Interior Minister Acts On Media Allegation

A day after The Chronicle expos? : NO ENTRY FOR VASWANIS

The Vaswani brothers who were at the center of the 40 billion Naira fraud for which they were deported by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, have been prohibited from entering Ghana.

The prohibition order issued on August 21 by Interior Minister Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, effectively put paid to attempts by the three brothers, Sunil, Maresh and Haresh, to seek sanctuary in Ghana where they also have a wide-range of business interests. The Chronicle on Tuesday carried a front page lead story alerting Ghana and Benin about the activities of the three Indian brothers who were reported to have evaded tax in Nigeria to the tune of 40 billion Naira (?2 trillion) between1999 and 2003.

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang issued the Prohibition of Entry Order (PEO) against the Vaswani brothers following security reports about their activities and their attempt to come to Ghana.

The order stated: “Whereas in the opinion of the Minister of the Interior the entry into Ghana of the underlisted persons, Mahesh Vaswani, Sunil Vaswani and Haresh Vaswani would not be conducive to the public good, now therefore in exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister of the Interior by section 8 (1) of the immigration act 2000 (Act 573) this order is made this 21st day of August 2003. Maresh Vaswani, Haresh Vaswani and Sunil Vaswani are hereby prohibited from entering Ghana until further notice.

The Interior Minister confirmed The Chronicle story about the Vaswanis on Peace FM radio during a newspaper review programme yesterday and said the prohibition order followed investigations by the national security apparatus on their questionable business practices in Nigeria and an advice by Nigeria not to entertain them in Ghana.

On May 29, 2003 the Federal Government of Nigeria deported the Vaswani brothers who are said to have built a business empire that is believed to be thriving on scam and scandal.

Mr. Owusu-Agyemang recalled that in the1970s the parents of the Vaswanis were also deported from Ghana on similar grounds.

The Interior minister said the government would not allow any questionable businessmen to wreck the economy of the nation.

“We are not sleeping, we are watching and doing everything possible to make this nation a better place for all,” the minister said. The Chronicle learnt that after their deportation from Nigeria the Vaswanis, through their cohorts were leaving nothing to chance to stage a come back to the country. T

hey ensured that stories about their invincibility and possible return to Nigeria made the rounds.

For instance some weeks ago, their business associates spread the news that the brothers had moved to Ghana, where they also have some investments.

The story has it that through Ghana it was going to be possible for them to go back to Nigeria or if possible run their businesses from Accra.

In spite of the overwhelming evidence about the deportation of the Vaswanis from Nigeria, Mr. Oscar Ugo, the media representative of the Honda Place Ghana Ltd one of the Vaswanis’ companies in Ghana on Monday told The Chronicle that the three brothers had not been deported from Nigeria.

He also contested that the allegation of tax evasion leveled against them had not been proven.

Ugo said even though the Vaswanis in Nigeria were related to those in Ghana, they have no shares in The Honda Place Ghana Ltd.

He said the Vaswanis in Ghana have not committed any offence or done anything contrary to the laws of the land.

The deportation of the brothers from Nigeria is seen by many as the fulfillment of the anti-corruption campaign by President Obasanjo’s administration.

Among the tall list of charges that prompted the deportation of the Vaswanis was that the Central Bank of Nigeria gave the Vaswani Stallion Nigeria Limited hundreds of millions of dollars to import fertilizers for farmers under the poverty alleviation programme but they sold the money on the black market

. It is reported that only $15 million was recovered from them.

A statement recently signed by the chairman, Wale Omole of National Problems and Solution (NPS), a non-governmental organization commended the federal government for deporting the Vaswanis.

“The deportation is commendable if it was effected in the interest of the nation and not on personal interest of some individuals who saw them as rivals,” Wale Omole association’s said.

“Many Nigerians could not believe the news about the deportation of the brothers because of their closeness to the powers that be, but since nobody is bigger than Nigeria, the authorities took the decision that was best for the state before deporting them from the country,” The Chronicle source in Nigeria pointed out.

In Nigeria, the Vaswani family owns the Honda Place, Hyundai Place, Volkswagen Centre, Audi Place, Skoda World, and Stallion Foods.

It also has majority shares in the Reliance Bank, two packaging companies in Ota and Ogun State