Just remember to kowtow and everything will be forgiven.

Seems that a large number of financial firms have sprung up and have managed to raise Rs 2 trillion through Non Convertible Debentures and Private Placement Programmes. The Securities and Exchange Board of India, or Sebi, is looking into whether these are ways of channeling black money. The Sebi is making a fresh effort to trace bondholders in 2 Sahara companies. After 2 attempts in September last year and in January this year the Sebi has managed to find only 4,900 out of an alleged 29.6 million bondholders. Does it mean that Sahara has already paid back 95% of investors, as it claims, or that the Sebi thinks that they do not exist and all the funds raised by Sahara are simply black money invested by politicians? Yet around 7 years ago the RBI shut down Sahara India Financial Corp and it refunded Rs 175 billion to 39.4 investors. There has never been any complaint from any investor of not being paid. On an appeal by Sebi to the Hon'ble Supreme Court Subrata Roy and 2 directors of the company have been incarcerated in Tihar Jail on a charge of contempt of court for more than one year without bail or parole while Manu Sharma, convicted murderer of Jessica Lall, was freed on furlough, which is leave given to our soldiers, to get married. Aruna Shanbaug has been lying in a vegetative state for 41 years, kept alive only by the loving care of her nurses, while her rapist was out in 7 years and is enjoying life in Delhi. Perhaps, Subrata Roy will stay in prison for longer than 7 years. Who knows. Ramalinga Raju, who confessed to a fraud of over Rs 71 billion, has been sentenced to 7 years in prison and a paltry fine of just Rs 50 million. Raju will no doubt appeal and continue to enjoy an active social life for many decades to come. Have their been massive changes in how companies are governed following the Satyam fraud, as happened in the US after Enron. No. There have been some cosmetic changes but not the rigorous accounting disclosures that we should expect. Strangely, Sebi was not so vigorous against the real estate company DLF, where there was an actual complaint of irregularities in its IPO, and acted only after being chastised by Delhi High Court, spending 7 years to do so. In fact, real estate companies regularly use money, raised from investors for one project, on a completely different one. Projects are never completed on time so investors end up paying rent as well as interest on bank loans. All our top companies do not follow proper disclosure norms, their excuse being that they want to guard trade secrets. Firms have not hedged their foreign borrowing, causing the RBI some anxiety. If the dollar becomes any stronger they could be in danger of default. Still, as long as you keep saluting their lordships you can get away with virtually anything. If you are desperately unlucky and do end up in prison, for 7 years, you can always enjoy a full life on furlough.