Malayala Manorama, Arun Mammen and Black Money

The most influential media conglomerate in Kerala, Malayala Manorama, may have to deal with 'skeleton in their family cupboard'. As per a report in Tehelka Magazine, Arun Mammen is believed to have parked illegal money (black money) in a Swiss bank, LGT Bank of Liechtenstein. If the report has some truth in it,  Manorama may have something to explain, as Arun Mammen is from the family that runs and controls Malayala Manorama group. I do not have access to exact and complete shareholding details of Malayala Manorama, but the perception of educated public in Kerala is that the Mammen family owns Malayala Manorama.

Something that is in the public domain is the ownership of MRF Ltd. Arun Mammen is the Managing Director of the company that reported more than Rs.8,000 crore sales in the financial year 2010. Promoter and Promoter group shareholding pattern of the company available at MRF website shows, The Malayala Manorama Co Ltd, M. M. Publications Limited, M M Corporation and many people from Mammen family as promoters of the company. It also has names like Philip Mathew and Mammen Mathew, who could be the Managing Editor and Chief Editor of Malayala Manorama paper.

As a media conglomerate with high level of influence on the behavioral pattern of a large section of public, it is the moral responsibility of the Malayala Manorama to air their views on this. Everything could be baseless allegations, but Malayala Manorama and Mammen family being promoters of a company run by a member of Mammen family is enough for Malayala Manorama to explain their ignorance or connivance.

Comments

  1. This issue is on the boil for sometime now. Earlier as civil servants crusaded for animal rights with Mrs. Maneka Gandhi, Now they stand as one for the cause of corruption and black money .Be it an Ex IPS kiran bedi or a gandhian,Anna hazare or elsewhere a Sadhu like Baba aseemanad, nityanand and Ramdev all are in a jittery all of a sudden to close in on the culprits of the black money and perpetuators of shadowy deals.
    Though the efforts are praiseworthy the core of the issue is not foolproof. The corruption and use of black money i.e mostly money accumulated through evading taxation ,,is so prevalent in government bodies that a mere glance like this is just a eyewash. All are corrupt,and money makes a being corrupt. Economy calls for rapid surge in wealth and the only road forward left to industrialists and business community like the manorama-- mammen group is to follow tax evasion by manipulating balance sheet and armtwisting the share marketor the stock trade.
    The crux of the matter is the illegal money issue is the last nail in the coffin of economic reforms era.This era began with Hon.Former PM mr PV Narashima rao and till now has increased the wealth of the nation by manifold. So I suggest it is time that the government servants bring credibility into their service rather than try to make heros out of Ramdeva and Anna Hazare.It is the litmus test for every businessman so that his conscience be the concern and not brute force of imposing by governement.The helm of the affair is that Industry and businesses In india needs generous handfull of money . So The government may become a liitle more active and not submissive as it is as off NOW---shiju durand

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

You are requested to comment your thoughts and join the discussion.

Popular posts from this blog

Varkeys Supermarket: Is end nearby?

Apple A Day Properties and Malayalam Dailies

Emmanuel Silks on offensive