Bankerupt (Ravi Subramanian)

by Ravi Subramanian

  Shivinder knew he was exposed but fought on. ‘I am appalled at this accusation.’

  ‘Well, you would have had reason to be if this was just a mistake. But it seems to be a conscious effort at defrauding the company. I have visited most of your franchisees in western and southern India and personally compiled a list of outlets which appear to be fraudulent. My list has two hundred and sixty-eight stores. God knows how many such stores there are in the country. And each one of them claimed to have paid twenty thousand dollars as a non-refundable deposit.’

  ‘Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that Deven could do something like this.’ In a last-ditch effort, Shivinder tried to shift the blame onto Deven.

  Nick looked at the head of Asia-Pacific. There was a look of disgust in their eyes. ‘Greater Boston Global Bank.’

  ‘What about it?’

  ‘The account in the name of Snuggles India Private Limited. Opened and operated by you and your CFO, Deven Khatri. Can you explain why the amounts in that account never made it to any of the financial statements?’

  ‘No clue. Why are you asking me questions which you should ideally be asking the CFO?’

  ‘Because, Mr Shivinder, there is no way that you didn’t know about the account. You have made the payout to this manufacturer of fake shoes in Dharavi from the GB2 account. You signed the cheques, Mr Singh. You.’

  ‘I sign most of the cheques which have been validated by the CFO.’

  ‘Maybe then you could explain how and why you continued issuing those cheques even after Mr Khatri disappeared. Mr Khatri was not authorized to sign the account on his own, whereas you were. The slumdog millionaire shoe manufacturer that we visited had been paid through cheques from GB2 signed by you as recently as two months back. It can only mean you knew about the account, the fake shoe manufacturers and the mysterious franchisees.’

  ‘And Mr Singh,’ the Asia-Pacific head spoke up again, ‘this only points to the fact that you knew about this entire operation and ran this clandestinely. You opened over two hundred and sixty-eight franchisees, unauthorized by Snuggles, despite being explicitly prohibited from doing so; flooded them with fake shoes manufactured at a dirt-cheap cost, siphoning off the money in the process. Not to mention the enormous risk of brand dilution.’

  ‘Would you care to tell us where the money is, Mr Singh?’

  ‘I don’t know what you are talking about. I need to talk to my lawyer before I comment.’

  ‘You will have an opportunity for the same. But just as a professional courtesy to the CEO, I would like to let you know that we debated if we should let you resign. But the consensus was that you should be terminated with immediate effect and legal action be initiated.’ The Asia-Pacific head was angry but firm.

  Shivinder got up from his seat. ‘I will consult my lawyer and let you know what needs to be done. Thank you, gentlemen.’ And he walked out. He knew that his game was up.

  The Asia-Pacific head and Nick continued smiling as he opened the door. ‘Before you leave, you might want to see the charges filed against you this morning in India,’ said Nick as he got up to follow Shivinder outside the room. Shivinder stopped in his tracks. A police complaint had been filed against him? Was his game really up? He turned and took the papers from Nick’s hands. It was a six-page document which he read till the last word and then looked up. ‘You can’t do this.’

  ‘Just fifteen minutes ago, Mr Singh. Fifteen minutes. We did just that. Charges against you for siphoning off money and causing losses of over fifty million dollars to Snuggles Inc.’ The global CEO was categorical.

  Shivinder turned and headed for the exit. The moment he stepped out of the door, three uniformed officers surrounded him. They had badges on their shirts which Shivinder recognized as the Boston Police Department’s logo. Below the logo were three words which made him shiver—Economic Crime Department. He quietly walked with them, even as they read him his rights. As his steps slowly dropped in sync with those of the police officers, a strange look appeared on his face. It was pure unbridled rage. It was all because of Cirisha Narayanan that he had got into trouble. Everything was going smoothly until she visited his factory in Dharavi. He would make her pay for it.

  38

  March–May 2008

  India

  As Shivinder was fighting a battle with the team at Boston, an entirely different saga was unfolding halfway across the globe. In Delhi, an anti-corruption crusader had cornered the government on its inaction with regard to bringing back the thousands of crores of black money stashed by Indian politicians and entrepreneurs in tax-friendly and privacy-intensive banks overseas. Issuing a clear threat to make public the names of Indians with accounts in overseas tax havens like Switzerland, he had sent a chill down the spines of everyone involved. GB2 was specifically named by him as one of the banks involved. He claimed to be in possession of a list of over three hundred Indians who had clandestine accounts overseas and that too with GB2.

  Narayanan was worried that his name would be on that list. His withdrawal of over ten crore rupees from the GB2 Geneva account to pay creditors and investors their dues had caught the fancy of the media. In larger cities like Delhi or Mumbai, this amount would not have raised eyebrows. But in Coimbatore, a few hawks from the media watched his every move. A hungry, hyperactive media, busy speculating on who those three hundred people could be, egged on by a few jealous small-time competitors of Narayanan, suddenly took note of the fact that the latter had produced ten crores out of thin air and paid back the investors in cash. The issue blew up into a scandal. And when the local media took note, could the national media have been far behind? The source of the funds started being questioned. This intense trial by media had its impact.

  The day Narayanan realized that he might be exposed in the GB2 Geneva account scam, he applied for an American visa. The reason given to the visa authorities at the American consulate was that he was going to visit his daughter in Massachusetts. And the day the media included his name in the possible list of Indians with black money overseas, he decided to bail out. Leaving his emu business in the hands of a few caretakers, he took the first flight to Boston from Chennai. Cirisha was at the airport to receive him. She was very excited. Her father was coming to visit her for the first time after her marriage.

  After Narayanan went to bed to sleep off his jet lag, Cirisha retired for the day with a book in hand. Keeping her company in bed was Deahl’s Staring Down the Barrel. She was in a good frame of mind. Narayanan’s arrival had cleared the gloom surrounding the death of Richard. And she found Deahl’s book interesting enough to divert her mind.

  As she read the acknowledgements in the beginning of the book, she became emotional. A few drops of tears sneaked out from the corners of her eyes and dribbled down along the edge of her nose. Their superiors were at loggerheads, but she was quite affectionate towards him. Richard had been one of her favourite faculty members.

  39

  May 2008

  MIT, Boston

  On the morning of the first Saturday of May, MIT was hit by another shocking bit of news. Meier had resigned. The president of the governing body, Juan Antonio, announced the resignation of the provost to the faculty, students and the media.

  ‘The provost has been severely emotionally impacted by the events that have transpired in the last few days, leading to the death of four of his colleagues. He has expressed his inability to continue in the post.’ Till the morning of that Saturday, Meier was thought of as a person who had the credentials to succeed the president.

  Intense speculation began on who the chosen one would be to succeed Meier. An earnest search began. The president constituted a search committee, which looked at the list of eligible candidates.

  A shortlist was to be arrived at after a rigorous procedure, which entailed feedback from the faculty, the sponsors and even the students. A specific email ID was created for this and everyone directly or indirectly involved was requested to send in their in
puts.

  The process lasted a week. It was down to a shortlist of four candidates who would finally be scored by the faculty search committee and their candidature put to vote by the institute’s executive committee, also called the governing body, which comprised five members, Meier and the president.

  40

  May 2008

  Boston

  Staring Down the Barrel was ruffling feathers everywhere. Its contents made it a topic for intense debate. Parents of victims of gun crime condemned the book and lobbied against it, calling it a shameful blot on the highly respected literary scene in America. Some called it opportunistic.

  The NRA milked it dry. They used the research to prove to the government and the public that gun crime was not in any way linked to the Second Amendment. It was more than that. And that logic helped them demonstrate that the choice of President should not depend on who holds a strong opinion on gun control, rather it must be based on who promises economic growth for the weaker sections of society. The choice must be the one who not only promises jobs to the blacks but also works towards reducing the wide chasm in the economic status of the haves and have-nots.

  The Democrats rubbished the research. Obama ignored it. But try as hard as they did, in each and every remaining debate between Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama, Staring Down the Barrel continued to figure prominently. Someone from the audience was sure to ask them a question on this subject. Such was the impact.

  Deahl had done a thorough analysis. His research was based on multiple lines of argument. One was the fact that gun deaths were unnecessarily hyped and often turned into front-page news. His contention was that over the past quarter of a century, gun massacres killed close to six hundred people, while over three and a half thousand people had died in lightning strikes alone. Gun violence was not as serious an issue as it was made out to be. There were more serious issues to be dealt with. Whenever there was gun-related violence, everyone was quick to jump to the conclusion that the incident happened because of the gun, without getting to the bottom of why the psychopath used the gun in the first place. He had extensively quoted examples like that of a nanny in Colorado who had knifed two infants to death. In that case everyone was concerned about the mental state of the nanny, her racial profiling and her family background, and there were multiple discussions on what could have prompted her into killing the two children, but no one really spoke about the fact that the weapon used in the crime was a knife. Should knives be banned? he asked. Were guns responsible or was it the mental state of the murderers that needed to be considered? If gun violence was on account of the latter, then would the gun-related crime have taken place had guns not been made available to them? This was the thinking which led him to do a detailed analysis of the thought process of these murderers. For this, his team interviewed various people who had been convicted on charges of gun crime and were serving their sentence in prisons across the country.

  His second line of argument was that guns were great equalizers. It helped old men, women and other vulnerable individuals to protect themselves against attacks of any kind. In the absence of guns, such individuals would be rendered helpless and unable to defend themselves.

  The third was the propensity of the economically weaker sections for crime. This was demonstrated through an in-depth analysis of segmentation of crime rates in places like Chicago, Texas, Massachusetts and so on, split by geography. Apart from these, there were quite a few other research elements which relied on data regarding ownership of guns, how areas with higher ownership of guns had lower crime rates primarily because the possibility of the prospective victim being armed prevented a number of assaulters from committing a crime, and most importantly, the correlation between gun crime and drug abuse.

  ‘How the hell can he say that gun control will not have the desired impact?’ Cardoza got excited when Cirisha brought up the book in a conversation with him. His left hand was still in a sling, but that didn’t sober him down. ‘I read it. Found it repulsive. When young kids pick up their parents’ guns and shoot unsuspecting victims, when an adolescent youth walks into a movie theatre with an assault rifle and fires indiscriminately, who is to blame? Not the guns for sure, if James is to be believed. His logic is ridiculous.’

  ‘I don’t think he is completely wrong, Michael. He claims that gun control will only take rifles and other weapons out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, whereas criminals will continue to get them through other means. Places like Chicago, and even Massachusetts, where gun control has been in force for some time, haven’t really been able to control crime. Right?’

  ‘That’s because half the guns in Chicago are sold on its outskirts, in Riverdale. Gun-control laws don’t apply in Riverdale.’

  ‘Precisely. That’s what he says. If you ban guns, criminals will find a way to get their guns, the same way as they procure narcotic drugs. And law-abiding citizens will become easy prey.’

  ‘Hold on, Cirisha!’ Cardoza’s voice dropped to a whisper. ‘Do I sense a convert here?’ He looked worried and irritated. The last thing he wanted was an ideological defection from his camp.

  Cirisha laughed. She found Cardoza’s reaction quite funny. ‘No, Michael. In fact, everything about the book is so fresh in my mind. Maybe that’s why I was trying to debate it.’

  ‘Merci.’

  Cirisha smiled. She realized that she should not have argued in favour of Deahl. Cardoza would never like it. ‘It is time for Richard’s memorial service. Let’s leave.’ She changed the subject quickly.

  ‘Where is it being held? I thought the university had declined to give an official sanction.’

  ‘Yes. But a small group is still going ahead with it. It’s in the same lecture hall that Richard was interviewed in by you, the dean and the others. Apparently there was a request to hold it on Richard’s floor, or at least outside our block. But Gordon refused to give permission. That’s why it’s taken so long.’

  ‘How many people are expected?’

  ‘Not many. Just a small peaceful gathering.’

  ‘You think I should come?’

  ‘Your call, Michael. I am going. I heard that James is coming too.’

  ‘OK. Let’s go.’ Cardoza acted as if something had shaken him out of his slumber. He got up and walked with her.

  They walked to the venue of the memorial service. It was a very moving moment for all of them. Cardoza put his right hand around Cirisha and hugged her by the shoulder when he saw her weeping silently.

  The speeches began. Cirisha was also slated to speak. There were two speakers ahead of her. In her mind, she went over the points and pulled out her phone to read through the notes that she had prepared. While she was looking at it, her phone rang: Aditya was trying to reach her. Thankfully, the phone was in silent mode. She looked up, the speaker was a student who was completely in awe of Richard. And why not? After all, Richard was indeed one of the best teachers on campus. She didn’t pick up the call.

  Within ten seconds, Cirisha’s phone rang again. She picked it up this time and tried whispering into it. The call got disconnected. Aditya never bothered her with multiple calls. Thanking her stars that she was sitting next to the rear exit, she walked out, shutting the door carefully behind her.

  ‘Yeah, Aditya,’ she said in a whisper. She didn’t want to disturb the others. ‘I am at Richard’s memorial service. Remember, I told you.’

  ‘Yes, I know. But this was urgent. Shivinder has been picked up by the cops.’

  ‘Who?’ She did not hear the name clearly as she was focusing partly on the person giving the memorial speech. He was still going strong.

  ‘Why is there so much of disturbance in the background? And who is that guy speaking to you? Why can’t you focus on me when you are talking to me?’

  ‘Aditya, the memorial speeches are going on. Anyway, let me get away from here.’ She started walking away from the room and turned back. Something didn’t seem right, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.


  ‘Tell me,’ she said, walking ahead. The student could still be heard. ‘Can you hear me now?’

  ‘Yes, it’s better. Tell that idiot to speak softly.’

  ‘Shut up, Aditya. The door is closed. I am up next. So tell me quickly. Who is arrested?’

  ‘Not yet formally arrested but has been taken into custody. Shivinder.’

  ‘Shivinder? Why?’

  ‘Some confusion with the Snuggles HQ folks. They called in the cops.’

  ‘What charges?’

  ‘Apparently on some fraud that he committed in India. Possibly related to the Dharavi factory that you complained against.’

  ‘Oh, so Shivinder is involved. Hope he rots in jail.’

  ‘Come on, Cirisha. He is not that bad a guy.’

  ‘That’s what you think. What do you want me to do?’

  ‘Help him get out. You know people here. I don’t.’

  ‘Impossible. You know what my views about him are.’ Cirisha was very strong-minded. There was no point in trying to get her to change her mind about Shivinder.

  ‘Then I am going to at least see what can be done. I’ll be back in the evening or late tonight.’

  ‘I won’t stop you. And now if you will let me, I need to go. I am the next one to speak.’

  ‘OK. I expected that when I heard that idiot in the background stop.’

  ‘OK.’ She did not know what else to say. As she walked back to the room, she couldn’t help but feel again that something was wrong. But she just couldn’t put her finger on it. She pushed open the door and walked in. Her name was being called out. She walked up straight to the front of the room and began speaking. As she spoke, she could see Cardoza and Deahl in opposite corners of the room, exchanging dirty glances. Even though Deahl had been suspended, till such time that any firm action was taken on his tenure, he was within his rights to carry on with work as usual except for his teaching assignments, which had been put on hold.