"The Founding Fathers of Fraud: Independent India’s First Scandals that Rocked the Nation | The True Crime Account of the Dalmia and Mundhra Scams "

Book excerpt: Dalmia – the patriarch of one of the biggest conglomerates, once ranked third after the Tatas and the Birlas – is accused of financial misconduct, manipulation of joint-stock companies and tax evasion. Mundhra – a corporate raider! Plain and simple. He dealt in publicly listed shares and created a dangerous Ponzi scheme. Despite the stark differences, their crimes undeniably changed the course of the Indian business landscape. How were their crimes linked to the nationalization of India’s insurance business under the Life Insurance Corporation? What role did the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s son-in-law Feroze Gandhi play in the two exposés? Why was Dalmia singled out by the Nehru government? A definitive account of Independent India’s first known corporate scams, The Founding Fathers of Fraud details the scams committed by Ramkrishna Dalmia and Haridas Mundhra.