It’s coming 18 years since Tom Friedman wrote his groundbreaking The Lexus and The Olive Tree where he introduced us to the reality of globalisation. The book obviously didn’t make it to the Gupta compound – or among regular visitors to the infamous Saxonwold Shebeen.
These miscreants are fast discovering that even if you have captured law enforcement bosses in one country, it can’t protect you from the long arms of independent crimefighters elsewhere. A reality disturbing the sleep of Gupta associates at SA subsidiaries of US and German headquartered multinationals.
Similarly, more pennies will drop as these Indian immigrants feel heat at home, where a vibrant media is picking up a story that’s also running in the UK. For instance OUTA’s unanswered questions to the Indian state owned Bank of Baroda are being picked up by the sub continent’s media hounds.
There’s an even greater threat brewing in China whose President Xi has made eliminating corruption his top priority. The Middle Kingdom readily applies capital punishment to serious crimes. And its leaders hate being embarrassed on the world stage. One of the biggest participants in the Gupta corruption network is Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries. Hope springs.
