Australia exports sandalwood oil to Karnataka as state’s production, quality decline: Report
Bengaluru: In a reversal of roles, Australia, which once imported sandalwood seeds from Karnataka, is now exporting sandalwood oil to the state. This shift comes amid a decline in both the quality and yield of farm-grown sandalwood in Karnataka, resulting in increased reliance on imports to meet domestic demand.
Private companies and Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL) are increasingly diversifying their product lines due to the shortage of raw material, as reported by The New Indian Express on Thursday. Many are shifting focus to non-sandal-based items such as jasmine, rose, lavender, and aloe vera.
A KSDL official said that there is currently a 60–70% shortage of both sandalwood and its essential oil, severely impacting domestic production. To compensate for the shortfall, they are importing approximately 5,000 kg of sandalwood oil from Australia annually which continues to rise each year.
“Australia has become one of the largest suppliers of oil. Since Karnataka’s sandalwood is of supreme quality, Australia took the seeds from Karnataka in the 1990s and harvested them in a secure environment. Good quality of oil was extracted and Australia is gradually becoming a leading exporter of sandalwood oil,” TNIE quoted the KSDL official as saying.
The official added that, in addition to sourcing farm-grown sandalwood within the state, KSDL is also procuring wood from other states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, to meet the demand.
The decline in both the quantity and quality of sandalwood was highlighted in the Sandalwood Development Committee’s report released by the Central Vista Oversight Committee. The report, cited by TNIE, also identified Australia as the largest sandalwood market, holding approximately 69 percent of the market share, followed by India with a 20 percent share.
Officials at the Institute of Wood Science and Technology mentioned that, although sandalwood is a hardy species requiring a stressful environment to thrive, factors such as declining soil quality, reduced land fertility, and inadequate protection measures are contributing to a deterioration in its quality.
The Karnataka Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2001, permits the cultivation of sandalwood on private lands. This policy change has reportedly encouraged private individuals to engage in the cultivation and protection of sandalwood trees.
KSDL Managing Director Prashanth PK stated that to boost wood procurement, they have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with 735 farmers, resulting in sandalwood cultivation on over 4,000 acres. “But a lot more needs to be done as demand is rising. Due to shortage, KSDL is diversifying into other items,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
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Rs 640 crore cyber fraud: SC refuses anticipatory bail to CA in ED case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant anticipatory bail to a chartered accountant in a money laundering investigation linked to a Rs 640 crore cyber fraud case.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Augustine George Masih upheld the order of the Delhi High Court which had denied pre-arrest bail to Bhaskar Yadav and directed him to surrender in 10 days.
The high court on February 2 dismissed anticipatory bail applications by Yadav and Ashok Kumar Sharma.
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In the 22-page judgement, the high court had said there was an "intricate mesh of laundering of money", and the need expressed by the Enforcement Directorate to interrogate the two accused in custody was not unreasonable.
"The accused/applicants, being skilled professionals, have allegedly crafted laundering of proceeds of crime across multiple layers, and to unearth the same, I find substance in the submission of learned counsel for DoE (Directorate of Enforcement) that custodial interrogation is much required," the HC said.
"It is not a case of mere dealing in cryptocurrency, which per se is not a crime in this country and the liability of the accused persons is confined to paying tax on the crypto transactions. The present cases exhibit a vast intricate mesh of movement of money, fraudulently extracted out of pocket of gullible investors, who appear to be primarily belonging to middle class," it had added.
The high court had stated that individual liberty was sacrosanct, but it could not brush aside the requirement to carry out a meaningful interrogation and investigation in the larger interest of the country's economy.
It had noted there were fresh complaints of the accused allegedly assaulting the investigating officers, bribing the local police to settle cyber fraud complaints and destroying electronic evidence.
The money laundering probe stems from two FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police that were registered to probe charges of cyber fraud to the tune of Rs 640 crore generated through betting, gambling, part-time jobs and phishing scams, the ED has earlier said in a statement.
As per the agency, the money of gullible people was siphoned off by layering funds cheated from them through more than 5,000 mule Indian bank accounts and subsequently uploaded on PYYPL, a UAE-based payment platform.
Part of the cyber fraud money was withdrawn in cash in Dubai through debit and credit cards issued by various Indian banks, it said.
According to the probe agency, the alleged scam was being run through a nexus of certain CAs, company secretaries and crypto traders who worked in tandem to launder the proceeds of crime.
