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Swiggy food delivery agent refuses to deliver non-veg within Delhi’s Marghat Baba Hanuman Mandir premises, gets honoured by the temple authorities

OpIndia Staff
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Swiggy food delivery agent refuses to deliver non-veg within Delhi’s Marghat Baba Hanuman Mandir premises, gets honoured by the temple authorities

On Tuesday, a Swiggy food delivery app agent revealed that he was fired from his job after he refused to deliver non-veg food items to a customer who owns a shop in Delhi’s Marghat Baba Hanuman Mandir premises. The Swiggy agent said that he was not an ‘adharmi’ to deliver non-veg orders within the temple premise. However, the app representatives have stated that his ID has not been closed.

According to the reports, the temple authorities felicitated the Swiggy agent identified as Sachin Panchal for his decision. The saga began on March 1 when one Abhishek Sharma, who owns a shop named ‘Ram Kachoriwala’ within the Marghat Baba Hanuman Mandir premises ordered Mutton Korma and Nann from a restaurant through the Swiggy app. Panchal happened to refuse to deliver the order saying that the delivery location was from within the temple premise in Kashmiri Gate.

On this, the customer stated that the temple was 150 steps away from the shop and that he had been ordering non-veg and getting it delivered from the app on a regular basis. The food delivery person then replied saying, “But the shop is inside the four walls of the temple. You distribute prasad and all. And bringing meat to the same shop will not be right, in my opinion. I cannot bring your order as there is a mandir. I am sorry.”

The video of the incident was also made public by Panchal on social media in which he said that the Ram Kachoriwala shop offers prasad to the devotees and is located very close to the temple. “The temple is just two steps away from here. The shop owner ordered Mutton Korma and Paneer Nann and asked me to deliver them here,” he said after he reached the location at night.

Later several Hindu organizations gathered at the location and protested against the shop for ordering non-veg food on the temple premise. The shop, as per the video, has been seized.

The Swiggy agent, Panchal also was contacted by customer care based on the complaint of the customer, but the former strongly refused to deliver non-veg within the temple premise. “The customer offers prasad to the devotees. I won’t deliver non-veg where prasad is made and given to devotees,” Panchal said. The customer care representative allegedly then told him that even though he is not doing anything wrong, it is the company’s policy that food has to be delivered to the doorstep.

Panchal, who was felicitated by the temple authorities, said that he has lost his job. However, Swiggy has denied the development and claimed that the delivery boy’s ID has not been closed. The app representative also said that he might be perhaps afraid to take orders after the incident. “We try to sensitize our delivery men as well as our customer care staff in all such matters,” Swiggy was quoted as saying.

Marghat Baba Mandir in-charge and trustee, Pandit Vaibhav Sharma meanwhile lauded the agent and said, “Whatever he has done to protect Hinduism is his own conscience and moral action. He does not belong to any Hindu group, any political party, or any religious group. This is a message to people who say Hindu so raha hai (Hindus are sleeping). Hindu ab jaag gaya hai (Hindus are now awake). And for his moral service, we will make sure he gets a job again, he will be our brother and sevadaar in the Hanuman temple premises.”

Reports mention that the shop was seized and heavy CRPF and Delhi Police personnel are deployed near the Ram Kachori shop, adjacent to the ancient Hanuman temple.

FIR against Priyanka Gandhi aide for using casteist slur and issuing death threat to Bigg Boss contestant Archana Gautam

OpIndia Staff
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FIR against Priyanka Gandhi aide for using casteist slur and issuing death threat to Bigg Boss contestant Archana Gautam

Bigg Boss-16’s top 5 finalist Archana Gautam’s father has filed a case against Congress National General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s PA Sandeep Kumar at Partapur police station alleging that his daughter was “threatened with death”, reports news agency ANI

“Casteist words were also spoken,” he alleged in his complaint. ANI stated that Archana Gautam herself gave this information in a Facebook Live. Meerut police have started the investigation by registering a case against Sandeep Singh in Partapur police station under sections 504, 506 and SC, ST Act. 

As per reports, Archana Gautam went to Raipur, Chhattisgarh on 26 February 2023 to attend the Congress General Convention on Priyanka Gandhi’s invitation. There she sought time from Priyanka Gandhi’s PA Sandeep Singh to meet Priyanka Gandhi. However, Singh refused to introduce Gautam to Priyanka. Archana Gautam’s father also alleged Singh used casteist words and indecent language while speaking rudely to his daughter. He also alleged death threats to his daughter.

Meerut City’s SP Piyush Singh told ANI that a case has been registered on the complaint of Archana Gautam’s father. “A First Information Report has been registered against Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s PA for allegedly threatening former Bigg Boss contestant & Congress leader Archana Gautam,” the officer told ANI adding that further probe is underway.

Sandeep Singh and his run-ins with law

During the first wave of covid-19 in May 2020 in middle of the migrant workers crisis, Sandeep Singh and Congress leader Ajay Kumar Lallu were booked over allegations of cheating and forgery in connection with the list of buses that the Congress party had submitted with the UP govt to carry migrants to the state. The Congress leaders were also charged with running buses carrying migrants to Uttar Pradesh without obtaining necessary permission as per rules.

Later, in November 2021, Singh was booked along with two other Congress leaders on allegations of assault and intimidation. As per reports, the complaint was lodged by a man named Prashant Kumar. Kumar had alleged that four people had tried to invade his privacy by loitering around his house in the middle of the night. He also stated that four persons, including the Congress leaders, had been suspiciously loitering around his house in the middle of the night and when he objected, he was threatened and thrashed by them.

In January 2022, Dr Priyanka Maurya, the state vice-president of Mahila Congress, Uttar Pradesh since 2019 and the face of the party’s women’s manifesto “Shakti Vidhan,” alleged she was denied a ticket because she is an OBC girl who could not afford to bribe Priyanka Gandhi’s secretary, Sandeep Singh. 

Punjab: 24-year-old man from Canada killed with sharp weapons in Anandpur Sahib for objecting to loud music near Gurudwara

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab: 24-year-old man from Canada killed with sharp weapons in Anandpur Sahib for objecting to loud music near Gurudwara

On March 6, a 24-year-old man who came from Canada, identified as Pardeep Singh, succumbed to injuries he sustained after he was attacked during a brawl. The incident happened when Pardeep allegedly asked some youth not to play loud music at the entrance of the Gurudwara in Anandpur Sahib, District Ropar, Punjab. They were going to Anadpur Sahib for Hola Mohalla, a 3-day Sikh festival.

An FIR under Sections Sections 302 (murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) has been registered against unknown people at Anandpur Sahib Police Station.

As per Amar Ujala’s report, Nihang Sikhs were stationed at the entrance from Kiratpur Sahib to Anandpur Sahib. They stopped several vehicles that were allegedly creating a ruckus or had modified silencers installed. Pardeep was on present at the scene and allegedly asked some visitors not to play loud music and be respectful. A scuffle broke out between the two groups, and Pardeep died from injuries he sustained after getting hit with sharp weapons. The police were informed about the incident.

When the police reached the spot, they found Pardeep lying on the road unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Though Pardeep was dressed like a Nihang, police said he was not associated with any Nihang group. Videos of the incident have gone viral on social media.

One of the accused has been identified as Niranjan Singh, who also sustained injuries. He was shifted to the hospital for treatment. Ropar SSP Viveksheel Soni stated that a police team was stationed at PGI Chandigarh, where Niranjan was getting treated. He would be arrested once doctors discharged him. “We have also seized Niranjan’s jeep,” added SSP Soni. Speaking to the media, SSP Soni said the investigation into the matter is underway. He also debunked the rumours that bullets were fired during the scuffle. He said, “Pardeep sustained injuries due to a sharp weapon. No bullets were fired.” The police are yet to recover the weapon used in the scuffle.

Preliminary investigation revealed there was no enmity between Pardeep and Niranjan.

BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Twitter, “Pained to see young Canadian Sikh killed at Anandpur Sahib in Hola Muhalla celebrations. Such incidents reflect the need to introspect within our community.
On one side, we have achievers like Mr Ajay Banga and on the other, such incidents defame Sikhs and Punjab.”

Pardeep originally hailed from Gurdaspur, Punjab. He went to Canada in 2016 and took permanent residency. Niranjan hails from Nurpurbedi. Further investigation into the matter is underway.

Banned terror group PFI gets activated in Gujarat, three suspects detained in Vadodara

OpIndia Staff
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Banned terror group PFI gets activated in Gujarat, three suspects detained in Vadodara

Three suspected members banned terror group Popular Front of India (PFI), which has promised to turn India into an Islamic country by 2047, have been arrested from Vadodara by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). As per a Divya Bhaskar report, the three accused had been radicalised.

A secret operation was carried out by the NIA along with Gujarat Police in a crowded part of the city from where three suspects were nabbed. About five months back, the Central Government had banned the Islamist group PFI over its ties with terror groups and indulging in radicalisation activities. The NIA is carrying out raids at various locations across India and interrogating suspects who are involved in terror activities. But till now, there were nothing that tied PFI to Gujarat.

Amid this, earlier this week, NIA got a tip that some men were allegedly radicalising youth in Vadodara. Hence, with help of some officials of Gujarat Police team, the NIA identified three men who were interrogated about alleged radicalisation activities. Their homes were also searched. However, Gujarat Police has not yet formally arrested them yet.

This is the first time such raid and search was carried out in Gujarat over PFI.

Citing sources, Bhaskar reported, the investigating agencies are carrying out interrogation of the suspects. They are collecting their call records and other details of people associated with them. Prior to this, in September 2022, 15 PFI sympathisers were detained in Gujarat by ATS officials. It was part of multi-state multi-agency operation where 106 PFI leaders were detained for questioning. 10 were held from Ahmedabad city while five from Surat, Navsari and Banaskantha. Later, in October, a madarsa linked with PFI was also sealed in Vadodara.

Tamil Nadu police arrests Manoj Yadav, says he created fake videos to become famous and create unrest among Bihari migrants

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu police arrests Manoj Yadav, says he created fake videos to become famous and create unrest among Bihari migrants

Tamil Nadu police have arrested a man named Manoj Yadav as the main culprit behind the recent videos alleging attacks on Bihari migrants in the South Indian state. The police said that a video was created by him for gaining popularity and to create unrest among the migrant workers.

As per the reports, the Tamil Nadu police officials said, “One Manoj Yadav of Jharkhand and his friends, who are migrant workers residing at Maraimalai Nagar area, created a video as if they are beaten up by Tamil people, and facing lot of problems in their work place and requested the Government of Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand to help them to return back to their native place. Tambaram city police investigated into this and found out, this video was created by Manoj Yadav for gaining popularity and to create unrest among the migrant workers.”

In the video released by the Tamil Nadu police, the man accepted that he has been living in Tamil Nadu for the past 25 years, and his friends released the video online to become famous.

“Manoj Yadav was arrested and remanded to judicial custody by Tambaram city police,” the police officials further added.

Reportedly, Manoj Yadav, a resident of Jharkhand, along with his friends created a video as if they are beaten up by Tamil people, and acted as if they were facing a lot of problems at their workplace. They reside in the Maraimalai Nagar area.

In the viral video, Manoj Yadav requested the Government of Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand to help them return to their native places. The local police investigated the video and found that the video was created by Manoj for gaining popularity and to create unrest among the migrant workers.

Actor Prakash Raj who made a fortune in Hindi movies like Wanted and Singham displays anti-Hindi bigotry, old pic goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Actor Prakash Raj who made a fortune in Hindi movies like Wanted and Singham displays anti-Hindi bigotry, old pic goes viral

Actor Prakash Raj, who made a fortune acting in Hindi blockbusters such as Wanted and Singham, recently displayed linguistic bigotry after being called out for his picture that insulted the Hindi language.

In the picture, which is three years old, Raj is seen wearing a t-shirt with a map of Karnataka and a message printed in Kannada. The message reads, “I don’t know Hindi, Go!”. When a Twitter user tagged Tamil Nadu police and asked if FIR would be filed against Prakash Raj, the actor pulled out the victim card saying it is his way of protesting against language imposition.

“My roots..my mother tongue is KANNADA .. if you DISRESPECT her and try to FORCE your language.. we will PROTEST like this,” tweeted Prakash.

Even though Raj had extensively worked in the Hindi film industry with prominent actors, accomplished directors, and top production houses, he has been at the vanguard perpetuating language divides and regional chauvinism, often resorting to victimhood and prevarication when called out for his potentially dangerous rhetorics.

After realising that his picture reflected latent hatred for Hindi, Raj tried mending his ways, going into overdrive to explain his stance. In his subsequent tweet, Raj, who routinely shares tweets posts by Alt News’ Mohammed Zubair, the man who dog whistled against Nupur Sharma and galvanised Sar Tan Se Juda protests across the country, rambled that he speaks seven languages, and speaking a language is respecting its people.

Nevertheless, the picture of Prakash Raj hating Hindi is going viral on the internet at a time when social media is replete with unverified claims of migrant workers from Bihar being ‘attacked and beaten up brutally’ in Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu government and police have rubbished the claims as fake and asserted that migrant workers are safe in the state.

Tamil Nadu DGP Sylendra Babu denied the assault on Bihari workers and issued a statement on Thursday, March 2 claiming that Bihari migrant workers were not being attacked in Tamil Nadu. He said he had reached out to his counterpart in Bihar, DGP RS Bhatti, and refuted the reports being shared in the media and social media.

However, DMK’s poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Sunday released a video stating that the attacks were real and should not be ignored by the Tamil Nadu government. He said that Tamil Nadu police and the ruling leaders of Bihar have disapproved of the incident calling it fake, but the attacks need to be looked into.

“The DGP of Tamil Nadu has denied of any such attacks on the migrant workers. But the incidents are real. The DMK government in Tamil Nadu has also disapproved of these incidents. I will post the correct videos” Prashant Kishor saidwhile addressing a press conference on March 6.

Crackdown on ‘Waris Punjab De’, arms licenses of Amritpal’s 9 aides canceled

OpIndia Staff
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Crackdown on ‘Waris Punjab De’, arms licenses of Amritpal’s 9 aides canceled

The Punjab Police has started acting against Amritpal Singh and his followers from ‘Waris Punjab De’ who stormed the Ajnala Police Station along with his aides using weapons like swords and guns to free his accomplice Lovepreet Toofan. The arms licenses of 9 of his aides have been canceled following the incident.

Amritpal’s supporters were seen brandishing weapons during the attack on Ajnala Police Station. Arms licenses of 9 of Amritpal’s aides have already been canceled and they have asked Jammu and Kashmir authorities for the cancellation of another one’s license.

It is being said that strict action will be taken against Amritpal and his accomplices once the G-20 Summit is over. It is to be noted that the G-20 representatives will assemble in Punjab from 15 to 17 March for Education Summit and from 19 to 20 for discussing Labour issues.

The 9 aides whose licenses have been canceled are Harjeet, Baljinder, Ram Singh Barada, Gurmat Singh, Avatar Singh, Varinder Singh, Amritpal, Harpreet Devgan, and Gurbhej Singh. Talvinder Singh got his arms license from Jammu and Kashmir so it can’t be canceled right now, but authorities in the concerned UT have been informed about the situation.

The attack on Ajnala Police Station

Supporters of Amritpal Singh attacked the Ajnala Police Station as they protested against the arrest of Amritpal’s aide Lovepreet Toofan.

After the attack, Punjab Police said, “What happened should not have happened. Punjab Police did not retaliate because Amritpal had brought Guru Granth Sahib with him. If we had retaliated, things would have gone awry. We respected Guru Granth Sahib”.

Ex-Chief Minister of the state, Captain Amarinder Singh also expressed concern over the dramatic episode and alleged, “This is not only a complete collapse of the law and order situation in Punjab, but it is also more serious than that.” He further emphasized that the occurrence had significant security ramifications for both the state and the nation.

Punjab Police later released Lovepreet Toofan claiming “enough proof of his innocence” after the violent protest.

Our reporting on Amritpal Singh and his rise as a pro-Khalistan leader can be accessed here.

Rahul Gandhi lies blatantly to push Khalistan agenda, claims Modi said Sikhs are second-class citizens

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi lies blatantly to push Khalistan agenda, claims Modi said Sikhs are second-class citizens

On February 28 this year, Rahul Gandhi reiterated the talking points of the global Khalistan movement during his infamous presentation at the University of Cambridge.

The Congress scion randomly called out a Sikh man from the audience and claimed that Sikhs have been rendered second-class citizens in India by the Narendra Modi government.

At about 53:40 minutes into the programme, Rahul Gandhi claimed, “He (Narendra Modi) is imposing an idea on India that India cannot absorb. India, as I said, is a Union of states. It’s a negotiation and if you try to force one idea on a union, it will react.”

The Congress ecosystem has been trying to diminish the idea of India from a centuries-old civilisation State to a nation, bound by mere agreements between different States.

During his presentation, Rahul Gandhi suggested that such a Union of States has the possibility to react (disintegrate/ secede) at any time if ‘one idea of nationhood’ is imposed.

Despite being well aware that the global Khalistan movement has been trying to brainwash the Sikh community, he exploited the opportunity at Cambridge University to present a distorted image of India to the world.

“I mean I have got a Sikh gentleman sitting here. He is from the Sikh religion. And he comes from India, right? We have got Muslims in India, Christians in India, and we have got different languages in India…They are all India,” Rahul Gandhi had said.

“Mr Narendra Modi says he is not (a real Indian). Mr Narendra Modi says he (the Sikh guy in the room) is a second-class citizen in India. I don’t agree with him,” said Gandhi while making outlandish claims about the plight of the Sikh community in India.

Congress and the Khalistan Movement

The false assertions of Rahul Gandhi emboldened the Khalistani elements who have eagerly been waiting to legitimise their claim for a separate land.

The Khalistan movement surfaced in Punjab in the 1980s under Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a terrorist initially patronised by Indira Gandhi and Congress but later eliminated when he turned into a ‘Frankenstein’.

After years of fighting the Pakistan-backed insurgency in the State, the Khalistan movement was defeated. Extremists associated with the movement operated largely from outside of the country.

The anti-farm law agitation, supported by Congress, witnessed the resurgence of the separatist movement (also coinciding with the Referendum 2020). Opindia had documented in detail how protest camps had become the breeding ground for Khalistani extremists.

Bolstered by the success of the anti-farm law movement, Khalistanis began creating chaos and unrest in the State (often attacking the Hindu community in the process).

At a time when the law enforcement apparatus in Punjab has failed to tame Khalistani leaders such as Amritpal Singh, Rahul Gandhi is feeding into the propaganda that has been drawing the support of the Sikh community towards the dangerous movement.

The narrative of Muslims as second-class citizens and the aftermath

During his talk at the University of Cambridge, Rahul Gandhi also made a sweeping claim that Muslims in India are also ‘second class citizens’ according to Narendra Modi.

By doing so, the Congress scion played into the hands of the Islamists who have been hellbent on indoctrinating Muslims en masse that they are not safe in India.

The vitriolic narrative had been in motion for a long time and amplified by several folds after the Narendra Modi government was voted to power in 2014.

Disinformation surrounding initiatives such as the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was peddled on a large scale. This led to violence, destruction of properties, and targeted attacks on Hindus and ultimately culminated in the Delhi riots of 2020.

At a time when Hindus are facing large-scale attacks at the hands of Islamists, Rahul Gandhi should have exercised restraint and refrained from presenting a distorted image of India on the global forum.

Kerala: CPI-M members mass resign over party functionary’s links with SDPI

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: CPI-M members mass resign over party functionary’s links with SDPI

The CPI-M party in Cheiryanadu, Chengannur, Alapuzha district of Kerala witnessed a huge turmoil as around 38 party members, including four branch secretaries of the Cheriyanad south local committee, submitted their resignation letters owing to the alleged links of the party secretary to the SDPI unit.

According to the reports, the party members alleged that the CPI-M local committee secretary Sheed Mohammed had business relations with one SDPI leader. Also, they have voiced their displeasure about this matter to the district leadership and the area committee.

They said that Sheed even stayed away from the state committee’s anti-communal campaign. It is believed that Sheed assisted the SDPI in winning a ward in the panchayat elections. The party’s local officials described it as a matter that had already been resolved locally.

Meanwhile, BJP state president K Surendran said the mass resignation in the CPM indicates the links of CPM leaders with religious fundamentalists. “Party leaders from the state level to branch level have connections with the SDPI and PFI. The BJP had pointed it out earlier, but the CPM leaders were in denial mode. However, the mass resignation proves that the charges raised by us were true,” he said.

The BJP leader expressed his happiness that party members could recognize the CPI-M for who they truly are. “The collective resignation of 38 party members of the Cheryanadu South Local Committee against their leaders’ links with religious terrorists is welcome,” he added.

He said that it is best for Kerala CPI-M leaders to keep in mind the outcome of Bengal, where the party had backed religious terrorist organisations to win over votes from minorities. “In Bengal, the CPI-M suffered a complete collapse when the Muslim minority, realising that they would be more comfortable with Mamata, went with Trinamul, and the majority went to the BJP,” Surendran said.

Surendran asserted that the occurrences in Alappuzha are not an isolated incidence and that the unholy link will cause CPI-M ranks throughout Kerala to take notice and give it some serious thought. The party’s local secretary, Sheed Muhammad, is allegedly CPI-M during the day and SDPI at night, according to those who quit.

Resignation letters list the factors that led to SDPI’s victory in Ward VIII of Cheriyanad Panchayat, where Sheed Mohammed, the head of the CPM, resides. Sheed owns a restaurant there together with Ashiq, the PFI’s leader, and his brother Ashad. The murder of Vishal (the ABVP leader) has Ashiq on trial. On July 17, 2012, accused PFI operatives killed Vishal. 

Several Hindu organisations have been highlighting the links between CPM and fundamentalist organizations. However, it is now that the CPM workers have begun to admit the connections publicly.

China’s Shanghai Gold Exchange says bullion from Australia’s Perth Mint was ‘doped’ or substandard

OpIndia Staff
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China’s Shanghai Gold Exchange says bullion from Australia’s Perth Mint was ‘doped’ or substandard

A leaked internal assessment on Monday revealed that the renowned Perth Mint might be forced to repatriate $9 billion worth of gold bars after masking the sale of diluted or ‘doped’ gold bullion to China. 

The Western Australia government-owned mint started ‘doping’ its gold in 2018, and several reports have emerged detailing how it hid evidence from its biggest client China in an effort to preserve its credibility. The ABC Four Corners segment suggested on Monday that up to 100 tonnes of gold supplied to the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) might not have met Shanghai’s exact purity criteria for silver content, even if the gold remained above general industry norms.

According to the reports, this is the biggest scandal ever to hit the Perth Mint. One of Perth’s biggest tourist destinations, the mint is recognized for manufacturing commemorative coins to celebrate events ranging from royal weddings to a new James Bond movie. It is also the largest processor of newly found gold in the world.

The mint sold only $20.3 billion worth of gold last year. It is the only mint on the entire globe that is supported by the government. Yet, a slew of scandals have recently afflicted the 124-year-old organization, formally called Gold Corporation. Up until March 2021, WA Premier Mark McGowan was in charge of the mint as a ministry.

Although not illegal, gold doping is a technique that is relatively tolerated in the business. Reports mention that it poses a great risk to refiners since it degrades the purity of bullion by introducing impurities like silver or copper.

While it is legal to include trace quantities of these metals in coins, Perth Mint’s strategy to maintain coins with a purity level of 99.99 percent leaves very little room for mistakes. The mint started doping its gold in 2018 in an effort to save costs, anticipating savings of up to $620,000 per year, or a minuscule portion of its annual sales.

This plan to save costs would, within two years, place the mint at the center of what might end up being one of the largest gold scandals in Australian history. According to the investigation, refinery personnel raised concerns about possible silver and copper levels that may have violated SGE limits only a few months after the doping started. Staff at the refinery nevertheless kept gold doping.

In September 2021, the doping scheme started to unravel. Two bars allegedly violated Shanghai Gold Exchange’s requirements and included an excessive amount of silver, according to the exchange. On the same day the complaint was received, an internal inquiry was requested. The inquiry made it quite obvious how much was at stake if the SGE went public.

“If SGE – Gold Corporation’s pre-eminent exchange client – had made public that they had issues with Gold Corporation bars … the impact of negative public statements on the business could be very significant,” the internal report said. “Based on average understandings of volumes, it was possible for up to 100 tonnes of stock to be recalled from the Shanghai Gold Exchange for replacement,” the report added.

One of the two gold bars that were the subject of the client complaint had been red-flagged by the refinery, according to a subsequent inspection by Perth Mint. The bar’s assay, or purity test, showed up above the critical 99.999% purity but fell short of SGE’s exacting criteria for silver.

Yet, as per the reports, it wasn’t just one faulty batch, rather, the majority of the gold bars produced throughout the course of the three-year doping scheme might have failed to meet Shanghai requirements. Importantly, the mint kept this knowledge from China.

According to the report, guidance from the then-CEO, Richard Hayes, was requested during a meeting on September 30, 2021, on whether both the failed and complying tests should be transferred to Shanghai. “CEO confirmed only the compliant assay would be provided to the customer, with the broader burden of proof to be left with the SGE to prove non-compliance,” the report alleges.

Notably, the mint stopped its gold doping program the moment the failed assay was detected. Perth Mint confirmed receiving a client complaint over a limited number of 1 kg gold bars, but said that the customer “did not return the bars… and consequently, the customer’s concerns could not be verified” owing to Chinese government prohibitions on shipping gold from China.

It claimed that since late 2021, its refining processes have improved and that it was now dedicated to greater purity standards than the industry norm. Further, the financial crime authority AUSTRAC is looking into Perth Mint’s adherence to the country’s money laundering regulations, according to the same Four Corners report.

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