Where Angels Prey (12 page)

“Subba Rao is getting an arrest warrant issued for Kumudini Potluri.”

Vishal resists letting out a whistle.

“That is huge, Madam! I mean…Kumudini is extremely well connected. They would need some very hard evidence before making such a move.”

“Apparently, someone related to one Mylaram Kavala has testified against DevEx. The accusations range from coercion to threats of sexual abuse, all of which allegedly contributed to Mylaram’s suicide. And this information was brought to them by Chandresh Rajan.”

“The journalist?”

“Yes, it seems he is collaborating with a journalist from
The New York Post
on a story on the Indian microfinance sector. He interviewed Mylaram’s daughters and facilitated their meeting with the DM. There was an IT raid on a school that DevEx seems to have links with.

As Vishal processes the information, Veena continues speaking.

“Vishal, I want you to go to Parichemam. Meet Vijaya, ask her to talk to the family of the girls abducted by Ramaiyya. If they testify and we manage to dig up some dirt on SAMMAAN’s links with Bhava Reddy, and the possible murder of Ramaiyya, I think we should be able to secure a warrant for the arrest of the SAMMAAN boss?”

Vishal’s jaw drops.

“You mean Prasad Kamineni? He is really big fish, madam!”

Veena looks determined.

“All the more reason to get him. After all, nobody is above law!”

Vishal looks sceptical, but decides not to express his doubts.

“I will do my best, madam. That lady, Vijaya, will surely do her best to get us what we want, and if the evidence is strong enough, then we can move ahead with our plans.”

Veena nods.

“I am going to discuss this again with Subba Rao. If we manage to bring in the head honchos, it will certainly provide the microfinance sector with a much needed shakeup!”

“True, madam. We still need to put together a collective body of evidence, cutting across districts, on their operations and tactics.”

Veena looks thoughtful.

“Vishal, remember that woman standing next to Prasad Kamineni in that photograph that was plastered all across the press...where she is hitting the gong at BSE? I can’t recall her name, but isn’t she from our district?”

“Yes, though I don’t remember her name either. But I do know another woman from the picture: Gangamma, one of the senior field workers at SAMMAAN. She is related to one of our drivers—I remember him bragging about her with the newspaper article. Should I find her?”

“Yes, it would be interesting to find out what happened to her after the stock issue. Meanwhile, I am going to call Chandresh Rajan. Let’s try and set up a telephonic interview for him with this woman. It’ll be good to get some media support on this. We need as many allies as we can get. Like you said, we are after big fish; so our net must also be stronger and spread wider!”

He picks up the cup of tea from the bedside table and sips from it absently. It is cold and flavourless; he wrinkles his nose in distaste, thinking fondly of the numerous cups of tea that he had consumed at roadside stalls, thanks to Chandresh. Tea had been their energy tonic and pretty much what kept them going as they travelled around the countryside to try and understand the causes of the rot that had set into the microfinance sector in Andhra Pradesh. Paperwork, account books, individual accounts, families, intermediaries—they had examined them all, and as they did so they were left feeling increasingly cynical about the growth story that had been bandied about in the media over the last many years.

He rubs his eyes tiredly and considers calling for a fresh pot of tea. He checks his watch and decides to put the thought on hold until Chandresh joins him. Chandresh had left to meet someone in the agriculture department regarding a fertiliser scam story that he was working on, promising to return in time for the scheduled Skype call with Maarten. Bob’s colleague, Ron Whitewood had proved useful in tracking down information on KPK Enterprises, the Singapore-based firm that held majority stake in Tejasvi Enterprises. The firm’s managing director was an Indian by the name of Kushal Prakash Rayudu. Bob was not too surprised to hear that KPK Enterprises was itself a subsidiary of KPK Ad Valorem, a company incorporated in Luxembourg. He already had a gut feeling that the trail was going to extend far; clearly, someone had gone out of their way to cover their tracks. Bob had passed on the information to Maarten, who agreed to continue further investigation. A day earlier, Maarten wrote to him, his tone a mix of mystery and suppressed excitement, and asked to schedule a Skype call, hinting that someone else might be joining the conversation.

Bob checks his watch yet again and realizes that there is still another hour to go before the scheduled call. He hopes Chandresh will make it. If Maarten’s source proves useful, then Chandresh may be able to coax out more information from him. Just then, the doorbell rings and Bob hurries to answer.

“Hi, hope I am in time for the call?”

A harried looking Chandresh walks in and plonks himself down on the couch.

“Yes you are, I was beginning to wonder if you’d make it at all.”

Bob walks over and takes the chair next to the couch.

Chandresh looks mildly irritated as he shrugs his shoulders.

“I wasted an hour waiting for an informant, who eventually proved useless!”

Bob calls room service and asks for a pot of tea along with some sandwiches.

Chandresh gives Bob a grateful look.

“So, have you heard from Ram Madhav?”

Bob’s eyes twinkle.

“Just got done reading his response to the questions I had shot off. You were right, of course. It was the classic defence, along with impassioned declarations of commitment to the cause.”

“Wasn’t too hard to guess. I mean, what else would he say? That the banks spurred the MFIs on? And his bank, JBS, in particular, has the largest microfinance portfolio and they have been completely irresponsible and indiscriminate in pushing MFIs to keep lending without a thought to the absorption or repayment capacity of clients. Either there were multiple loans extended to the clients by the same MFI, or all of the MFIs split up the week amongst themselves to go and issue loans to the same clients. Why would the banks care as long as their targets are met? Or if a few clients have their lives snuffed out by the sheer burden of indebtedness. None of that shows up on financial statements anyway!”

Bob senses the deep bitterness in Chandresh’s words, his disillusionment with an idea that had the potential to reshape the poverty paradigm. While he has known that things were not going quite right, he is taken aback by just how wrong it has all gone.

Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of tea and sandwiches. Chandresh bites into the sandwich hungrily while Bob contents himself with a fresh cup of tea.

“By the way, I have a bit of interesting news. I got a call from the DM of Ranga Reddy district, Veena Mehra. She wants me to help them take the case against SAMMAAN further.”

Bob waits for him to elaborate.

“Veena is one of the best IAS officers in Andhra Pradesh. She is particularly famous for the strong stand she took during an earlier microfinance crisis in the state in 2005. You might have read about it, we call it the Krishna crisis.”

Bob nods.

“I think Subba Rao, the Warangal collector whom we met, has been in touch with her. Looks like they are working on a joint strategy to tackle the MFI bosses. There has been a spate of suicides in her district, and recently, the death of a potential witness who was to testify against the strong-arm tactics adopted by MFIs. They are trying to put together a strong case and she wants me to talk to the woman who became the face of the poor woman clients in the SAMMAAN IPO...you know, the woman who features in that historic photograph with Prasad Kamineni?”

“How will we track her down? Remember how the SAMMAAN staff fobbed us off when we asked them for her contact details?”

“The district SP is on the job. Veena wants me to talk to the woman and see if there is any possibility that the investigation would benefit from some publicity...all of the MFI bosses have clout after all...so it would help to influence public opinion! Besides, I would really like to know what difference this whole IPO has made to her life. And what she thinks of the suicides that have followed.” Bob looks thoughtful as he nods and adds, “I get where she and you are coming from.”

He then checks his watch again and exclaims.

“Oh, it’s time.”

While Bob calls Maarten, Chandresh tries to tidy up. Maarten greets Bob with great cheer.

“Bob, I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten. Tomas here is a busy man!”

Bob apologizes and introduces Chandresh.

“Maarten, Chandresh and I go a long way back, just like you and me. And obviously, given that we’re on his home turf, you could say he is the boss on this one!”

Chandresh laughs.

“Maarten, Bob is just being polite. But let me tell you that I have followed some of your stories and it’s a pleasure connecting with you.”

“Likewise, Chandresh. Now, let me tell you more about Tomas, the star of the hour. Tomas Lindquivist, gentlemen, is something of an expert on the subject of money laundering and the international trafficking of money.”

Bob and Chandresh exchange glances.
Where is this
conversation going?

“We are in Tomas’s home in Brussels. I flew in this morning, and we have had a rather enlightening conversation.”

Bob is intrigued. If Maarten took time off his busy schedule at the BBC studios in London to fly to Brussels, there must be a very good reason.

Maarten continues, “Tomas used to be part of the European Union core group that framed the anti-money laundering legislations. He’s been retired for some time now, but he’s still the go-to guy for several agencies because of his well-known expertise in unearthing
hawala
transactions. What really made him famous, though, was when he managed to crack the Al Qaeda’s methods of transferring monies across continents and discovered how they shared information on such transfers. He was the first to reveal how they operated several email accounts but never sent a message about the money transfer. You see, the same account was accessed by various operatives across the globe and they would communicate with one another by typing messages and saving them in the Drafts folder. So no e-mail had to be sent. This simple but effective trick had kept the international investigators at bay for a long time before Tomas Lindvquist miraculously cracked it.”

Bob and Chandresh are, of course, suitably impressed by Lindvquist’s exploits but are also impatient to know how all that could be relevant to the Tejasvi Enterprises trail. Maarten, meanwhile, rambles on about another case that he has worked on closely alongside Tomas.

Bob decides to steer him back.

“Wow, this is all just amazing. In fact I think
The New
York Post
would be very interested in profiling Tomas. We could do an in-depth interview...but, getting back to the issue at hand, Tomas, do you have any hunches on Tejasvi?”

“Hello Bob and Chandresh, pleasure to connect with you guys. I’m glad to be of some help. As for Tejasvi, the trail extends from Luxembourg to the US. The holding company, Tejasvi Imports, is incorporated in the US, in California to be more precise.”

“Oh really! I assumed from the name that it wasn’t an investment firm. What does the company import? And who are the principal investors?”

“No, it is not an investment firm, really. While they seem to have an import license for Indian spices, I don’t see them actually importing very much...unless you count money— there are huge money transfers taking place at regular intervals. And the majority stakeholder is a man called Pradeep Vangal—does the name ring a bell?”

Bob looks at Chandresh, who indicates that he has no clue.

Tomas watches this silent exchange.

“One other thing—much of the money is coming in from India, from Hyderabad to be particular.”

“Vangal is a common surname among the Reddy community, so I can get the Hyderabad connection, but it does seem like an incredibly roundabout way, don’t you think? Crisscrossing through three continents to invest in your own backyard?”

Tomas nods in agreement before offering his own take. “Well, not so roundabout if the idea is to cover your
tracks. See, it took us three days to get to the source, or almost three days, and that too because we were looking.”

Chandresh nods his head thoughtfully.

“I agree, and the fact that the company has no apparent connections to the microfinance sector, not even as an investment firm, makes you wonder how and why the interest in the sector. What do they even know of it? And what is it that makes them invest in MFIs across the world?”

Bob nods.

“That is indeed key—their inordinate interest in the sector that has nothing to do with their stated line of business and, of course, the Hyderabad connection. I would like to track the inflows back to their source, see if there is any connection with any of the big bosses back here.”

Chandresh doffs an imaginary hat to Bob.

“Excellent, that is exactly what we must do now!”

Maarten and Tomas smile.

“So Bob, Tomas will be sending me some documents on this that he has managed to collect. I will share them with you, of course. Do keep me posted on the news at your end. This is turning out to be a cracking story—Wall Street and European pension funds making huge profits out of lending to the Indian poor!”

After the Skype conversation comes to an end, Chandresh turns to Bob.

“So, did Prasad Kamineni’s office get back with a time?”

“It seems he’s not in town. His office claims they don’t know when he will be back.”

Chandresh raises his eyebrows.

“That is surely strange. But Prasad’s PR skills are impeccable...even when he knows you are not going to write a puff piece!”

Bob looks thoughtful.

“I wonder if it has anything to do with the proposed action that you mentioned earlier.”

Chandresh ponders over Bob’s words.
“It’s possible. Maybe he got wind of something? Not surprising considering his connections in high places. You know his uncle is a union minister, right?”

“Good for Prasad. Chan, we need to track down this Vangal chap. How are we going to do this?”

Chandresh thinks for a minute before responding.

“Ask Google maybe?”

Bob half snorts.

“Things can’t be that simple!”

“Sometimes they are. The answer is right under our nose, just where we are sure not to look.”

Chandresh runs a search on his laptop.

When Google does not yield much, he signs into his Facebook account to continue the search. They come across two Pradeep Vangals in the Silicon Valley, one of whom has three common friends with Chandresh. After checking the time, Chandresh calls one of them. He informs Bob that she is his cousin.

There is no response at the other end. Just when Chandresh is ready to hang up, the call is answered.

Chandresh puts the phone on speaker, and Bob can hear a disgruntled, sleep slurred voice snap at Chandresh.

“Chandrunna, there is such a thing as time difference, you know!”

Chandresh is not perturbed in the least.

“Sowmi, this Pradeep Vangal—he is on your FB friend list—who is he?”

The response at the other end is a snort.

“Are you kidding me? You woke me up at 4 a.m. for this?”

“Listen, Sowmi, this is very important. Just tell me who he is. Does he run an import-export business?”

“Not that I know of. He is a techie.”

Chandresh is somewhat disappointed.

“Are you sure? How well do you know him? Do you have his address?”

“He lives two streets away, and I know him reasonably well. He definitely doesn’t run a business. His family has a restaurant though. They have been living in the Valley for the last 30 years.”

Chandresh sighs heavily.

“Okay, Sowmi, sorry to have disturbed you. He is probably not the guy we are looking for.”

Just as he is about to end the call, Sowmi adds...

“Don’t know about that, but you may know his family. His wife, Supraja is the daughter of that politician, Nageshwara Reddy. I think he is a union minister now, right?”

Chandresh pumps his fist in the air as he thanks his cousin profusely for the tip off before ending the call.

“Have we made a breakthrough or what! Pradeep is married to Nageshwara Reddy’s daughter, the man who is Prasad Kamineni’s uncle and chief benefactor!”