Sending money abroad is not a problem. “Ek se dedh kar denge (We will do one to one and a half).”
There is an amount of Rs. 50 lakh in cash to be invested to make it white and earn interest on it. Could R. Sharma lend a hand? The head of the HDFC branch in Greater Noida of Uttar Pradesh takes the Cobrapost journalist to his superior, V. Bana, Cluster Head (Bulandshahar Cluster), who was then visiting the branch.
After the journalist apprises him of his purpose, Bana was prompt to suggest a HDFC plan called Crest to make black money white. He said: “Main samajh gaya ji wo baat aap maan ke chalo black white kahe to bata denge. Poora white ho ke milna hai. Withdraw bhi kar sakte hain. Panch saal baad is tarah aap aage nahin dena chahte, mat dijiye. Panch saal baad aapka white. Usme bhi apko byaj milega jo bank ka byaj hai (I get you. I will tell how you can make black white. You will get all in white. You can withdraw if you don’t want to continue after 5 years. Don’t give if you don’t want. After 5 years it will be white, and the bank will give interest on it).”
Bana is a cluster head who heads 12 branches. Splitting the money and depositing it with different branches under him is suggested as an option: “Is tarah se hum split kar denge kuch Jewar jaisa aap ke rahe ho na jahan wo rehte hain wahin ki paas ki branch mein na ho. Aapko access yehin se mil jayega (We will split it like this. We will put some money in Jewar branch, as you said, where he lives. You will get access to it from here itself).”
The journalist asks if HFDC officials like him will be able to facilitate transfer of money abroad and asks Bana if he could open an NRI account with his bank. He adds that the politician’s relatives often visit foreign countries. This is to help them withdraw cash when abroad. Bana suggests many ways: “Aaj kal to bada liberalized ho gaya hai. Ye wo maintenance ke tahat bhej sakte hain. Dus hazaar dollars wo aise hi le jaate hain. Medical treatment mein bhi jaa sakta hai. Koi aisa kuch nahin hai. Humein to bas ek declaration dena hai ki medical mein chahe to jake admit ho jayen … jo bhi…pachees hazaar business travel pe hai. Ek se dedh kar denge (Nowadays, it has become very liberalized. This he can send under the provision of maintenance. They can carry with them 10 000 dollars without any hassle. This can also go for medical treatment. There is no problem. You have to give a declaration that you need it for medical, and if you wish you can get admitted to a hospital there, whatever. One can take away 25 000 dollars for business trip. We will help you with one to one and a half).”
“Crore?” asks the journalist.
Replies Bana: “Nahin hai?Ek se dedh kar denge (No problem. We will do one to one and a half).” The suggestion was obvious.
A huge amount of black money is due soon. Could their bank provide a locker to keep the cash safe? First open an account, Bana advises, and then this need would also be taken care of: “Account khulne do. Main locker karwa doonga. Locker hum do–teen jagah karwa denge. Usmein toh koi dikkat nahi hai (Let the account open. Then I will get you a locker. We will get you the lockers at two–three places. There is no problem).”
