A tiny island in South Pacific Ocean, Vanuatu, will be happy at the extradition and the subsequent trial of fraudster A N Ghosh to India.
Ghosh, a proclaimed economic offender, who was extradited to India from Germany on Monday, had put this group of islands in a political turmoil when he allegedly colluded with the then prime minister Barak Sope for signing bank instrument in his name, the Central Bureau of Investigation sources said on Monday.
After fleeing from India, Ghosh is said to have stayed in Dubai for sometime from where he found his way to Vanuatu, near Australia.
Ghosh, who posed as a Thailand businessman, shot into limelight in the small island in April 2000 after he gave the Vanuatu government a hefty amount for disaster relief. The 46-year-old Ghosh allegedly colluded with Sope to get him signed two government-backed letters the same year for bank credit guarantees worth 300 million dollars.
According to the agreement signed by the Vanuatu leader and Ghosh, the accused was to have the sole right to manage the bonds which would have been held in his name in safe custody only by Bangkok Bank Ltd., Maquarie Bank Ltd., or Standard Chartered Bank Limited.
The document was allegedly signed by Sope by forging the signatures of the country's finance minister, who only was empowered to sign such letters of credit.
Ghosh's appointment drew flak, but throughout the year his business interests in Vanuatu and involvement with various politicians increased.
By the end of 2000, Ghosh's involvement with the Vanuatu government took a bizarre turn as he gifted a ruby worth $174 million, which later turned to be a piece of rubble.
The accused's collusion with Sope and others in the ministry, saw the then prime minister out of office in 2001 after a no-confidence motion.
Ghosh's financial misdeeds in Dubai are yet to come to light and the CBI may approach the authorities in the port city to provide details about the irregularities he committed.