invest in ill-gotten wealth. Most of the wealth in India which is accumulated through corrupt means gets invested in benami immovable property, gold and jewellery, high value consumer goods and other conspicuous consumption," the Commission said in its draft.

"The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 prohibits benami transactions and even provides for government acquisition of the property held benami. However, the rules to make the confiscation of property and other provisions effective have not been issued. Implementation of the Act needs to be made more effective," it said.

The Commission is also in favour of devising strategies to check illegal money parked in foreign banks.

"A substantial portion of wealth created through corrupt means finds its way to bank accounts outside the sovereign jurisdiction of India. The steps being taken in this regard include amending the Income Tax Act, 1961 to enable the Central Government to enter into agreements even with non-sovereign jurisdictions for exchange of information and other purposes.

"Steps have already been initiated for negotiations for entering into agreements for the exchange of information with other nations and renegotiation of the double tax avoidance treaty with Switzerland is in process. These efforts need to be strengthened to eliminate opportunities for investment of wealth earned through corrupt activities," it said.

Besides it seeks fast disposal of corruption related cases by the special courts, anti-bribery hot lines, strengthening of norms for disclosure of source and amount of funding received by political parties and a separate vigilance apparatus to fight large scale corruption in Panchayati Raj Institutions.

The Commission has favoured a system of blacklisting, debarring or shaming of companies found involved in corruption. It also seeks to bring changes in the Prevention of Corruption Act to punish corrupt acts of private parties.
 

Comments

 

Other News

Are EVs empowering India`s Green Transition?

Against the backdrop of the $3.5 billion Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme launched by the Government of India, sales of Electric Vehicles (EVs) are expected to grow at a CAGR of 35% by 2032. It is crucial to take into account the fact that 86% of EV sales in India were under the price bracket of $2

When Nandini Satpathy told Biju Patnaik: ‘I’ll sit on the chair you are sitting on’

Nandini Satpathy: The Iron Lady of Orissa By Pallavi Rebbapragada Simon and Schuster India, 321 pages, Rs 765

Elections 2024: 1,351 candidates in fray for Phase 3

As many as 1,351 candidates from 12 states /UTs are contesting elections in Phase 3 of Lok Sabha Elections 2024. The number includes eight contesting candidates for the adjourned poll in 29-Betul (ST) PC of Madhya Pradesh. Additionally, one candidate from Surat PC in Gujarat has been elected unopp

2023-24 net direct tax collections exceed budget estimates by 7.40%

The provisional figures of direct tax collections for the financial year 2023-24 show that net collections are at Rs. 19.58 lakh crore, 17.70% more than Rs. 16.64 lakh crore in 2022-23. The Budget Estimates (BE) for Direct Tax revenue in the Union Budget for FY 2023-24 were fixed at Rs. 18.

‘World’s biggest festival of democracy’ begins

The much-awaited General Elections of 2024, billed as the world’s biggest festival of democracy, began on Friday with Phase 1 of polling in 102 Parliamentary Constituencies (the highest among all seven phases) in 21 States/ UTs and 92 Assembly Constituencies in the State Assembly Elections in Arunach

A sustainability warrior’s heartfelt stories of life’s fleeting moments

Fit In, Stand Out, Walk: Stories from a Pushed Away Hill By Shailini Sheth Amin Notion Press, Rs 399

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter