NEW DELHI: A case study from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report features a former CEO of an Indian bank who paid USD 264,000 for a "mediocre" painting from the close relative of a member of the ruling political party at the time in exchange for the award "Padma Bhushan" for himself.

Anurag Thakur, Union minister  attacked the Congress harshly on Monday in response to a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report that claimed an Indian banker had purchased overpriced artwork from a "close relative" of a party member in exchange for national honours. "There are now more obvious examples of corruption in Congress. as , "In a statement, the Union minister of communication and broadcasting.

The FATF study "Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in the Art and Antiquities Market," which highlights the case of a prominent Indian banker who purchased artwork with no intrinsic value in order to pay bribes, was the source of the information that he was referring to.

The politician and banker's names are not mentioned in the report. Thakur said, the FATF was previously discussed in relation to Pakistan's continued inclusion on its "grey list" for financing terrorism, but at the moment, the international regulator is being debated in relation to a powerful family in India.

The narrative of the Gandhi family's corruption being used as a case study and broadcast to the entire world, and by an organisation that strives to prevent the financing of terrorism, is a subject of great shame, the minister said. The leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suggested that Priyanka Gandhi reveal who "Mr. A" was in the FATF report.
"Was the Padma Bhushan awarded in return for cash or a piece of art? Is the Congress using this as a model for corruption? How many additional national honours have you exchanged for cash?" Thakur enquired with the opposition group.

Reacting To the FATF report, Thakur said that FATF was earlier talked about in the context of Pakistan’s continuance on its “grey list" for terror financing but now, the global regulator is being discussed in the context of an influential family in India. "It is a matter of great pity that the story of corruption of the Gandhi family is made into a case study and being surfced to global platform, that too by an organisation that works to stop terror financing," the Minister added.

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