• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens

3

The river that supplies 40 million Americans is down to 23% — and about to make a $25 million bet on one fish

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens

3

The river that supplies 40 million Americans is down to 23% — and about to make a $25 million bet on one fish
India

India Banned Cash to Fight Corruption. It Didn’t Work

By
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 28, 2017, 10:19 AM ET
General Images Of Markets In Ahmadabad Ahead Of GST Council Meeting
Dhiraj Singh—Bloomberg/Getty Images

Nearly 10 months after India’s unprecedented ban on high value notes that was designed to tackle entrenched corruption, bribery continues to oil the wheels of business in Asia’s third-largest economy, according to a U.S. risk management firm that advises foreign investors.

Gifting of land, houses, luxury watches and sponsoring expensive travel abroad are now the preferred bribes as tax authorities clamp down on high value cash transactions. And for India’s vast shadow economy, estimated by McKinsey & Co. at a fourth of the $2 trillion economy, the cash ban has hardly made a dent.

“Transparency, post demonetization, has marginally improved but I am not sure it has made a dent on corruption,” Tarun Bhatia, managing director at the Indian arm of Kroll Inc., said in an interview in Mumbai. “Of course, there is use of more plastic money than before but I don’t think it is a case where black money is no longer there. It has handicapped but not fumigated the parallel economy.”

Jagdish Thakkar, a spokesman in the Prime Minister’s office, didn’t return calls seeking comment.

While the use of credit and debit cards and digital transactions has risen from pre-note ban days, Indians mostly prefer cash for their daily transactions after limits for daily withdrawals were restored back to normal earlier this year. Besides, many Indians, especially in the vast hinterlands, lack a bank account or have limited access to technology or the Internet, making digital payments inconvenient.

For four decades, New York-headquartered Kroll has helped clients make risk management decisions about people, assets, operations and security. Their recent global survey showed companies worldwide are increasingly grappling with corruption and bribery challenges.

“The majority believe the risk landscape is either not going to improve or actually get worse in 2017, their resources are insufficient to support their efforts, and they themselves may now be held personally liable for their organization’s compliance violations,” the report titled Anti-Bribery and Corruption Benchmarking Report said.

For India, the biggest risk for foreign investors — apart from corruption — is how to exit the country and wind up a business with minimum fuss if things go awry, Bhatia said. They are also wary about shell companies, which are typically used to launder money, he said. While the government has uncovered about 300,000 shell entities and recently introduced a bankruptcy code, the nation’s legal system is fraught with delays and inadequacies, making winding up a challenging task for companies.

India is ranked a lowly 130 in the ease of doing business by the World Bank and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made attempts to lift the country’s image as a more business friendly destination in his trips abroad since taking office three years ago. And in a major reform, his government introduced a uniform goods and services tax across the country. Still, analysts believe more needs to be done.

“Of course there are questions about the ease of doing business,” Bhatia said. “But an equally important question for prospective investors is ‘how easy is it to exit India if business plans don’t go according to plan?’”

About the Author
By Bloomberg
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in International

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
8 days ago
As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens
Magazine
As CEO of the $96 billion Sam’s Club, Latriece Watkins is testing her mettle at the warehouse retailer that produced CEOs for Walmart, Target, and Walgreens
By Emma HinchliffeMay 27, 2026
2 days ago
The river that supplies 40 million Americans is down to 23% — and about to make a $25 million bet on one fish
Environment
The river that supplies 40 million Americans is down to 23% — and about to make a $25 million bet on one fish
By Dorany Pineda, Brittany Peterson and The Associated PressMay 27, 2026
2 days ago
Jamie Dimon said the American Dream was slipping away. JPMorgan just put $40 million on the table to fix it
Banking
Jamie Dimon said the American Dream was slipping away. JPMorgan just put $40 million on the table to fix it
By Nick LichtenbergMay 27, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 28, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 28, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 28, 2026
1 day ago
As AI slashes white-collar jobs, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says almost no one is being hired—except in sales
Success
As AI slashes white-collar jobs, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says almost no one is being hired—except in sales
By Emma BurleighMay 28, 2026
24 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.