NEWSMAKERS OF THE WEEK
FORMER INDIAN CRICKET CAPTAIN AND NOW COACH OF THE UNDER-19 INDIAN CRICKET TEAM, RAHUL DRAVID, WAS THE FIRST TO REPORT ON BEING DUPED BY A PONZI SCHEME. HE DISCOVERED THAT HIS GREED, IGNORANCE, GULLIBILITY FOR HIGHER RETURNS ON HIS PORTFOLIO GOT HIM INTO THIS MESS.
RAHUL DRAVID
Former Indian cricket team captain Rahul Dravid lodged a complaint against a Bengaluru-based firm for allegedly cheating him of `4 crore. Dravid, in his complaint, alleged that he had invested `20 crore in the firm in 2014 on assurance of getting higher returns, but was yet to get back `4 crore to match his principal investment. There are reports of many sportspersons and celebrities being duped by the company.
MANOHAR PARRIKAR
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who had left to the USA for further treatment of a pancreatic ailment is “responding positively” to the medical treatment. He is expected to take treatment for another fortnight before returning back to India in the second week of April, a BJP Goa unit leader said. Parrikar was initially admitted to the Lilavati Hospital after being diagnosed with mild pancreatitis last month.
NICOLAS SARKOZY
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was questioned by police investigating whether late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi helped finance his 2007 election campaign. Sarkozy, 63, was held in custody in Nanterre, west of Paris. It is the second major judicial investigation to fall on Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007-2012. He already faces trial on separate charges of illicit spending overruns during his failed reelection campaign in 2012.
LALU YADAV
RJD chief Lalu Yadav’s conviction in the fourth fodder scam case has raised the political temperature of Bihar. Lalu is presently serving jail term in three fodder scam cases was pronounced guilty in the Dumka treasury case by the special CBI court. The case pertains to the fraudulent withdrawal of `3.31 crore from the Dumka treasury in 1995-96. Lalu was admitted to the cardiology wing of Ranchi Institute of Medical Sciences after he fell ill in jail.
XABI ALONSO
The former Real Madrid and Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso was accused of fraud of two million euros between 2010 and 2012. Spanish prosecutors have called for him to be sentenced to five years in prison. It is claimed Alonso used a company based on the Portugese island of Madeira to avoid declaring income earned from the 36-year-old’s image rights. The prosecution demanded that besides the five-year imprisonment, a fine of four million euros also.