US-based Indians react to ratification of UN anti-graft law

From Betwa Sharma
United Nations, May 15 (PTI) As India ratified the UN
Convention Against Corruption six years after signing it, the
US-based Indians have said the move will bring private sector
to the forefront of public debate and reform and hoped the
government will take effective actions that can stand up to
global scrutiny.
India became a state-party to the anti-corruption
convention on May 9 after submitting the instrument of
ratification to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the world
body headquarters here.
"By joining the Convention, the Government of India
renews its commitment toward fighting corruption both at
national and international arena," said a statement from the
Indian mission to the UN this week.
Anupama Jha, head of Transparency International-India,
noted that two important elements of the Act are its
provisions for recovering black money overseas and bringing
the private sector within the fold of the law.
Under existing laws, Jha pointed out, only the demand
side of corruption can be prosecuted. Since the supply side is
not liable for corruption, the expert said, private parties in
the 2G scam, for instance, can only be charged for criminal
conspiracy.
"The ratification of this treaty will bring the
private sector to the forefront of public debate and reform,"
she said.
Global Financial Integrity, a Washington DC-based
non-profit group, has estimated that at least USD 462 billion
were illegally transferred overseas from India between 1948
and 2008.
Jha stressed that only political will could produce
results. "Recovering assets is never easy," she said. "It is
hoped that the government will be more proactive in bringing
back the black money."
India currently ranks 87 out of 178 countries on
Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for
2010, faring better than its neighbours Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Nepal and Bangladesh.
The Convention's four major components are Prevention,
Criminalisation, International Cooperation and Asset recovery.
"This evil phenomenon is found in all countries — big and
small, rich and poor — but it is in the developing world that
its effects are most destructive," it says.
Meenakshi Ganguly, head of Human Rights Watch-India,
described corruption as a violation of human rights since it
undermines public accountability.
"Any law is only as good as its implementation," she
said. "We hope that by ratifying the convention, the
government is committing to effective actions that can stand
up to international scrutiny."
Arvind Panagariya, a leading Indian economist at
Columbia University, welcomed the ratification but said it was
"tricky" to assess the impact of corruption on the economy.
"A corruption free system that works smoothly is the
best," he told PTI. "But if that system doesn't work then the
situation can be tricky."
The scholar described a situation where the absence of
bribes to get licences, for instance, would result in licenses
not getting issued. This would lead to companies not being set
up and therefore no economic growth. "With bribes things would
have moved a bit," he said.
On the issue of whether corruption was a turn-off for
foreign investors, Panagariya responded, "on the margins, this
has a negative effect."
"An investor will not want to give a bribe that is
forbidden in his own country's law," he said.