Red alert on corruption: Logistics firm’s India exit ignites public outrage

Indian social media was lit up bright red with rage after Wintrack, a cargo and logistics firm, announced on social media that it was ceasing all operations in India because of bribes demanded by Customs officials in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu.

The company alleged that it faced harassment and bribery demands after exposing two attempts at extortion by Customs officials. It said that the retaliation crippled its business and was forcing it to shut operations from October 1.

Unusually, Wintrack’s Chief Executive Officer, Prawin Ganeshan, did not back down after Customs issued a threatening rebuttal to the social media post. Instead, he gave interviews naming officials.

Bribery stories

Social media soon chimed in with its own bribery stories — instances where people were forced to pay extortionate sums to officials for clearing even duty-paid items. Other stories of rent-seeking and corruption poured in, implicating departments with sweeping powers such as the police, municipal authorities, and investigative agencies like the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The rage was real. In the Wintrack case, India’s Finance Minister, under whose ministry Customs functions, announced an inquiry after initial stonewalling. What Nirmala Sitharaman should have done instead was use a rarely invoked constitutional provision that allows for the summary dismissal of officials for wrongdoing — especially since they were named.

After all, she is a leading light in a government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, now in his third term, who came to office promising “Na khaoonga, na khaane doonga” (I will not indulge in corruption, nor allow anyone else to indulge in it).

Unfortunately, corruption — both petty and monumental — has grown by leaps and bounds. In one recent case, municipal officials flaunted their home on Instagram, complete with gold taps and seven-star luxury. Roads built with sand collapse, bridges and highways meet the same fate.

Corruption at every turn

The minute a common man steps out of the house (often built by bribing municipal authorities at every stage — from plan sanctions to water and electricity connections to registration at fixed rates), they are fleeced at every turn, from traffic lights to tax offices. It is soul-destroying and enervates daily life in India. Corruption is probably the number one reason — apart from opportunity — that drives Indians to leave the country, tired of the endemic payoffs demanded at every step.

Try setting up a small business that interacts with government departments and see how you are gouged. The Times of India (Mumbai edition) once published a “corruption rate card” detailing what builders face as they negotiate with officials to reduce bribes. It’s as regulated as that — and everyone in the official chain gets their slice of the cake.

Vir Sanghvi, a widely respected commentator, recently wrote a column on this issue, citing the Aam Aadmi Party and India Against Corruption — the movement that Arvind Kejriwal used to catapult himself to power with “tall promises of ending corruption”. Corruption is still alive, and the face of that movement, Anna Hazare, is now in permanent sleep mode.

All the cases hyped by the then “fantasist” audit official — the 2G scam, the Commonwealth Games scam — have collapsed in court, and nobody faces prosecution. The government seems least interested in pursuing those who defrauded the exchequer. Remember the biggest bank heist in the world — the Rs170 billion looted by fugitive Nirav Modi from a hapless public sector bank, and a similar amount stolen by his uncle Mehul Choksi. Both remain at large, having successfully fled India. Modi, from a jail cell in the United Kingdom, is dictating the terms and conditions of his trial in India. Add Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi to the list of those who fled India after committing financial crimes.

Fatalism

Sure, the middle class rages against corruption and says everybody is a thief, yet we seem to accept corruption with fatalism — and keep getting fooled by politicians who promise change. Remember the late V.P. Singh, who became Prime Minister on the allegation that Rajiv Gandhi had engaged in corruption in the Bofors gun deal. Singh used to flash a “digital diary” in those innocent days before gullible crowds, claiming he had the Swiss bank account numbers of the guilty. Predictably, no one was punished.

The only politician who truly felt the heat from corruption charges was the late Dr Manmohan Singh, who faced a perfect storm of public anger whipped up by Kejriwal, assorted RSS-affiliated godmen, and Modi — all promising change.

The only change that has happened is that investigative agencies have been armed with even more sweeping powers to terrify ordinary citizens. The horror stories are real. The ED has a conviction rate of less than one percent, yet it can turn anyone’s life upside down with just a notice or an arrest.

Faith in the rule of law will only be restored once people stop being extorted or asked for bribes by officials and politicians simply to get routine work done. The Singapore model — of well-paid officials and leaders, coupled with swift and severe punishment for those caught seeking bribes — remains an excellent example.

When a company exits India citing corruption woes, it sends a message to the world about the country’s ease of doing business — at a time when India is trying to create jobs and attract top talent back under the Make in India banner.

The anger is real, and the solution must be real. People aren’t ready to be fooled anymore.