Who Painted My Money White Read online

  Who painted my money white?

  When greed drives everything else and everything has a price

  A work of fiction

  by

  Sree Iyer

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Text Copyright © 2019 Sree Iyer.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author, except as provided by U.S.A. copyright law.

  First Edition.

  eISBN: 978-1-7320256-1-5

  Visit the author’s website at www.sreeiyer.com.

  Cast of characters

  Bureaucracy

  Amarnath Verma – National Security Advisor. Retired Indian Police Service Officer with a James Bond like reputation. Trusted by Prime Minister Jadeja.

  M K (Mike) Srinivasan – Mike as he is affectionately called, chose Intelligence as his field of operations and runs it with an iron hand, brooking no counter views to his own, leading to some major debacles in the collection of intelligence.

  Deepak Masani – A member of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), he is entrusted with the procurement of Currency Printing Machines. An honest officer forced to do dishonest things, he ends up revealing a top secret that endangers national security.

  Politics

  Prafulla Prakash – Powerful politician, a fixer who firmly believes that everything and everyone has a price. A lawyer by profession. Hates to be called by his initials.

  Fali Mistry – Last of a dying breed, an honest politician, who walks the fine line between truth and discretion. Trusted by the treacherous lot and often their go-to guy when an appearance of honesty is needed.

  Mailapore Damodaran – Smooth, suave and sophisticated, this white khadi politician from Chennai can charm anyone to his bed. Often ragged by his nickname Maida, this one thinks of it his life purpose to one-up his perceived rival Dalda.

  Dalpat Dalvi – Smooth and sly, Dalpat can match Maida maneuver for maneuver, always trying to outbeat him but often comes up short. Called Dalda and for good reason. He very much lives up to his oily nickname.

  Giridhar Gulati – Rising from the earthy Gangetic plains, he brandishes his rustic humor and wit that never fails to find its target. Girgut can sometimes surprise even himself with some of his decisions, made for the general good.

  Biplab (Bob) Bannerjee – Born Biplab Kumar Bandopadhyay, he progressively westernized his name, eventually calling himself Bob, when he became the External Affairs Minister. Also called Boom-boom Bannerjee behind his back by his cabinet colleagues, for his booming voice.

  Chennakesavan Krishnan – Conscientious and careful with his words and deeds, he is referred to as Careful Krishnan by his colleagues in the Parliament. Studious with a penchant to take any issue to its logical conclusion, he instills fear in the hearts of his adversaries.

  Santhana Gopal – Powerful politician from Kerala, he owns a series of colleges and newspapers/ television channels. Considered an invaluable asset of the Freedom Party to keep the main adversary in Kerala on their toes. Made his money creating mega serials, thereby earning him the sobriquet Saga Gopal.

  Harish Gopal – Does not realize that he has hit middle age. Still chases every skirt in town and has links to the underworld. Moves money through them out to Dubai and is tasked with a major operation that would cause trouble for both him and his famous father later.

  Jagat Dhillon – Prime Minister of the Freedom Party. Underestimated for his political acumen and overestimated for his technical prowess.

  Dipika Sharma – The President of the party and the one with the real power even though Dhillon is the Prime Minister.

  Gulab Sharma – Son of Dipika Sharma and the presumed successor (at least in the mind of Dipika) as the successor to the Freedom Party.

  Govindan Ramaswamy – Scrupulously honest, this indefatigable fighter against corruption decides to take on the government of Jagat Dhillon.

  Ram Chandra Pal – A powerful Dalit leader from Bihar, who for a brief period presided over the Freedom Party, only to be dumped in an unceremonious manner.

  Maker Funtoosh Wirewala – Flamboyant and free-spirited, this poster-boy for a Barbara Cartland hero went to all the right schools and colleges. Known more for this bombastic use of the Queen’s English and sexploits.

  Hasmukh Jadeja – They called him the man with a Midas touch, who could transform a desert state into an island of opportunity. He created a bustling state from the ashes of a quake prone state for which he was awarded the ultimate prize.

  Kapil Pandya – Hasmukh’s able lieutenant. An avid chess player, he approaches politics too like a chess game and is usually four moves ahead of his opponent. An equal contributor to Hasmukh’s Midas touch.

  Intelligence Bureau

  Karan Dixit – Born leader, smart, shrewd and articulate with a penchant for languages. Speaks Urdu, Farsi, Arabic and many Indian languages fluently, accent and all. Leader of the mission.

  Priya Menon – A striking beauty, intelligent and quick witted. Proficient at handling weapons and can go head-to-head with men on just about any physical exercise.

  ISI

  Pervez Pasha – Head of ISI’s Covert Action Division. He could adapt to changing situations that blew across the politics of Pakistan and always landed on his feet. Mentor of Javed Bhatti.

  Javed Bhatti – The kingpin of Operation BreakIndia. Smart, talented and tough, he has the reputation of thinking on his feet and getting out of sticky situations with ease. One of the best operatives in the organisation.

  Rehman Khan - A chemical and poison expert. He was educated in England and then moved to Dubai to work.

  Others

  Ramesh Badri – A Chartered Accountant by profession, is hired by a politician to ensure smooth distribution of fake currency. A do-gooder at heart, does not know where he got himself into but when trapped by the police, turns approver and describes the scam in great detail.

  Who painted my money white?

  Cast of characters

  Bureaucracy

  Politics

  Intelligence Bureau

  ISI

  Others

  Prologue

  CHAPTER 1.Deep in the Amazon jungles

  CHAPTER 2.An accidental meeting

  CHAPTER 3.The Money Laundering Game

  CHAPTER 4.The Spreading Tentacles

  CHAPTER 5.Triumph Here, Helplessness There

  CHAPTER 6.Government of Scams

  CHAPTER 7.The Three Strangers

  CHAPTER 8.The Intricate Network

  CHAPTER 9.The Real Estate Boom that Never Was

  CHAPTER 10.The Rise and rise of Dalda

  CHAPTER 11.A love story that always had a tragic end

  CHAPTER 12.Operation BreakIndia

  CHAPTER 13.The incredible volume of Fake Currency

  CHAPTER 14.The Surface Cracks

  CHAPTER 15.A Game Well Played

  CHAPTER 16.When it rains, it pours

  CHAPTER 17.The making of Maker Funtoosh Wirewala

  CHAPTER 18.Hard Politics takes over

  CHAPTER 19.The Most Unexpected Masterstroke

  CHAPTER 20.The Tables Turned

  CHAPTER 21.The arrival of Hasmukh Jadeja

  CHAPTER 22.A New Era of Indian Politics Begins

  CHAPTER 23.The Demonetisation Sledgehammer

  CHAPTER 24.An impending
disaster

  CHAPTER 25.A Deadly Poison and a Deadlier Plan

  CHAPTER 26.Re-opening an old case

  CHAPTER 27.To raid or not to raid…

  CHAPTER 28.Sex slaves for Jihad

  CHAPTER 29.The Cover is Blown

  CHAPTER 30.Hot on the Trail

  CHAPTER 31.Punishment, at last

  CHAPTER 32.The Assassin Arrives

  CHAPTER 33.The Innovative Assassination Bid

  CHAPTER 34.Deal-maker turns Politician

  CHAPTER 35.Trouble for the Ultimate Networker

  CHAPTER 36.The Chase

  CHAPTER 37.The Painful Betrayal

  CHAPTER 38.What to do with the grey money?

  CHAPTER 39.A new relationship?

  CHAPTER 40.The next battle

  Reference links

  Prologue

  The Freedom Party office was located adjacent to the residence of its President Dipika Sharma. While a new coalition government under the stewardship of Prime Minister Jagat Dhillon was sworn-in again, the way with which victory was achieved was weighing in on the minds of the top leadership of the Freedom Party. A late-night meeting was called to chart the way forward. Attending the meet on the invite of Dipika’s political secretary, Javed Patel were Mailapore Damodaran, Gulab Sharma and a special invitee, Dalpat Dalvi. One of the regional satraps of the Freedom Party, Robert Reddy was also present.

  After a round of drinks over their victory, the group started discussions. Javed Patel read out the first item on the agenda – Performance of the Freedom Party in the polls. Robert Reddy proudly trotted out the performance of the party in his state. All the seats were won by their coalition; he waxed eloquent that he had managed to “sway a significant section of the socially oppressed” to embrace “the Religion of Love” and the dividend was there for all to see. But Damodaran, quick to undercut anyone who could be potentially out-climbing the political ladder, stepped in to observe that the same formula couldn’t be repeated across the country. To make his point, he trotted out the statistics – if the entire minority population voted for the party, they would still only get about 25% of the vote. To win, they needed at least 10% more.

  Never to be left behind, Dalpat jumped into the conversation and pointed out that even the minorities that voted for the party could look elsewhere, unless they were made to feel special. Jabbing his finger in the air, he made a passionate point that minorities are feeling insecure and trotted out half a dozen press cuttings, for emphasis and effect.

  Gulab was silent all through. Dipika could not read beyond Hindi and English and could make no sense of the news clippings, which were in various regional languages. She turned to Damodaran, who, as if waiting for this very moment, cleared his throat and started speaking – “There is a way…”

  CHAPTER 1.

  Deep in the Amazon jungles

  It looked like any other office building, except that this one was right in the midst of the Amazon jungle. The rainforest cover was thick enough to make it difficult to predict the time of the day. Deepak Masani swatted away a mosquito that looked substantially bigger than the ones he tennis-batted around in India. He wondered, not for the first time, why he was here. The Finance Minister’s orders had been specific. Mailapore Damodaran had asked him to fly out to Rio De Janeiro, and from there connect up with a private aircraft company that would take him deep into the Amazon. The business was to purchase used Large Examining Printing Equipment (LEPE) machines that could print 32 currency notes per sheet at the rate of 9,000 sheets per hour.

  Used and discarded by the United States’ Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), these machines were 144 feet (48 yards) long and could perform the whole process – full sheet examination, letter press printing functions, insertion of the security thread(s), product verification, and even cutting and packaging of the currency. A marvel of technology. A bloody currency giant.

  A total of 15 cameras were installed throughout the machine for taking pictures, verifying watermarks under laser lights and flagging flawed notes. A new machine would cost several millions of dollars; this used one could be bought for a fraction of that price. With creative invoicing and routing it through shell companies, the used equipment would become ‘new’ – both in looks and cost - when it arrived at the shores of India. The balance in the price would be distributed according to a long-held template – 52% to politicians, 23% to the bureaucrats and 25% to the political party in power. The party president, of course, double-dipped - once from the share that went to the politicians and a second time when the money was sent to the party. But what party, really? The president was the party and all funds were controlled by her and her family.

  Deepak’s passport was checked against a list before he was shown into a sparse 10 feet by 10 feet room that had only a large screen display and a laptop with a webcam attached, besides one desk and a chair. The camera was positioned at a comfortable height on the table. This would be his workplace for the brief period of the auction for the machines. This is where he would be placing his bids from.

  Deepak was an officer of the well-regarded Indian Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS functions under the overall ministerial command of the Finance Ministry of the Government of India, though it directly reports to its administrative head, the Revenue Secretary. It is tasked with a flurry of duties, ranging from providing tax assistance to taxpayers, tackling fraudulent filing of tax returns and aiding with policy guidance in tax-related matters. The IRS deals with both direct and indirect taxation. But none of these stated objectives explained Deepak’s trip to the Amazon jungles. It seemed like a strange assignment when he was first told about it. But nothing felt straight about this - the more time he spent here, the more he felt alone and clueless.

  In his mid-forties with the first greys appearing, Deepak usually had a cheerful disposition. An easy guy mostly, if a bit unambitious too. But he avoided compromises as a principle. So far he had an exemplary, if uneventful, career. His colleagues knew him as an upright and honest officer, a rarity in a service that offers many a safe means to make more than an extra buck. But Deepak would rather take his family on a modest holiday to neighbouring Shimla or Manali (by train, of course) than indulge them to yearly trips abroad, like many of his colleagues did with theirs. He took great care to avoid situations that could taint his spotless reputation. It was with some foreboding, therefore, that he had agreed to make the trip to the remote Amazon jungles to bid for the printing machines. Not that he had much of a choice, what with the Finance Minister insisting that he take up the responsibility. Good feeling or not, here he was on orders from his top boss.

  Deepak had been to auctions previously, but this one was like nothing he had seen before. Every bidder was housed in a room and had to show the bid, not as a paddle but in the form of a five-digit code, consisting of numbers and characters – e. g. X7RF9. As he soaked in his surroundings, a mechanical voice announced the start of the process and explained the rules. A video of the item going up for auction would appear on the screen. After a while thereafter, bids would be accepted. Every participant would show their bid (the five-digit sequence) to the webcam for five seconds or so. After the laptop monitor said ‘accepted,’ the wait would begin. There was just that one chance. He placed his bid, and so did the other participants. After accepting all the bids, the laptop spewed out a message, ‘processing’, along with a clip of Tom & Jerry running around a coffee table. He subconsciously clenched and unclenched his fist as the cartoon played on loop.

  The animation stopped and he saw a big red X on his screen. His bid had been rejected.

  The possibility of precisely such a setback had been anticipated back home by the wily Finance Minister and his trusted aide. Deepak had been briefed to bid another five-digit code in case the first bid failed. There were two more machines to be procured. Presumably, the new bid was of a higher value. Of the three LEPE machines being auctioned, India wanted at least two. With one machine gone, there was no room for error.
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  After a few other high-priced items, the second LEPE machine came up for auction. Deepak promptly typed in his new code and came out the winner. His bid for the third machine, though substantial in amount, failed. His competitor had outbid him a second time.

  It was night in India and Deepak thought it prudent not to call and disturb the minister. Who knew what he could be up to at this time! Instead, he sent a cryptic message that just one of the three machines could be secured. As he walked out of the building, a pretty twenty-something handed him a sealed envelope. He had no idea what it contained, but the contents would later be crucial to the distribution of spoils among various top people. His part in the mission was done and it was time to head back home. As far as he was concerned, he did what he was asked to. There had been nothing fishy with his involvement. He still could not figure why the entire affair had to be conducted this way. Maybe some day he would, but all he wanted for now was to relax and go home.

  CHAPTER 2.

  An accidental meeting

  Deepak was driven back to the makeshift airfield from where the private airplane took off and arrived in Rio four hours later. His flight to London was due in a few hours and he decided to relax a bit. Browsing through the menu at the business lounge, he settled for black coffee. He was a teetotaler and he did not as much as glance at the liquor section. As much as he tried to relax, everything about this clandestine business nagged at him. What was so crucial about flying an IRS official to some god-awful spot in the Amazon to merely raise a code? What would happen next? And, was his job really done or would he still be involved in some way with this mysterious dealing?