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New York:
Renowned spiritual
Master, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji
Maharaj, head of
Science of Spirituality, will be in
the New Jersey and Long Island
area to offer a series of talks.
On Thursday April 28, 7pm, he
will speak at the Edison Hotel,
3050 Woodbridge Avenue,
Edison, NJ. His talk “Discover
Calm and Peace Within You” will
be simultaneously translated into
Spanish.
On May 1, at 2pm, his talk,
“Meditation to Access Spiritual
Realms,” will be at the Science of
Spirituality Meditation Center, 79County Line Road, Amityville, NY.
It will also have a Spanish trans‑
lation. People are expected to
travel to the Amityville Center
from all over the world. When
you ask them why, they all tell
the same story of how much easi‑
er it is to meditate in Sant
Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajʼs pres‑
ence and how uplifted and peace‑
ful they feel. The Amityville
The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
excellence in journalism FASHION 15 TRAVEL 18
Vol.8 No. 48 April 9-15, 2016 80 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
SPORTS 25
Panama City:
Thanks to a massive
2.6‑terabyte leak of confidential
papers to the
International
Consortium of
Investigative
J o u r n a l i s t s
from a
Panamanian
law firm Mossack Fonseca the
world has woken up to the global
web of corruption and tax avoid‑
ance and trained the spotlight on
this little country long regarded as
a safe tax haven for the rich.
So far, the scandal has brought
down the leader of Iceland andraised questions about the deal‑
ings of the presidents of Argentina
and Ukraine, senior Chinese
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
Panama Papers leakdivulge global web of
corruption, tax avoidance
Continued on page 4
Sant Rajinder Singh to
visit NJ and Long Island
Bethpage NY:
With New York now the focus of all
the 2016 presidential candidates, Donald Trump
headed to Long Island Wednesday evening to
rally his supporters in his home state.
Almost 10000 people supporters showed up
at the cavernous Grumman Studios in Bethpage
at the rally. The crowd cheered as Trump raised
his voice triumphantly.
“Weʼre going to start winning again, folks,”
Trump said. “Going to happen. Going to hap‑
pen. Going to happen.”He added: “Weʼre going to rebuild our mili‑
tary… nobody is going to mess with us!
Weʼre going to knock the hell out of
ISIS.”
But nothing got the crowd going
more than the candidateʼs words on
immigration. “We are going to have a
strong border. We are going to build
the wall,” Trump said. Indeed, “build
New Delhi: Pakistan High
Commissioner Abdul Basit on
Thursday said bilateral talks
between India and Pakistan were
"suspended" and that there was no
question of allowing an NIA team
to visit Islamabad for the
Pathankot probe.
However, the Ministry of
External Affairs cited the Pakistan
foreign ministry spokesperson
saying that both sides were in con‑
tact with each other over foreign
secretary level talks. MEA
spokesperson Vikas Swarup said
the visit of the National
Investigation Agency team to
Pakistan was on the basis of reci‑
procity, previously agreed upon.
Asked at the Foreign
Correspondents Club here about a
meeting between the foreign sec‑
retaries of the two countries, Basit
said: "There is no meeting sched‑
uled for now. I think at present the
peace process is suspended.
"India is not ready as yet," Basit
said, but quickly added that "we
can only resolve issues through
dialogue."
Basit also ruled out a reciprocal
visit by the National Investigation
Agency (NIA) to Pakistan to probe
the Pathankot attack.
"The investigation (into the
Pathankot attack) is not about rec‑
iprocity," he said.
Swarup in his statement cited
the Pakistan Foreign Ministry
spokesperson in Islamabad as say‑
ing that both sides were "in con‑
tact with each other" over the for‑
eign secretary level talks.
The Pakistani spokesperson said:
"...It has been reiterated from both
sides that modalities are being
worked out. I will again state that
negotiations are the best means to
resolve the issues." He added that
Thousands at Trump'sLong Island rally
Pakistan has ruled out NIA visit to probe Pathankot attack (Photo: PTI)
Spiritual master Sant RajinderSingh Ji Maharajʼs talk will
be at Long Island Meditation
Center on May 1st.
Continued on page 4 Continued on page 4
Pakistan envoysays talks with
India suspended,
no NIA visit
Also read our detailedcoverage from >> Page 8‑12)
Continued on page 4Donald Trump arrived at a rally on Wednesday in Bethpage, New
York, as a conquering hometown hero (Image courtesy: slate.com)
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info April 9-15, 2016
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Mineola NY:
On Apri l 3rd
Nassau County Comptroller
George Maragos engaged local
business and community lead‑
ers in a lively discussion on
Minority and Women‑owned
Business Enterprises (MWBE)
and doing business with
Nassau County.
Maragos and Sergio Blanco
of the Comptrollerʼs Office
described the Comptrollerʼs
initiatives to increase by 100%
business opportunit ies to
MWBEs as contractors and
subcontractors on County con‑
tracts. Comptroller Maragos
also answered a variety of
questions about the business
environment in Hicksville and
Nassau County. The India
Association of Long Island
(IALI) hosted the event in
Hicksville.
“My office is dedicated to
promoting opportunities for
MWBEs to participate in the
County contract awards,”
Comptroller Maragos said.
“Any minority and woman
owned enterprise in Nassau
County that is not participat‑
ing in these programs may be
losing out on millions in new
business.” Attendees included
IALI President Beena Kothari,
honorees Dilli Raj Bhatta, Esq.
and Hicksville Chamber of
Commerce President Lionel
Chitty, and many members of
IALI and Hicksville communi‑
ties.
3April 9-15, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
United Nations: UN
Secretary General Ban Ki‑
moon met Army Chief Dalbir Singh here Monday
and expressed his admira‑
tion for the Indian peace‑
keepers' commitment and
discipline.
Singh assured Ban of
Indian peacekeepers'com‑
mitment to the UN mission
and said they would con‑
tinue to receive the highest
quality of training for UN
deployment. They would be
held to the utmost stan‑
dards of discipline and the
Indian Army totally adhered to
Ban's zero tolerance policy on sex‑
ual exploitation abuse, he added.While the peacekeeping opera‑
tions have been marred by scan‑
dals of sexual abuse by UN and
other troops on missions, Indian
peacekeepers received a clean
chit in the first comprehensive
report last month on sexual
exploitation and abuse by UN per‑
sonnel.
Ban told Singh and India's
Permanent Representative Syed
Akbaruddin at their meeting that
he appreciated India's strong sup‑
port for the peacekeeping opera‑tions. India currently has 7,695
troops serving under the UN's
blue flag and historically has been
the largest contributor of person‑
nel, having sent 180,000 troops
to 48 missions.
Last September Prime Minister
Narendra Modi offered to provide
850 more troops and three police
units with a high proportion of
women for UN operations.
New York On March 24, Ekal
Vidyalaya Foundation and the
Indian Consulate jointly celebrat‑
ed ʻInternational Women's monthʼ
focusing on Women's
Empowerment through education.
The event also provided the first
opportunity for newly appointed
Consulate General Riva Ganguly
Das to interact with the diverse
Indian community for vibrant
exchange of ideas. In her welcome
address, Ambassador Das provid‑
ed an overview of the Beti Bachao
Beti Padhao as a flagship initiative
of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
whereby a third of ʻVillage
Panchayatsʼ have been decreed to
have women in responsible posi‑
tions. She acknowledged that,
though great strides are being
made to empower women, a lot
yet is to be done to change age‑
old attitudes and beliefs affecting
women in our society, and espe‑
cially in rural areas. She expressed
hope that the grass‑root organiza‑
tions like Ekal, with presence in
60,000‑plus villages, can play an
important role in it.
Aroon Shivdasani, President of the Indo American Arts Council, in
her keynote address, stressed the
importance of educating women
on par with men to create an
environment in families where
self‑esteem of individuals is not
compromised and women have
equal opportunity in all walks of
life. ITVʼs famous anchor woman,
Renee Mehrra, moderated the
panel discussion among three suc‑
cessful women of Indian origin
from different backgrounds andfamily values.
Ranjani Saigal, Executive
Director of Ekal Vidyalaya,
touched on the need to uphold the
standards set by parents who pre‑
cipitated her own academic suc‑
cess at IIT and MIT. She further
related an anecdote of how during
a visit to a rural area a girl asked
her, “what can I do in my village
what you have done out
there?”According to her, the ques‑
tion has dogged her ever since
while she is working at Ekal. She
informed that Ekal puts special
emphasis on educating girls and
making them self‑reliant though
various skills‑training in rural‑
tribal areas.
Dr. Urmilesh Arya, COO at
Gastroenterology Associates in
Brooklyn, brought to fore a criti‑
cal challenge for girls in accessing
education ‑ the fear that their
daughter would get romantically
entangled with a boy, which may
bring shame to the family. She
herself overcame this challenge
and many others with self‑convic‑
tion and courage.
Dr. Sunita Saini, Director of
South Shore Psychological
Services and Long Island
Psychology and Psychotherapy
Services, highlighted the impor‑
tance of having a supportive fami‑
ly who, regardless of gender,
value building their childrenʼs
career more rather than acquiring
material assets.
There was a consensus that
when a woman is educated, she
educates her entire family. The
ensuing discussion highlighted
the relevance of good health for
women as a strategy towards
empowerment. The panel cau‑
tioned that overcoming the socio‑
cultural biases that promote
female infanticide and the percep‑
tion that a girl is a burden are
major stumbling blocks in restor‑
ing dignity of women in our socie‑
ty. Vinod Jhunjhunwalla,
President of Ekal Foundation,
USA, and Prof Subash Midha, the
main Ekal coordinator for the
event, thanked the Indian
Consulate, for their support in
hosting this event.
Ban tells Indian Armychief he admires
Indian peacekeepers
Ranjani Saigal, of Ekal Vidyalaya, Dr. Urmilesh Arya, Dr. Sunita Saini andmoderator Renee Mehrra at the panel discussion.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki‑moon withGeneral Dalbir Singh, the Indian Chief of
Army Staff, April 4, at the UN headquartersin New York. (Photo: United Nations/IANS)
MARAGOS URGES MINORITY
FIRMS TO AVAIL COUNTY
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
Ekal Vidyalaya and Consulate host 'Beti Bacho - Beti Padhao' event
Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos and others at the IALI event
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Pakistan envoy says talks withIndia suspended, no NIA visitContinued from page
Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar
too had indicated in a recent statement
that talks would take place.
Basit also said that the arrest of an
alleged Indian spy, Kulbushan Jadhav,
proved Islamabad's allegations that
New Delhi was causing unrest in
Balochistan.The announcement comes nearly
three and half months after Prime
Minister Narendra Modi visited Lahore
on December 25 on an unannounced
trip to attend the wedding of the
granddaughter of his Pakistani coun‑
terpart Nawaz Sharif.
Modi's trip had raised hopes about
the resumption of peace talks between
the rival neighbors.
Basit's statement appears to be the
first official word from Pakistan about
the latest breakdown in the now‑on‑
now‑off peace process with India.
Thousands at Trump'sLong Island rallyContinued from page
the wall” was the mantra two weeks
shy of the New York primary, as
Trump continued to run as an out‑
sider.
Trump called on everyone in the
room to get out the vote, and to
encourage others to do the same.
“Youʼre going to say that it was the
most important vote that you ever
cast,” Trump said.
The event ahead of the stateʼs pri‑
mary on April 19 comes a day after
Trumpʼs presidential campaign hit a
bump Tuesday with a loss to Cruz in
the Wisconsin primary.
Sant Rajinder Singh tovisit NJ and Long IslandContinued from page
Center embodies Sant Rajinder Singh
Ji Maharajʼs visionary wisdom. Widely
recognized by civic, social and reli‑
gious leaders as one of the worldʼs
foremost spiritual Masters, he has
established similar centers around the
globe. Believing meditation enhances
every aspect of life, the Meditation
Center in Amityville holds regular pro‑
grams on meditation, spirituality,
healthy living and related subjects.
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj is no
stranger to New York. In August 2007,
New York Assemblyman Jose R.
Peralta (D. 39th District) presented the
spiritual leader with a New York
Assembly Proclamation which stated:
“On the occasion of his visit to theEmpire State, it is imperative to honor
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj who
breathes life into the humanity move‑
ment. His is a global effort to seek
unity at the level of the soul and tran‑
scend racial, cultural, national, reli‑
gious and economic differences. His
herculean efforts to uplift humanity
deserve our special recognition.”
He was welcomed to New Jersey
with a Joint Legislative Resolution
commending him for “his outstanding
record of devoted service to the chil‑
dren and people of the world commu‑
nity.”
On the occasion of the 50th anniver‑
sary of the United Nations, the spiritu‑al Master led an audience of thousands
into meditation at the Cathedral of St.
John the Divine in New York City. He
received a peace award from the
Interfaith Center of New York and was
invited to speak at a ceremony honor‑
ing UN Secretary Kofi Annan. In addi‑
tion, he was a featured spiritual leader
at the Millennium Peace Summit at the
United Nations.
For more information about Sant
Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj or his sched‑
ule, visit www.sos.org , email infotris‑
[email protected] , 631‑822‑7979.
Panama Papers leak divulge
global web of corruption...Continued from page
politicians, famous actors, athletes and
the circle of friends of Russian
Vladimir Putin, who some allege has
profited indirectly from such accounts.
Yesterday, British Prime Minister
David Cameron acknowledged he prof‑
ited from his father's investments in an
offshore tax haven before being
elected.
New York New York hematolo‑
gist ‑ oncologist selected for the
most prestigious advocacy
award by the American Society
of Hematology amongst it's
16,000 members from over
100 countries. Dr Akshat Jain,
section head for global hema‑
tology oncology at Northwell
Health and assistant professor
of pediatrics at the Cohen
Children's Medical Center on
Long Island will serve as the
voice of sub speciality doctors
at the Capitol Hill in
Washington DC in this current
role to bring out meaningful
changes in which medicine is
offered and practiced through‑
out the United States.
New York The Spring FestivalsCelebrations organized by
Rajasthan Association of North
America (RANA) last Sunday sawmore than 1000 people from
many Indian communities gath‑
er and celebrate the festivitiesunder one roof. RANA continues
to be a trendsetter by organiz‑ing this one of a kind event
titled – ʻGlamor with Humor ʼ
was a combination of a fashionshow, dance performances and
standup comedy & poetry held
in the Tri‑state area.Speaking on the occasion,
RANA President, Naveen C Shahmentioned that “As part of meet‑
ing the organizations charitable
objective of caring for orphans,the RANA Board has decided to
adopt 1000 children in orphan‑
ages in India over their lifetimeand support them for all opera‑
tional expenses including food,
shelter, clothing and educationalrequirements. We need
$250,000 to achieve this objec‑tive and I urge all those present
to donate generously to this
noble cause by contributingfinancial and intellectual
resources to achieve this goal.”
A spectacular fashion show withthe trendiest, glamorous and lat‑
est styles by leading designerswith stunning & gorgeous mod‑
els choreographed by Nishi Bahl
of Panache Entertainment inter‑spersed by electrifying dance
performances by students of
Arya Dance Academy arrangedby Shilpa Jhurani entertained
the packed audience. A classical
dance performance byrenowned Bollywood & TV
actress ‑ Prachee Shah Pandyaand standup comedy and satiri‑
cal poetry recitals by renowned
poets and comics from India,moderated by the incomparable
Master of Ceremonies – Shailesh
Lodha and his team of poets ‑Dinesh Kumar, Mahendra
Kumar & Vishnu Dayal Saxenawere the highlights of the
evening.
Prestigious advocacy award for Dr Akshat Jain
RANA celebrates ʻSpringFestivalsʼ with pomp
President Naveen Shah &Vice President Kanak Golia
Emcee Shailesh Lodha and poets
Dr Akshat Jain
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5April 9-15, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
New York 29‑year‑old
Devika Sirohi from Uttar
Pradesh is among the
seven‑member team of
researchers that has suc‑
cessfully determined the
structure of the Zika
virus for the first time.
Devika, who was born
and brought up in
Meerut city, is a doctoral
student at Purdue
University and the
youngest member of the
team. Out of the seven‑member team,three were professors and four were stu‑
dents. Amid growing concerns, global
health officials are racing to better
understand the Zika virus behind a
major outbreak that began in Brazil last
year and has spread to many countries
in the Americas.
Stating that it took four months to
identify the structure of
the virus, speaking to a
leading daily, Sirohi said,
"During the period of the
research, we barely slept
for two to three hours a
day, but our hard work
finally paid off. This dis‑
covery will help doctors
and researchers to find a
cure for the deadly dis‑
ease that has been
reported in 33 coun‑
tries."
Devika also said that the structure willhelp in creating effective anti‑viral treat‑
ments and vaccines. She will be submit‑
ting her thesis by the end of this year.
Devika completed her schooling from
Dayawati Modi Academy, honours in bio‑
chemistry from Delhi University and
MSc from Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research in Mumbai
N e w Y o r k The election of
Jagruti Panwala as secretary was
a highlight of the four‑day annu‑
al convention held March 29‑
April 1 at the Gaylord Opryland
Resort & Convention Center in
Nashville, Tennessee. The event
drew a record turnout – 5,000
hoteliers, vendors and franchise
CEOs and their cohorts. Panwala
told Asian Hospitality she is
“extremely honored and very
humbled to be AAHOAʼs new
secretary,” but the victory is not
hers alone. All of AAHOA can
benefit by electing its first female officer. Thewin is important, she said, for “women hoteliers,
young hoteliers, independent hoteliers and small
mom‑and‑pop owners.”
She will succeed to chair of AAHOA in 2019, a
first for the 27‑year‑old organization. Panwala is
a businesswoman in Ivyland, Pennsylvania,
where she is part of a family hotel company and
president and CEO of Wealth Protection
Strategies, an investment man‑
agement business she founded
in 1999. She has been active in
AAHOA for more than a decade,
holding leadership positions
since 2011 when first elected
female director at large, eastern
division. Re‑elected in 2014, she
has also co‑chaired the Womenʼs
Hotelier Committee for five
years and served on the strate‑
gic planning committee for two
years. She testified to Congress
against proposed harmful labor
laws. Her focus repeatedly has
been getting more women, independent and young hoteliers involved. In 2011, she received
the prestigious AAHOA Chairmanʼs Award of
Excellence. She is a second‑generation hotelier
who migrated from Surat, India, with her parents
when she was a teenager. She l ives in
Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.
Bruce Patel took over the baton from outgoing
chairman Jimmy Patel during the convention.
New York
Six hundred
Zarathushtis (Zoroastrians), their
friends and families from the tri‑
state area of New York, New
Je rs ey an d Co nn ec ti cu t ca me
together to celebrate a once in alifetime event – the opening of a
Zoroastrian religious and cultural
community center in Pomona, NY
on March 26. The inaugural event
held during the week of Nowruz,
the start of the Persian new year
also coincides with the birthday of
Zarathustra, the Zoroastrian
prophet. The goal of this new
building is to house the active
community of Zarathushtis which
has grown tremendously over the
past 40 years and is currently
estimated to be about one thou‑
sand.
Dar‑e‑Mehr is believed to mean
“Door of Peace”, and denotes aZarathushti temple without a per‑
manently consecrated devotional
fire. The inauguration of the
Arbab Rustam Guiv Dar‑e‑Mehr
building was hosted by The
Zoroastrian Association of Greater
New York (ZAGNY), the Iranian
Zoroastrian Association (IZA) and
the Dar‑e‑Mehr Zoroastrian
Temple (DMZT).
Thirty priests converged from
all over North America to bless
the building. The prayers were
lead by the honorable Vada
Dasturji Khurshed Dastoor the
high priest and religious leader of
the Zarathushti community who
joined from Udvada , Ind ia. Theevent was interwoven with music,
food prepared by community
restaurateurs, performances by
children as well as formal speech‑
es by local dignitaries including
off icials from the Mayor of
Pomonaʼs Office, respected acade‑
micians and revered community
members. The event was made
accessible to viewers worldwide
and broadcast by a live stream.
Inspired by ancient Persian and
Zoroastrian architecture of the
fire temples of India and Iran, the
new building was designed by
award‑winning architect Dinyar
Wadia of Wadia Associates. It fea‑
tures a stone façade with a colon‑naded portico, and decorative
capitols, evoking the architectural
style of Persepolis (the ancient
Zoroastrian city and heritage site)
as a nod to the long road traveled.
It is a 22,000 square foot struc‑
ture which has four classrooms,
three meeting rooms, a library, a
traditional prayer hall , chefʼs
kitchen, recreation room and a
main hall that can accommodate
up to 400 guests. Special features
include an Afarghanyu (fire ves‑
sel) based on the 250 year old
prototype found at a historic tem‑
ple in Mumbai, India, a custom
crafted Winterstone® panel
inspired by the ancient TripylonPalace in Persepolis and a tradi‑
tional Persian‑inspired water
fountain (that is yet to be built).
The building took 2 years to
construct and approximately
$5M. The small but unwavering
and dedicated community raised
funds locally, nationally and inter‑
nationally for close to six years to
construct and complete the build‑
ing. “Today we take a moment to
appreciate what we have built as a
community,” said Astad J.
Clubwala, President of ZAGNY.
“This will be the legacy of our
generation and can be seen as a
gift from the generation that was
born in our homelands of India,Iran and Pakistan to the genera‑
tion of Zoroastrians born in North
America.”
“This is a monumental achieve‑
ment for the Zarthushti communi‑
ties of New York, New Jersey, and
Connecticut to be able to see the
day that they have been dreaming
about, and contributing their time,
their work, and their funds
towards.” said Shirin Khosravi,
President of IZA.
Devika Sirohi(Image credit: TimesofIndia.com)
Jagruti will succeed to chair of AAHOA in 2019
(Image courtesy: theindianeye.net)
Thirty priests converged from all over North America
to bless the building
The new building is designed by award‑winning architect Dinyar
Wadia of Wadia Associates
NY area gets a new Zoroastrian Community Center
Indian doctoral student part of US team that decoded Zika virus
AAHOA gets its first woman officerJagruti Panwala elected secretary
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6 April 9-15, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
Washington DC: An Indian‑Ameri‑
can Sikh military officer in U.S has
been granted permission to wear a
religious beard and turban while inuniform, the media reported
April1. The U.S. Armyʼs decision to
the make permanent religious ac‑
commodation for Capt. Simratpal
Singh makes him the first active‑
duty combat soldier in decades to
be permitted to wear a turban and
beard, www.nydailynews.com re‑
ported. The ruling ended the pro‑
tracted battle that pitted individual
religious freedom rights against
what the military said was a need
for uniformity and strict safety
standards.
“My two worlds are one again…
I can fully serve my country exact‑
ly the way I want to and still be afull Sikh the way I want to be,” re‑
ported nydailynews.com. Singh,
28, an observant Sikh had to cut
his hair and shave his beard when
he joined the West Point military
academy in 2006. “It was excruci‑
ating. For 18 years of your life,
youʼve had a certain image of your‑
self. All of a sudden, itʼs shattered
within 10 minutes,” Singh was
quoted as saying.
Ten years later, Singh, now anArmy Ranger and Bronze Star
Medal recipient, in a bid to reclaim
that image asked the U.S. Army in
October to allow him to begin
wearing a beard and turban. Fac‑
ing a discrimination lawsuit, the
Army granted him a temporary ac‑
commodation in December.
In February, with the temporary
accommodation set to expire, the
Army insisted Captain Singh to un‑
dergo extensive testing to make
sure his beard and hair wouldnʼtinterfere with his helmet or gas
mask.
Singh filed suit citing religious
discrimination. A judge ruled that
the Army couldnʼt impose the indi‑
vidualized testing on Singh and or‑
dered the service to decide on his
request by March 31.
On March 31, in a court ruling
Singh was finally granted a perma‑
nent accommodation.
“Because of the Armyʼs strong in‑
terest in maintaining good order
and discipline, the Army intends to
develop clear, uniform standards
applicable to soldiers who have re‑
ceived religious accommodation,”Debra S. Wada, the assistant secre‑
tary of the Army for manpower
and reserve affairs, wrote in a
memo to the captain released April
1. Until those standards are in
place, she said, Captain Singh will
be expected to appear in a “neat
and conservative” manner with a
black or camouflage turban.
San Francisco CA: This Interna‑
tional Womenʼs Day, womenaround the world celebrated
womanhood by sporting Bindi.Women from different corners of the world such as India, USA,
Canada, Fiji, Italy, New Zealand,Australia and beyond united to
join this campaign regardless of
their cultural background andethnicity. There were hindus,
muslims, christians, jews, every‑one, who came together to cele‑brate the common thread of be‑
ing a woman. Bindi is a small, or‑namental dot applied to the fore‑
head. The word Bindi is derived
from Sanskrit word “Bindu”,which means the point around
which the creation of the uni‑verse begins. Women have al‑ways been the central anchor
holding the families together. Awoman signifies the strength, the
beauty, the elegance and the
power. The bindi represents all of these qualities perfectly. “That is
why it made so much sense to cel‑ebrate the womenʼs day wearingBindi,” says Sailee Raje, founder
and CEO of EthnicThread appwho first came up with this idea.
She further says, “Bindis are Bold
and Beautiful. They are very easyto apply or draw on your body.”
Itʼs an incredibly simple and funway for women to sport it on thewomenʼs day and unitedly cele‑
brate the pride of being awoman.”
New York: The 16th annualNew York Indian Film Festival,
presented by the Indo‑Ameri‑can Arts Council, has an‑
nounced that its opening night
film will be “Nachom‑ia‑Kumpasar (Letʼs Dance to the
Rhythm),” directed by Bardroy
Barretto.The festival will kick off May
7 at 5 p.m. at the Skirball Cen‑ter for Performing Arts in New
York City, N.Y., and continue
until May 14.Among the celebrities and
guests that will grace the red
carpet and cocktails event areAparna Sen, Salman Rushdie,
Indian Ambassador to the U.S.
Arun Singh, Ambassador VijayNambiar, Madhur Jaffrey,
Aasif Mandvi, Paul Williams,Tracey Jackson, Umesh Kulka‑
rni, Suketu Mehta, Hansal
Mehta, Sakina Jaffrey, SaritaChoudhury, Kalki Koechlin,
Ayad Akhtar, Muzaffar Ali,Nasseredin Shah, Vishal
Bhardwaj, Rekha Bhardwaj
and Aditya Basu Bhattacharya.Aroon Shivdasani, artistic
and executive director of IAAC,
will give the welcome address.Filmmaker Mira Nair and
Singh will also give addresses.A post‑screening discussion
with Barretto and the cast will
be moderated by AseemChhabra. The evening will end
with a gala benefit dinner and
dancing at the Rosenthal Pavil‑ion Penthouse.
New York: In an unpredictableUS Presidential primaries, theUS‑India Political Action Com‑mittee (USINPAC) continues itsinteractive Presidential Dialogueseries with Democratic and Re‑publican Presidential campaignsto engage and discuss issues im‑portant to the Indian Americancommunity. USINPAC invites allto join its Google hangout, onThursday, April 7th at 12:30 pmEST with the Presidential Cam‑
paign of Governor John Kasich,represented by Ohio State Rep.Niraj Antani.
The Google hangout will bechaired by Manish Antani andSanjay Puri and will draw IndianAmericans across the country,eager to know more about Gov.Kasichʼs stand on issues pertain‑ing to US‑India relations, immi‑gration, terrorism and domesticissues like education and theeconomy among others.
State Representative Niraj An‑tani, serving his first term, is the
youngest currently serving mem‑ber of the Ohio House.
Additionally, he is the secondIndian‑American state elected of‑
ficial in Ohio history, and thefirst Indian‑American Republi‑can. Sanjay Puri, Chairman of US‑
INPAC, remarked, “I welcome allIndian Americans to join us onour next Presidential DialogueSeries with Gov. Kasichʼs cam‑paign.
USINPAC expects it to have a
very interactive and productivediscussion on Apr 7th. Joinus.”
New York: Spe‑
cial address byArun Jaitley,Indiaʼs Minis‑ter of Finance,Corporate Af‑fairs, and In‑formation andBroadcastingwill deliver aspecial ad‑dress on Mon‑day, April 18from 11.30 amto 1.00 pm atAsia Society in
NY. A memberof the Cabinet
of India, Minis‑ter Jaitley holdsthe primary responsibility formanaging Indiaʼs economy̶which, as the fastest growingmajor economy in the world, isincreasingly critical given theslowdown in the global econo‑my. Minister Jaitleyʼs remarkswill focus on the Indian Gov‑
ernmentʼs
Make in Indiaprogram,which in‑cludes majornew initia‑tives de‑signed to fa‑cilitate invest‑ment, fosterinnovation,and buildmanufactur‑ing infra‑structure.
Also pres‑
ent will be Dr.Naushad
Forbes, Presi‑dent of Con‑
federation of Indian Industry;Shaktikanta Das, Secretary of the Department of EconomicAffairs in the Indian Ministry of Finance; Kevin Rudd (modera‑tor), President of the Asia Soci‑ety Policy Institute, formerPrime Minister of Australia.
Army grants Sikh Americanofficer right to wear turban
NYIFF to kick off
with ‘Nachom-ia-Kumpasarʼ
USINPAC invites all to interactwith Gov.Kasichʼs campaign
Capt. Simratpal Singh(Image courtesy: Sikh Coalition)
Governor John Kasich (Photo Source : Yahoo.com)
Arun Jaitley
India's FinanceMinister to addressAsia Society in NY
Women all over unite to celebrate womanhood with Bindi
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7April 9-15, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info NAT I ONAL COMMUNI TY
New York: Many bloodlines around the world,particularly of south Asian descent, may actually
be a bit more Denisovan ‑‑ a mysterious popula‑
tion of hominids that lived around the same time
as the Neanderthals ‑ researchers including
Indian‑origin scientists have revealed. The team
from Harvard Medical School and University of
California‑Los Angeles (UCLA) has created a
world map and also used comparative genomics
to make predictions about where Denisovan and
Neanderthal genes may be impacting modern
human biology. The analysis also proposes that
modern humans interbred with Denisovans about
100 generations after their trysts with the
Neanderthals. Denisovan genes can potentially be
linked to a more subtle sense of smell in Papua
New Guineans and high‑altitude adaptions in
Tibetans. Meanwhile, Neanderthal genes found in
people around the world most likely contribute
to tougher skin and hair.
Most non‑Africans possess at least a little bit
Neanderthal DNA.
"There are certain classes of genes that modern
humans inherited from the archaic humans with
whom they interbred, which may have helped the
modern humans to adapt to the new environ‑
ments in which they arrived," explained senior
author David Reich, geneticist at Harvard Medical
School. On the flip side, there was negative selec‑
tion to systematically remove ancestry that may
have been problematic from modern humans.
"We can document this removal over the
40,000 years since these admixtures occurred,"
Reich added.Reich and lab members, Swapan Mallick and
Nick Patterson, teamed up with previous labora‑
tory member Sriram Sankararaman, assistant
professor of computer science at the University
of California, Los Angeles for the project. They
found evidence that both Denisovan and
Neanderthal ancestry has been lost from the X
chromosome as well as genes expressed in the
male testes.
The team theorises that this has contributed to
reduced fertility in males, which is commonly
observed in other hybrids between two highly
divergent groups of the same species.
The researchers collected their data by compar‑
ing known Neanderthal and Denisovan gene
sequences across more than 250 genomes from
120 non‑African populations publicly available
through the Simons Genome Diversity Project.
The analysis was carried out by a machine‑
learning algorithm that could differentiate
between components of both kinds of ancestral
DNA, which are more similar to one another than
to modern humans. The study's limitation is that
it relies on the current library of ancient
genomes available. "We can't use this data to
make claims about what the Denisovans or
Neanderthals looked like, what they ate, or what
kind of diseases they were susceptible to," said
Sankararaman, first author on the paper. "We are
still very far from understanding that." The new
map of archaic ancestry was published in the
journal Current Biology. (IANS)
Houston An Indian‑American
professor and pharmaceutical
department chair at a prestigious
American university has been
selected for the Fulbright
Specialist Roster for his outstand‑
ing achievements in the field of
pharmacy. Rajender R Aparasu is
the first pharmacy faculty mem‑
ber at the University of Houston
selected to be the candidate ros‑ter of the Fulbright Specialist
Program, which helps US faculty
share their academic expertise
and develop linkages with non‑US
institutions on curriculum,
assessment, faculty development
and research training. The
Fulbright program, which is fund‑
ed by the Department of State's
Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs, serves to pro‑
mote international engagement
of academic scholarship and build
linkages between US and over‑
seas institutions. "There are very
few Fulbright specialists in phar‑
macy; I am really honoured to be
selected for Fulbright Specialist
Roster," said Aparasu, whose five‑
year term ends in 2021.
"This is a great opportunity to
offer my expertise in developing
professional and graduate phar‑
macy programs that involve phar‑maceutical health outcomes and
policy," he said. "I am looking for‑
ward to the opportunity to visit
overseas pharmacy institutions to
assist faculty and administrators
with respect to academic and
research programs in pharmaceu‑
tical outcomes research." (PTI)
Washington DC: US law enforce‑
ment agencies have arrested 21 peo‑
ple, including 10 Indian‑Americans,
on charges of visa fraud involving
about 1,000 foreign students.
Arrested in New York, New Jersey,
Washington and Virginia these 21
individuals were brokers, recruiters
and employers who conspired with
more than 1,000 foreign nationals to
fraudulently obtain student and for‑
eign worker visas through a "pay to
stay" New Jersey college,
Department of Justice said. As per
the federal compliant unsealed on
Tuesday, the defendants, many of
whom operated recruiting compa‑
nies for purported international stu‑
dents, were arrested for their
involvement in an alleged scheme to
enroll foreign nationals as students
in the University of Northern New
Jersey (UNNJ, a purported for‑profit
college located in Cranford, New
Jersey. Unbeknownst to the defen‑
dants and the foreign nationals they
conspired with, however, the UNNJ
was created in September 2013 by
federal agents.
Through the UNNJ, undercover
HSI agents investigated criminal
activities associated with the Student
and Exchange Visitor Program
(SEVP), including, but not limited to,
student visa fraud and the harboring
of aliens for profit.
The UNNJ was not staffed with
instructors or educators, had no cur‑
riculum and conducted no actual
classes or education activities.
New York A 45‑year‑old
Indian‑origin man, who worked
as a talent agent, has been sen‑
tenced to up to six years in
prison in New York for stealing
more than $2 million from
clients by falsely promising to
book famous recording artists
for events.
Yugeshwar Rajkumar of New
Jersey, who had pleaded guilty
last month in New York State
Supreme Court to grand larce‑
ny and fraud charges, was also
ordered to pay $1.7 million in
restitution. Manhattan DistrictAttorney Cyrus Vance said Rajkumar
was a booking agent and stole more
than $2 million from clients by falsely
promising to book famous recording
artists for events."The defendant took
advantage of his reputation in the
music industry to convince his victims
to pay him tens of thousands of dollars
to secure supposed performances by
world‑famous recording artists," Vance
said.
Around 2008, Rajkumar falsely
promised clients and event promoters
that he would book popular recording
artists for overseas concerts, including
Akon and Chris Brown.In exchange for the supposed book‑
ing, Rajkumar charged his clients
between $45,000 and $300,000, and
directed them to wire payments to
bank accounts held by entities based in
New York and controlled by him.
However, instead of using the money
to book the promised artists, he made
cash withdrawals and spent the money
on rent, car payments, legal fees, and
personal debts, Vance said.
In many cases, victims were forced to
pay additional fees to secure perform‑
ances by desired artists who were
never booked by Rajkumar. (PTI)
Yugeshwar Rajkumar(Image credit: nypost.com)
Prof Rajender Aparasu
South Asians share ancestrywith a mysterious
population: Researchers
TALENT AGENT
SENTENCED FOR
$2 MILLION FRAUD
Prof Rajender Aparasu selectedfor Fulbright Specialist Roster
10 Indian-Americans among 21
arrested in visa fraud case
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The massive data leak from a
Panama‑based law firm, now
known across the world as
the "Panama Papers", has put
many world leaders, politicians,
celebrities and sport‑stars under
the spotlight.
The leaked files from the
Panamanian firm Mossack
Fonseca has revealed that it hid
billions of dollars in assets for its
clients. The files, comprising over
11 million documents from the
firm totaling close to 2.6 TB of
data, have revealed names which
have shocked many.
The International Consortium of
Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and
100 other media partners conduct‑ed an investigation into the files
and unearthed information on
more than 214,000 offshore com‑
panies connected to people in
more than 200 countries and terri‑
tories. The information might
throw light on a widespread sys‑
tem of global tax evasion.
According to WIRED website,ICIJ director Gerard Ryle said that
the leak began in late 2014, "when
an unknown source reached out to
the German newspaper
Suddeutsche Zeitung, which had
reported previously on a smaller
leak of Mossack Fonseca files to
German government regulators."
Ryle revealed that Bastian
Obermayer, a Suddeutsche Zeitung
reporter, said that the source had
contacted him via encrypted chat,
offering data intended “to make
these crimes public.”
Upon being contacted by the
source, Obermayer asked, “How
much data are we talking about?”Obermayer told WIRED the
source's response: “More than you
have ever seen.”
Additionally, according to the
report, Ryle said that the source
had warned Obermayer that his or
her “life is in danger.”
Obermayer said that he commu‑
nicated with his source over aseries of encrypted channels that
they frequently changed. They
took the precaution of deleting all
history from their prior exchange
each time.
Without revealing the exact
channels used for communicating
with the source, Obermayer,
according to the report, alluded to
crypto apps l ike Signal and
Threema, as well as PGP‑encrypted
email. Obermayer revealed that
each time the reporter and the
source re‑established a connection,
"they would use a known question
and answer to reauthenticate each
other."“Iʼd say ʻis it sunny?ʼ Youʼd say
ʻthe moon is rainingʼ or whatever
nonsense, and then both of us can
verify itʼs still the other person on
the device,” Obermayer told
WIRED. As the source provided the
files, Suddeutsche Zeitung contact‑
ed the ICIJ.
The WIRED report says that theICIJʼs developers built a "two‑fac‑
tor‑authenticat ion‑protected
search engine" for the leaked files,
the URL for which they shared "via
encrypted email with scores of
news outlets including the BBC,
The Guardian, Fusion, and dozens
of foreign‑language media outlets."
Given the sheer size of the leakand the terabytes of data involved,
it is unlikely that it could all be
shared over email. However,
Obermayer, according to the
report, refused to divulge how the
source was able to pass on all that
information.
Reykjavik Iceland's right‑wing government
has named a new Prime Minister and said it
would hold early elections in the autumn,
after the previous leader was forced to step
down over his implication in the Panama
Papers scandal.
The two coalition partners, the Progressive
Party and the Independence Party, agreed
after talks late yesterday to hand the prime
ministerial post to the agriculture minister
Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, 53, of the
Progressives. He replaces Sigmundur David
Gunnlaugsson, 41, who stepped down
Tuesday amid massive public protests over a
hidden offshore account revealed in the so‑called Panama Papers leak of 11.5 million
financial documents.
"We expect to have elections this autumn,"
Johannsson said, insisting that the coalition, in
power since 2013, would continue to run the
country's affairs despite thousands of protest‑
ers calling for the whole government's resig‑
nation. "We will continue our work together.
We are of course hoping this will help bring
stability in the political system," he said.President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who at 72
is due to retire in June after five terms and 20
ye ar s in of fi ce , is ex pe ct ed to ap pr ov e
Johannsson's appointment. Iceland's next leg‑
islative elections were originally scheduled for
April 2017. Gunnlaugsson, who remains the
head of the Progressive Party for the time
being, was the first major political casualty to
emerge from the leak of millions of docu‑
ments detailing offshore accounts held by
world leaders and celebrities. Two other
Iceland cabinet ministers have been singled
out in the leak ‑‑ Finance Minister Bjarni
Benediktsson and Interior Minister Olof
Nordal ‑‑ and the coalition is keen to stall for
time to avoid what would surely be a resound‑
ing protest vote if a snap election were held
soon. The coalition parties "have lost all their
legitimacy, but I am sceptical they will leave of
their own initiative. Time is on their side and
it's crucial for them to stay in power," lament‑
ed Gyda Margret Petursdottir, a 42‑year‑old
teacher who was one of hundreds whoprotested against the government outside par‑
liament yesterday. The Panama Papers,
revealed by the International Consortium of
Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), showed that
Gunnlaugsson and his wife owned an offshore
company in the British Virgin Islands and had
placed millions of dollars of her inheritance
there. (AFP/PTI)
Opposition lawmakerpresses charges againstArgentina PresidentMauricio MacriBuenos Aires An Argentine opposition law‑
maker has pressed charges against
President Mauricio Macri, seeking to havehim investigated for financial crimes after
his name appeared in the so‑called Panama
Papers leaks.
Lawmaker Norman Martinez asked a fed‑
eral judge to order an investigation into
whether the conservative president "knew
of, collaborated in, ordered or approved
maneuvers to launder money or evade
taxes."
Martinez, an ally of Macri's predecessor
and opponent, Cristina Kirchner, filed the
complaint after the lower house voted down
a bill that sought to force the president to
testify before Congress on his interests in
two firms registered in the Bahamas and
Panama. Macri still faces a separate move to
launch a congressional commission to probeany irregularities in his finances.
Information about Macri's offshore finan‑
cial dealings emerged in the leak of millions
of documents from Panamanian law firm
Mossack Fonseca, which has put a host of
world leaders and celebrities in the hot seat
over their secret financial dealings.
(AFP/PTI)
8 April 9-15, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info P ANAMA P AP ERS LEAK
PANAMA PAPERS:
Decoding historyʼs biggest data leak
ICELAND NAMES NEW PM;
will hold autumn election
Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca is at the center of the storm. Thefirm hid billions of dollars in assets for its clients at offshore tax havens.
(Image courtesy: newyorker.com)
The previous PM Sigmundur DavidGunnlaugsson was forced to step down
over his implication in the Panama Papersscandal (Courtesy: londonlovesbusiness.com)
The Fall Out of Panama Papers Leak
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9April 9-15, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info P ANAMA P AP ERS LEAK
Beijing Hong Kong:
Authorities
across the globe have openedinvestigations into the activities of
the world's rich and powerful after
a cache of leaked documents from
a Panamanian law firm showed
possible wrongdoing using of f‑
shore company structures.
The "Panama Papers" have cast
light on the financial arrange‑
ments of high profile politicians
and public figures and the compa‑
nies and financial institutions they
use for such activities. Among
those named in the documents are
friends of Russian President
Vladimir Putin and relatives of the
leaders of China, Britain, Iceland
and Pakistan, and the president of Ukraine.
Leading figures and financial
institutions responded to the mas‑
sive leak of more than 11.5 million
documents with denials of any
wrongdoing as prosecutors and
regulators began a review of the
reports from the investigation by
the US based International
Consortium of Investigative
Journalists (ICIJ) and other media
organizations.
Following the reports, China has
moved to limit local access to cov‑
erage of the matter with state
media denouncing Western report‑
ing on the leak as biased against
non‑Western leaders.
France, Australia, New Zealand,Austria, Sweden and the
Netherlands are among nations
that have commenced investiga‑
tions, and some other countries,
including the United States, said
they were looking into the matter.
Mossack Fonseca, the
Panamanian law firm at the center
of the leaks, has set up more than
240,000 offshore companies for
clients around the globe and
denies any wrongdoing. It calls
itself the victim of a campaign
against privacy and claims media
reports misrepresent the nature of
its business.
The Hong Kong government saidin a statement that its Inland
Revenue Department has taken
note of the recent release of the
documents and will take "neces‑
sary actions" based on any infor‑
mation it gets. It will not comment
on individual cases or disclose the
course of action because of secre‑
cy provisions in Hong Kong tax
law, the government said.
Credit Suisse and HSBC, two of
the world's largest wealth man‑
agers, dismissed suggestions they
were actively using offshore struc‑
tures to help clients cheat on their
taxes. Both were named among the
banks that helped set up complex
structures that make it hard for
tax collectors and investigators to
track the flow of money from one
place to another, according to ICIJ.
Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam,
who is aggressively targeting
Asia's wealthiest for growth, said
his bank was only after lawful
assets. Speaking at a media brief‑
ing in Hong Kong, he acknowl‑
edged the bank uses offshore
financial structures, but only for
very wealthy customers with
assets in multiple jurisdictions and
did not support their use for tax
avoidance or allow them without
knowing the identities of all those
concerned. "We do not condone
structures for tax avoidance," he
said. "Whenever there is a struc‑
ture with a third party beneficiary
we insist to know the identity of
that beneficiary."
Separately, HSBC said the docu‑
ments pre‑dated a thorough
reform of its business model.
Both banks have in recent years
paid large fines to US authorities
over their wealth management or
banking operations.
Credit Suisse agreed in 2014 to
pay a $2.5 billion fine for helping
rich Americans evade taxes. HSBC
agreed in 2012 to pay $1.92 bil‑
lion in fines, mainly for allowing
itself to be used to launderMexican drug money.
The reports on leaks also point‑
ed to the offshore companies
linked to the families of Chinese
President Xi Jinping and other
powerful current and former
Chinese leaders.
Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Hong Lei, when asked
if the government would investi‑
gate tax affairs of those mentioned
in the Panama Papers, told
reporters at a daily news briefing
the ministry would not comment
on "these groundless accusations".
Searches for the word "Panama"
on Chinese search engines bringup stories in Chinese media on the
topic, but many of the links have
been disabled or only open onto
stories about allegations directed
at sports stars.
China's Internet regulator did
not immediately respond to a
request for comment. The Global
Times, an influential tabloid pub‑
lished by the ruling Communist
Party's official People's Daily, sug‑
gested in an editorial on Tuesday
that Western media backed by
Washington used such leaks to
attack political targets in non‑
Western countries while minimiz‑
ing coverage of Western leaders.
Geneva Uruguay's Juan Pedro
Damiani has resigned from FIFA's
ethics committee after the
Panama Papers showed his law
firm acted as an intermediary for
a disgraced FIFA official. "We canconfirm that Mr. Damiani resigned
from his position as member of
the adjudicatory chamber of the
independent Ethics Committee of
FIFA," panel spokesman Marc
Tenbuecken told AFP in an email.
The Panama Papers indicate
that Damiani's firm helped
Eugenio Figueredo ‑‑ the former
head of the South American foot‑ball confederation who is now fac‑
ing corruption charges in the
United States ‑‑ set up a shell com‑
pany.
San Jos Costa Ricans named in
the "Panama Papers" leak that
disclosed the offshore financial
dealings of the world's wealthy
will be scrutinized for any crimi‑nal or tax‑dodging activity, offi‑
cials have announced.
State prosecutors and the
finance ministry are teaming up
to tackle the matter, the Public
Ministry yesterday said in a
statement.
At the same time, a special
commission including the public
and finance ministries and the
police will meet next week to
define their lines of action.
The Costa Rican government
has seized upon the scandal to
urge lawmakers to pass a seriesof laws on tax reform.
It particularly wants to see one
adopted that demands partners
and ultimate owners of anony‑
mous companies be registered ‑‑
something that has met with
resistance from some corporate
and political figures. (AFP/PTI )
World over probes opened in financialarrangements of public figures
Damiani resignsfrom FIFA ethicscommittee
PROBE ANNOUNCEDFOR COSTA RICANSREVEALED IN DATA LEAK
A security guard sits outside the the Mossack Fonseca law firm inPanama City. (Image courtesy: hindustantimes.com)
Juan Pedro Damiani
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New Delhi
Cautioning against
ju mp in g to co nc lu si on s onPanama Papers, the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI, or central
bank) on Wednesday said it
would have to look into the evi‑
dence to find what was legiti‑
mate.
Panama Papers have disclosed
a list of nearly 500 Indians,
including celebrities and indus‑
trialists who have allegedly
stashed money in offshore enti‑
ties.
The government has set up a
task force and the RBI is a part of
it . RBI Deputy Governor S S
Mundra said on the sidelines of
an event organized by Assocham
here. "It would be too hasty to
jump to a conclusion that every‑
thing is illegitimate or everything
is legitimate. There would be all
kind of cases once the details are
available, we will look into the
evidence along with the team.
Then it would be fair to reach to
a conclusion," he said. Soon after
the Panama Paper disclosure, the
government set up a group,
which includes officials from
CBDT, RBI and FIU (Financial
Intelligence Unit) to investigate
whether the money deposited in
the tax heaven are legal or ille‑
gal. RBI Governor Raghuram
Rajan had said yesterday that the
multi‑agency probe will look into
the legitimacy of such holdings
of Indians named in the leaked
Panama list. It is important to
note that there are legitimate
reasons to have accounts outside
and the LRS scheme allows you
to take money outside, he had
said.
Under the Liberalized
Remittance Scheme (LRS), all res‑
ident individuals , including
minors, are allowed to freely
remit up to $2,50,000 per finan‑
cial year for any permissible cur‑
rent or capital account transac‑
tion or a combination of both.
Besides, the Special
Investigation Team (SIT) on
black money is also investigate
thoroughly the Panama Papers
issue. "Investigations are being
carried out. We are going to
investigate it (the list) thorough‑
ly," SIT Chairman Justice (retd) M
B Shah had said. (PTI)
New De lh i Niira Radia, the founder of
Vaishnavi Communications whose taped
telephone chats with some prominent peo‑
ple in India around eight years ago, includ‑
ing ministers, journalists and business
tycoons became the matter of a probe, has
now surfaced in the "Panama Papers"
expose.
Her name (appearing as Nira Radia, in
the documents investigated, minus theextra 'i') is allegedly linked to a company
in British Virgin Islands, which her office
has denied, The Indian Express reported
on Wednesday.
In the article, as Part 3 of the expose on
Indians having alleged offshore links,
Radia is said to have figured prominently
as a director in the 232 documents per‑
taining to the company listed in the tax
haven, Crownmart International Group.
The list published by the newspaper on
Wednesday also has the names of a top
business tycoon in Bellary, a prominent
industrialist and a chartered accountant ‑‑
each of whom, which The Indian Express
says were contacted for their responses,
with many also sharing their versions.Another article seeks to shows how the
world's largest currency note maker De La
Rue had contracted a New Delhi business‑
man to help bag tenders in India, in return
for a 15‑percent commission.
The paper identifies the company as
Aphra Consultants, linked to Somendra
Khosla of New Delhi.
Amid these allegations, Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan has
said that not every off‑shore company
opened by an Indian national need be ille‑
gitimate, and that this would be the pri‑
mary task of a probe team in which the
central bank has been co‑opted.
On Radia, the paper said: "An investiga‑
tion of these papers shows the existence of one offshore entity owned by Radia, an
International Business Company regis‑
tered in the British Virgin Islands by
Mossack Fonseka in 1994 named
Crownmart International Group Limited."
In response, her office said the said enti‑
ty was set up by her late father Iqbal
Narain Menon and that she was not a ben‑
eficiary. Also that Radia had disclosed her
assets to the authorities in UK and India
and that such information was personal
and confidential for third parties.
In another article published on
Wednesday, the newspaper said the Indian
diamond merchants, who were probed ear‑
lier for having overseas accounts in
Liechtenstein, British Virgin Islands and
HSCB, have also surfaced in "Panama
Papers."Prominent among them are Rosy Blue,
one of the largest diamond traders in the
world, and Chetan Mehta of the Belgium‑
based Gembel family.
The paper also reported that Harshad
Ramniklal Mehta of Rosy Blue did not
respond to its calls or queries, while
Chetan Mehta said he has been a non‑resi‑
dent Indian living in Belgium and that the
companies were shut longtime ago.
A part of the list, Hyderabad‑based
Moturi Srinivas Prasad said the off‑shore
entities were started as one dollar compa‑
nies with the hope of doing business, but
were closed.
Satish Modi of Modi Global was away
from India, but an e‑mail reply from hisoffice said he is an NRI and laws were fol‑
lowed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
already ordered a multi‑agency probe
team on the expose. (IANS)
Mumbai Actor Amitabh Bachchan, whose name
figured in the Panama Paper leaks as allegedlyhaving links with offshore entities in two tax
havens, on Tuesday denied
any connection with thosecompanies, saying his
name may have been“misused”.
He also claimed thateven the news reporthad not suggested any
wrongdoing on his part.
The Indian Expresscarried a report
based on leaked
documents of aP a n a m a ‑
based lawf i r m
M o s s a c k
F o n s e c a ,which is said to feature links of over 500 Indians
to firms and accounts in offshore tax havens.
Referring to the report, Bachchan, 73, said, “Ido not know any of the companies referred to by
Indian Express ̶ Sea Bulk Shipping CompanyLtd, Lady Shipping Ltd, Treasure Shipping Ltd,
and Tramp Shipping Ltd. I have never been a
director of any of the above stated companies. Itis possible that my name has been misused.
"I have paid all my taxes including on monies
spent by me overseas. Monies that I have remit‑ted overseas have been in compliance with law,
including remittances through LiberalizedRemittance Scheme (LRS), after paying Indian
taxes. In any event the news report in Indian
Express does not even suggest any illegality onmy part," his statement read. The names of his
daughter‑in‑law Aishwarya Rai, her parents and
brother also figured in the leaked documents asbeing directors in a firm in the British Virgin
Islands. The newspaper quoted her media adviserArchana Sadanand, who raised questions about
the International Consortium of Investigating
Journalists and said all the information the paperhad was totally untrue and false. (PTI)
10 April 9-15, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info P ANAMA P AP ERS LEAK
Niira Radia (Image courtesy: sify.com)
Amitabh Bachchan (File Photo)
RBI warns against jumpingto conclusions
PANAMA PAPERS HAVE DISCLOSEDA LIST OF NEARLY 500 INDIANS
Hyderabad‑based businessman
Bhavanasi Jaya Kumar who main‑
tained he had nothing to do with off‑
shore companies.
UK‑based Bhaskar Rao, whose son
said the companies were not exactly
active and that due procedures werefollowed.
Civil construction business people
Preetam Bothra and Sweta Gupta,
with the latter when contacted, pos‑
ing the query, as to why she should
share any information with the
newspaper.
Ahmedabad‑based Bhandari Ashok
Ramdayalchand, with a response
from someone at his residence that
he was not interested in talking.
Kolkata‑based Ashok Malhotra who,
the paper says, admitted to knowing
about the off‑shore accounts but
kept changing his stories.
Dehradun‑based Sanjay Pokhriyal,
who said the $10,000 endowmentfor a Panamanian fund allegedly
linked to him was not his own
money.
Belary iron exporters Prasanna V.
Ghotage and Vaman Kumar who the
paper could not contact.
Vadodara‑based Pradeep Kaushikray
Buch, who denied he had any such
overseas company linked to him.
Rahul Arunprasad Patel of Sintex
Industries, who reportedly said he
has several overseas companies but
was not sure if the one named in the
expose belonged to him.
Thiruvananthapuram native and
chartered accountant George
Mathew, who said the linked compa‑nies belonged to clients and that
Indian agencies had nothing to do
with them.
Niira Radia now surfacesin 'Panama Papers'
OTHERS
Amitabh Bachchan
says no link with
offshore companies
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11April 9-15, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info P ANAMA P AP ERS LEAK
The massive data leak in
Panama has revealed namesof thousands of world lead‑
ers and celebrities who have
stashed money in tax havens
In his first reaction to the leaked
'Panama Papers' that revealed
names of thousands of world lead‑
ers and celebrities who have
stashed money in tax havens,
President Barack Obama today
said that global tax avoidance
may be running into trillions of
dollars worldwide.
"There is no doubt that the
problem of global tax avoidance,
generally, is a huge problem,"
Obama said adding the issue has
been brought up in G7 and G20meetings.
"There has been some progress
made in coordinating between tax
authorities of different countries
so that we can make sure that
we're catching some of the most
egregious examples," he said.
"But as I said before, one of the
big problems that we have is that
a lot of this stuff is not illegal.
Unless the United States and other
countries lead by example in clos‑
ing some of these loopholes and
provisions, then in many cases
you can trace what's taking place,
but you can't stop it. There is
always going to be some illicitmovement of funds around the
world. But we shouldn't make it
easy. We shouldn't make it legalto engage in transactions just to
avoid taxes," he asserted.
"That's why I think it is impor‑
tant that the Treasury acted on
something that's different from
what happened in Panama. The
corporate inversions issue is a
financial transaction that is bro‑
kered among major Fortune 500
companies to avoid paying taxes,"
he said.
"But the basic principle is mak‑
ing sure that everybody is paying
their fair share, and that they
don't just have a few people who
are able to take advantage of tax
provisions, that's something thatthey really have to pay attention
to.
"This is a l l net outf lows of
money that could be spent on the
pressing needs here in the United
States. The volume that you start
seeing when you combine legal
tax avoidance with i l l ic it tax
avoidance, or some of the activi‑
ties that we're seeing, this is not
just billions of dollars.
"It's not even just hundreds of
billions of dollars. Estimates are
this may be trillions of dollars
worldwide, and it could make a
big difference in terms of what we
can do here," Obama said.Obama urged the Republican‑
controlled Congress to close legal
loopholes so as to prevent
American companies from evad‑
ing taxes and shipping jobs over‑
seas.
"We should keep building an
economy where everybody has a
fair shot, and everybody plays by
the same rules," Obama said a day
after the US Treasury Department
issued new set of rules making it
more difficult for US companies to
save taxes by shipping jobs
abroad.
Americans, he stressed, should
be able to know that big corpora‑tions aren't playing by a different
set of rules.
Obama praised the Treasury
Department for its new set of
rules that would reduce the tax
benefits for "serial inverters"as he
lashed out at such US companies.
"They effectively renounce their
citizenship. They declare that
they're based somewhere else,"
Obama said.
"It sticks the rest of us with the
tab, and it makes hardworking
Americans feel like the deck is
stacked against them," he added.
"In the news over the last couple
of days, we've had anotherreminder in this big dump of data
coming out of Panama that tax
avoidance is a big, global problem.Its not unique to other countries
because, frankly, there are folks
here in America who are taking
advantage of the same stuff. A lot
of it is legal, but that's exactly the
problem," Obama said.
"Its not that they're breaking the
laws, it's that the laws are so poor‑
ly designed that they allow peo‑
ple, if they've got enough lawyers
and enough accountants, to wig‑
gle out of responsibilities that
ordinary citizens are having to
abide by," he said.
In the US there are loopholes
that only wealthy individuals and
powerful corporations haveaccess to. They have access to off‑
shore accounts, and they are gam‑
ing the system, he noted, adding
that middle‑class families are not
in the same position to do this.
"In fact, a lot of these loopholes
come at the expense of middle‑
class families, because that lost
revenue has to be made up some‑
where. Alternatively, it means that
we're not investing as much as we
should in schools, in making col‑
lege more affordable, in putting
people back to work rebuilding
our roads, our bridges, our infra‑
structure, creating more opportu‑
nities for our children," he said.(PTI)
Panama City One of the founders of the
law firm at the center of the explosive
"Panama Papers" revelations on off‑shore holdings said his company was
hacked by servers abroad.
Ramon Fonseca said the firm MossackFonseca had lodged a criminal com‑
plaint with Panamanian prosecutors onMonday over the breach.
He added that in all the reporting so
far "nobody is talking of the hack, andthat is the only crime that has been com‑
mitted."
Fonseca said, "We have lodged a com‑
plaint. We have a technical report thatwe were hacked by servers abroad."
He did not specify from which country
the hack was carried out.Fonseca also rued the fact that report‑
ing on the 11.5 million documents takenfrom Mossack Fonseca's computer sys‑
tem focused on the high‑profile clients
who had used the law firm to set up off‑shore companies to hold their wealth.
"We don't understand. The world is
already accepting that privacy is not a
human right," he said.The hack has badly shaken Panama's
financial services sector, which relied on
discretion to do its business.With high‑profile politicians, sports
stars, celebrities and a few criminalsrevealed to have used Mossack Fonseca
to set up offshore entities, scrutiny on
the small Central American nation hassuddenly ramped up.
But the law firm and the government
have stressed that offshore companies
are not, in themselves, illegal, and thatMossack Fonseca was not responsible
for what its clients used them for.
The government, which has recentlyseen through reforms to get the country
taken off an international list of statesseen as money‑laundering hubs, is
mounting a fierce defense of the finan‑
cial sector, which contributes 7% of gross domestic product. (PTI)
Global tax avoidance hugeproblem, says Barack Obama
Panama Papers: Law firm says'hacked by servers abroad'
President Barack Obama speaking out against tax havens amidst
Panama Papers fallout (Image courtesy: winningdemocrats.com)
The firm further said that in all the reporting so far "nobody is talking of the hack, and that is the only crime that has been committed"
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Washington The Panama law
firm at the center of the huge
leak of data on offshore financial
accounts reportedly incorporat‑
ed a string of companies named
after James Bond films.
Among the 11 million docu‑
ments leaked from the firm
Mossack Fonseca that specializes
in setting up complex offshore
corporate structures, are files
showing that the firm established
companies named after James
Bond movies and villains, ABC
News reported.
The files include companies
named Goldfinger, SkyFall ,
GoldenEye, Moonraker, Spectre
and also Blofeld, the arch Bond
nemesis fond of remote island
lairs, the Organized Crime and
Corruption Reporting Project
(OCCRP), which investigated the
files alongside 100 other media
outlets, wrote in an article on
Wednesday.
The files also include "corre‑
spondence from a man named
Austin Powers, apparently his
real name and not the movie
character, and Jack Bauer, a real
person whom a Mossack Fonseca
employee entered into the firm's
database as a client after the
employee "met him at a pub", the
article said.
Jack Bauer was also the charac‑
ter portrayed by actor Kiefer
Sutherland in the hit TV series
24. (IANS)
Beijing
Nearly a third of the business of the
law firm at the center of the Panama Papers
scandal came from its offices in Hong Kong
and China, reports said today, with the
Asian giant assailed by corruption and capi‑
tal flight.
More than 16,300 of Panamanian law
firm Mossack Fonseca's active shell compa‑
nies were incorporated through its Hong
Kong and China offices, 29% of the world‑
wide total, according to the International
Consortium of Investigative Journalists
(ICIJ), which co‑ordinated a year‑long inves‑
tigation into a trove of 11.5 million docu‑
ments.
The investigation found that relatives of
at least eight current or former members of
China's Politburo Standing Committee, the
ruling party's most powerful body, have
been implicated in the use of offshore com‑
panies.
Such vehicles are not illegal in themselves
and can be used for legitimate business
needs. But they commonly feature in cor‑
ruption cases, when they can be used to
secretly move ill‑gotten gains abroad.
Graft is rife in China, which Transparency
International rates in 83rd place out of 168
in its most recent Corruption Perceptions
Index.
At the same time growth in the world's
second‑largest economy is slowing, and its
wealthy have increasingly sought to move
funds abroad, but have to contend with
Beijing's strict exchange‑control regime.
Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has
launched a much‑ publicized anti‑graft
drive, but has not instituted systemicreforms such as public declarations of
assets.
Xi's brother‑in‑law and family members of
two current members of the Politburo
Standing Committee (PSC), Zhang Gaoli and
Liu Yunshan, have offshore holdings, the
ICIJ reported.
Deng Jiagui, the husband of Xi's sister,
was previously a shareholder in three com‑
panies : Supreme Victory Enterprises ,
Wealth Ming International and Best Effect
Enterprises, reports said. The companies
were closed before Xi took power in 2012.
Relatives of past PSC members Jia
Qinglin, once the fourth‑ranked leader in
China, Li Peng, who led the Tiananmen
Square crackdown, Hu Yaobang, ex vice‑
president Zeng Qinghong, and Tian Jiyun
were named by The Guardian, which took
part in the investigation.
The documents also named movie star
Jackie Chan, billionaire heiress Kelly Zong
Fuli, and shopping‑mall magnate Shen
Guojun.
Media in the Communist‑ruled country
have avoided reporting on the leaks'
Chinese revelations, and social media has
been scrubbed of references to them, with
foreign news broadcasters such as the BBC
blacked out when they report on the
Panama Papers. (AFP/PTI)
Swiss policesearch UEFAoffices inPanamaPapers falloutGeneva authorities raided the
headquarters of European foot‑
ball, Iceland named a new prime
minister and the world's largest
drugs company merger fell
apart, as the fallout from the
Panama Papers scandal gath‑
ered pace.
Police searched UEFA's Geneva
offices as part of a probe into a
Champions League television
rights deal signed by Gianni
Infantino before he became the
president of world football's gov‑
erning body.
The year‑long investigation,
published on Sunday, revealed
the hidden offshore assets of
some 140 political figures,
including 12 current or former
heads of state, as well as celebri‑
ties, sports stars and dozens of
billionaires.
People close to Russian
President Vladimir Putin,
Chinese President Xi Jinping's
relatives, Argentine footballing
great Lionel Messi and film star
Jackie Chan have all been named
as owning offshore accounts
with Mossack Fonseca.
But the Panama law firm also
counted criminals among its
clients, including "drug traffick‑
ers from Mexico, Guatemala and
Eastern Europe" and people and
companies under US and
European sanctions, said
Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the
German newspaper that
obtained the documents.
In the first taste of how the
revelations could reshape theworld of business, Pfizer said a
$160 bil l ion merger with
Allergan to create the world's
largest pharmaceuticals compa‑
ny would not go ahead after
Washington moved to tighten
taxation rules.
Countries around the world
have been piling pressure on
Panama to reform its financial
sector, which has been trying to
head off a feared international
clampdown on its offshore busi‑
ness.
France has added Panama to
its "grey" l ist of world tax
havens, and Finance MinisterMichel Sapin on Wednesday
called on the OECD group of
wealthy nations to do the same.
(AFP/PTI)
12 April 9-15, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info P ANAMA P AP ERS LEAK
Companies named includeBond movie names like
Goldfinger, SkyFall, GoldenEye,Moonraker and Spectre
How James Bond helpedMossack Fonseca
set up offshore accounts
China largest market for
Mossack Fonseca: ICIJMORE THAN 16,300 ACTIVE SHELLCOMPANIES WERE INCORPORATED
THROUGH THE HK AND CHINA OFFICES
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13April 9-15, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info I ND IA
New Delhi :
A week after it blocked
efforts to ban Jaish‑e‑Mohammed
chief Masood Azhar, China supported
India against the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) ruling that oppos‑
es India's domestic manufacturing
under its National Solar Mission.
Th