Author Topic: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds  (Read 74418 times)

beggar

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Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« on: January 29, 2011, 12:52:51 PM »
Just saw this on a news report:

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian police raided the monastery of a "living Buddha" touted as a possible successor to the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in a probe over possible illegal funds, officials said on Friday.
The action, nearly a day of searches ending on Friday, was the latest crackdown on corruption in high places.
Police said they came across a "big quantity of cash" in the raid on the monastery of the Karmapa Lama, who a decade ago fled Tibet for Dharamsala.
"I cannot disclose that (the exact amount of money found) but there was Indian and as well as foreign currency," senior police official Daljeet Singh Thakur told Reuters Television.
A central government source said the investigation was focusing on whether money laundering was involved.
An aide to the Karmapa Lama was arrested by police. Monks at the monastery could not be reached for comment.
The Karmapa Lama lives in exile along with the Dalai Lama in Dharamala, the centre of the self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile.
India has been hit by a series of corruption scandals in recent months and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has blocked parliament as it accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government of shielding the guilty.
Leading the list of cases is a charge that state coffers were poorer by $39 billion due to corruption in the grant of telecoms licences. Police are also probing if organisers of the Commonweath Games in October took bribes to award contracts.
The Supreme Court has accused the government of doing too little to follow up cases of corruption and of unaccounted for "black money" held by Indian citizens in overseas tax havens.
Thursday's police action came days after authorities searched homes of Bollywood actors for possible tax evasion. Earlier, federal police searched homes and offices of a former telecoms minister and organisers of the Commonweath Games.
"It (the searches) is a reaction. It is not because of any honest intentions of the government. It is being forced to act," political commentator Amulya Ganguly said.
(Reporting by C.J. Kuncheria; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Ron Popeski)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/01/28/uk-india-corruption-lama-idUKTRE70R2X220110128
« Last Edit: January 29, 2011, 04:53:38 PM by beggar »

beggar

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2011, 12:57:06 PM »
I have heard from a very reliable source form inside the monasteries that the Karmapa is now being accused of being a Chinese spy because they had found millions of Chinese currency in cash in his residence. It is now all over the Indian news and he is being investigated.

Well, this is an interesting twist and Karmapa being investigated will take attention away from Dorje Shugden. All along, the Tibetan Government have accused Dorje Shugden practitioners as being Chinese spies, or being aligned with the Chinese and getting millions of dollars from them.

They have nothing to say now and they sure are gonna have to start backing up their claims because they've been backing up the karmapa all along, all this time. Now this is to say their own "camp" is also a Chinese spy???

triesa

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2011, 03:28:09 PM »
The search raids being carried out, in my opinion, is totally a reaction from the Indian Government to stop being accused of doing nothing. As said by the political commentator Amulya Ganguly,  "It (the searches) is a reaction. It is not because of any honest intentions of the government. It is being forced to act."

The saddest part of all of these, is that they have to go search the monastery of Karmapa Lama. Obviously there is cash in a monastery for whatever the money is intended to be used for.  It is like as if the Indian government want to instigate something here, to divert attention and show everyone that they are doing their job.


beggar

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2011, 04:56:36 PM »
Good point there, Triesa that the Indian government have been almost forced into a corner, put under pressure for not doing anything.

However, what's more tragic and sad is this: Where do you think whole allegation and idea of Tibetan Buddhists being Chinese spies came from in the first place? That's right - the tibetan government themselves. the TGIE were the first ones to start shouting this accusation all over the place, especially towards Dorje Shugden practitioners. The fact that the Indian government would pick up on this now - well the idea didn't come out of nowhere. It was planted by the TGIE themselves. Looks like they sure shot themselves in the foot.

beggar

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #4 on: January 29, 2011, 05:15:50 PM »
Have heard this too, by the way, from friends who have contacts within Dharamsala, and knew of this inside information:

How the raid came about in the first place:

Karmapa's aide had gone to the bank and for whatever unknown reason had withdrawn a huge amount of cash. On his way back, he was stopped by authorities and when they found out he was the Karmapa's aide, it rang alarm bells that he had that much money on him.

This led to the actual raid on Karmapa's personal residence where they found millions of Chinese currency renminbi and even USD600,000, which was all in cash.

Anyway, this whole story is not about the Karmapa - what he does is not any of our business to judge or comment on. However, the situation  sure is a very embarrasing one for the TGIE who have been promoting him very strongly - the tables turn on them now, by the very same wrong accusation (of being a Chinese spy) that they have been pointing towards so many other innocent practitioners.

vajralight

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vajralight

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #6 on: January 29, 2011, 07:43:51 PM »
http://www.allvoices.com/s/event-8033425/aHR0cDovL3d3dy50ZWxlZ3JhcGhpbmRpYS5jb20vMTExMDEyOS9qc3AvZnJvbnRwYWdlL3N0b3J5XzEzNTA2NzY1LmpzcA==

The Telegraph
Calcutta India

Delhi casts spy doubt after ‘haul of crores’



Jan. 28: New Delhi today said Ugyen Trinley Dorje was no Karmapa and could be questioned by security agencies following the seizure of at least Rs 6 crore in Indian and foreign currencies from his Dharamsala home.

The unaccounted cash, which includes at least 11 lakh Chinese yuans (worth Rs 77 lakh), has buttressed suspicion that Dorje is a Chinese spy and had planned to build a network of China-friendly Tibetan institutions across the Himalayan region.

A highly placed government official said that if any criminal offence was established, Dorje would be tried in a court of law like any other person.

Dorje, 25, had carried out his headline-making “escape” from Tibet to India in January 2000, aged 14. His followers claim he is the 17th Karmapa — head of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism — and the successor to the Dalai Lama.

But New Delhi has severely curbed his movements in recent years on suspicion that Beijing had stage-managed his “escape”.

“He is not a Karmapa. He is Ugyen Trinley Dorje,” the government official said. “It is a matter of serious concern that unaccounted money has been sourced to him. The law will take its course.”

Sources said the remarks were a signal to Dorje, his followers and Tibetans at large that India considered the young man a Chinese agent, and that there was no chance of his ever succeeding the Dalai Lama — who heads a different sect, anyway.

Yesterday, Himachal Pradesh police had raided Dorje’s home in a Dharamsala monastery, seized six suitcases of cash and arrested his close aide Shakti Lama. Sources said Dorje himself was unlikely to be detained immediately. Today, the Enforcement Directorate joined the probe.

Counting is still on. “The police have so far recovered Indian and foreign currencies worth Rs 6 crore in all. The foreign currency is from 25 countries, including China, Japan, America, Britain, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Singapore, Nepal, Canada and Thailand,” Himachal police chief D.S. Manhas said.

He added that Rs 30 lakh in Indian currency had been counted so far along with 11 lakh Chinese yuans and six lakh US dollars (worth Rs 2.7 crore). An intelligence source said the money trail so far seemed to lead to Hong Kong, suggesting a Chinese hand.

Some reports said the money was meant to buy a five-acre plot in Himachal’s Kangra district. Two earlier attempts by Dorje to buy land in Kangra, in 2007 and 2008, were scuttled after coming under the Enforcement Directorate’s scanner.

Dorje is alleged to have bought a large tract in Kangra’s Kotla village, near Dharamsala, in the name of Maya Devi, a small farmer from Kinnaur district. The police are investigating the source of the money and a case is pending in the Kangra deputy commissioner’s court. It is listed for hearing on March 23.

Himachal police sources said they knew of about 400 benami land deals by Tibetan refugees, and that cases had been registered in 263 instances.

Some sources said China may have wanted Dorje to do in the Indian Himalayas what Beijing had done in Nepal.

All along the India-Nepal border, the Chinese have opened 17 “China study centres” that ostensibly teach Chinese culture and language. But their main aim is suspected to be to establish a long-term Chinese influence in Nepal that could hurt Indian interests.

The sources said Beijing had sent Dorje to India to keep an eye on the Dalai Lama’s activities and project himself as his successor.

Beijing also wanted Dorje to take control of the Rumtek monastery in Sikkim, the principal seat of the Kagyu sect, but that has not happened so far because of the emergence of a rival claimant to Karmapa status.

The “he is no Karmapa” remark suggests Dorje has lost this prospect too. India wants the rival, Thinley Thai Dorji, who is about the same age as Dorje, to take charge of the Sikkim monastery, which has more than 700 overseas branches and is influential both in the Indian Himalayan region and Tibet.

Himachal police chief Manhas said the money seized from Dorje’s home may have been routed through hawala from the Majnu Ka Tila area of Delhi, inhabited largely by Tibetan refugees.

“The money was reportedly drawn from the Majnoo Ka Tila branch of a private sector bank. We have arrested two people and are interrogating them,” he said.

vajralight

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2011, 12:51:23 AM »
DL's comments


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hELhZGGjqdE
Small | Large


Mana

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #8 on: January 30, 2011, 04:40:46 AM »
Dalai Lama says in a short and sweet way that Karmapa should set up a trust fund. Then easier.
Mana

thaimonk

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2011, 05:52:47 AM »
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/govt-seeks-report-from-himachal-govt-on-karmapa/141840-3.html

or watch the news video here:

Small | Large


Another incredible news report video on the event with so many accusations.

It's completely ironic. The Tibetan govt in exile always accuses anyone they don't like of being a Chinese supporter or spy. What is there really to spy on?? As if whatever the Tibetan Govt can do that would usurp Tibet away from China. In the wildest dreams that couldn't and wouldn't happen. By accusing people within their own communities of spy work, they effectively get the thousands of uneducated, backwards, isolated Tibetan farmers, sweater sellers, tea sellers, statue sellers to alienate the accused group such as Shugdenpas. The Tibetan Govt is very far from even being near democratic. They are very similar to Myanmar's regime. AT LEAST MYANMAR HAS A COUNTRY. Tibetans did their job so badly, they LOST their country and cannot gain it back ever.

Now their own accusations have turned against them in the form of Karmapa being accused of being a Chinese spy receiving money from the Chinese govt. Tibetan Govt should learn a lesson from this-TO STOP USING THE SPY CARD. To stop using the words 'spy' or 'Chinese backed' in all their statements. If they can attack the Karmapa, who is next? After all you would think India would be more 'considerate' to Karmapa since he is close to Dalai Lama. India respects Dalai Lama, so they can 'attack' someone close to him, then what happens after Dalai Lama passes. The Tibetans and their shenanigans are in big trouble. Time for all Tibetans to buy that US Visa in Delhi and get out of India full speed. A note of advice for the Tibetan farmers immigrating, in the US, keep quiet about the Shugden ban, because there's real RELIGIOUS FREEDOM THERE and your silly protests about Shugden would be ignored by Paris Hilton's latest designer bag for sale. Even Hilton's latest bags on sale would have more media coverage and importance than your archaic and repressive bans to save the world from an 'evil' practice.

Maybe Tibetan Govt can learn a lesson or two from the US on religious freedom instead of always just panhandling money from it's americans to fund it's bans and dead end schemes in India.



« Last Edit: January 30, 2011, 06:23:19 AM by Mana »

thaimonk

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #10 on: January 30, 2011, 11:25:57 AM »

This link has it all as in the videos and artilces from the Indian media. And yes, admin I'm happy you can use my write up for this as an intro.

http://dorjeshugden.com/wp/?p=7014
« Last Edit: January 30, 2011, 11:27:52 AM by Mana »

hope rainbow

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #11 on: January 30, 2011, 04:45:26 PM »
I find it interesting the see that the Indian Government, at a country level (not regional), does not hesitate to publicly investigate and accuse the Karmapa who is a figure very close to The Dalai Lama.
What will become of the tibetan cause in the future (after The Dalai Lama has passed away-may that be the latest possible) if it is to be fought from a tibetan platform in India. A platform tainted by accusations of spying for China...
A platform with no leader of the same weight as The Dalai Lama.
It is possible that many things will shift.

WisdomBeing

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #12 on: January 30, 2011, 06:29:21 PM »
The Karmapa has been under suspicion by the Indian government even before this current issue. I remember reading about it in the local newspaper last month (this is the online version here http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/01/karmapa-exile-india-political-game) and the article is called "The Karmapa is caught in a political game".

Below is an excerpt from that article:

Quote
Headlines like "The new Dalai Lama" and "The world's next top Lama" sparked intense speculation.

"Clearly a serious and exceptionally intelligent 15-year-old. Few can doubt his credentials as a future Tibetan leader," wrote the Observer in 2001. "He is the only … reincarnation, currently recognised by both the Chinese and the Dalai Lama. He could be the hinge on which relations between Tibetans and China swing in a new direction," claimed Newsweek in 2009.

This speculation put him at the heart of a political game with the Chinese who are determined to wrest control of Tibetan Buddhism after the passing of the Dalai Lama. The situation is further complicated by Indian government suspicions that the Karmapa may have been sent to India to destabilise Sikkim, which borders China, and which China claims as its own. The machinations of the Tibetan exile government to hang onto a charismatic figure capable of uniting the Tibetans after the demise of the aging Dalai Lama, stirs yet more political intrigue into the seething cauldron.


It IS, as Thaimonk says, tremendously ironic that the Karmapa whom the Dalai Lama had such close relations with is being accused of being a Chinese spy, which is the very epithet that the TGIE applies to Shugdenpas. This quote in particular, "The machinations of the Tibetan exile government to hang onto a charismatic figure capable of uniting the Tibetans after the demise of the aging Dalai Lama, stirs yet more political intrigue into the seething cauldron.", implies that the author does not think highly of the TGIE either. Interesting.
Kate Walker - a wannabe wisdom Being

DSFriend

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #13 on: January 30, 2011, 07:13:23 PM »
The subject heading caught my attention and initially I thought to myself,..this can't be right,..not to the darling Karmapa who has gotten so much adoration throughout the world, who is pretty much starting to be the face of Tibetan Buddhism.

Much thanks to the articles posted by Beggar, Admin, Thaimonk and the others...

What struck me is that the TGIE has not gained any grounds to get their country back NOR has fostered any trust with the Indian government though they have been on Indian soil for half a century!

Karmapa is someone TGIE recognized, endorsed, promotes and positioned in such a way that many suspects could be the next leader of the Tibetan people. Indian government's suspicions about karmapa being a chinese spy says ALOT about TGIE...that what TGIE sanction and implement is highly questionable. I do believe the Karmapa is an extraordinary being and the many high lamas to recognize him cannot be wrong.

What is extremely embarrassing for TGIE, a government which singles out and accuses Shugdenpas for being chinese spies now is having one of their own being accused and interrogated for this very fear factor! Is this karma or what?!
« Last Edit: February 06, 2011, 02:50:54 PM by DSFriend »

daka

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Re: Karmapa Raided over alleged illegal funds
« Reply #14 on: January 31, 2011, 11:35:32 AM »
Yes, I agree. How can they accuse Shugdenpas for so many years without karma coming back to them? Anyway, this is sad. Can Buddhism totally be free from politics?