“Goldman Sachs has raised concerns about the standards of corporate governance in India by accusing the Government of siphoning off $20 billion (£14.1 billion) from India’s largest oil company without consulting other shareholders.

Goldman said that the funds had been diverted by the state-controlled Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) via “ad-hoc cash withdrawals” over five years to subsidise loss-making government-owned refiners.

“Despite repeated objections raised by investors and more recently by independent directors on ONGC’s board, there has not been headway on this issue,” Goldman analysts said.

“The market appears to have got used to this practice by ONGC promoters [controlling shareholder], while similar issues in privately run companies would likely cause serious concern.”

Times Online, March 9, 2009

My Comment:

Now that I’ve finished choking myself laughing at this piece of unmitigated gall, let me say it’s high time the rest of the world gives the finger to the moral sermons dished out by Goldman Sachs and and its backer, US Government Inc. (aka “the international community”).

India has plenty of corruption, no doubt about it. But it’s out there in the open, where it’s easy enough to spot.

And, the Indian government doesn’t routinely get to draw up lists of who’s corrupt and who isn’t.

The  US government, on the other hand, poses as God’s viceroy on earth.

About time it was treated as just as another banana republic….a little more bananas than most of them.

Its citizens and scribes ought to get off their high horse too.

They’ve nothing to be proud of recently.

And that’s the mildest thing I can say.