Clinton Cash (9 page)

Sant Chatwal’s son Vikram also became a Clinton benefactor. Widely known for his partying ways, Vikram became Hillary’s 2008 campaign bundler.
¹³
Tooling around New York in an Aston Martin, he was known to run up large bar tabs and date everyone from Lindsay Lohan to various supermodels. Like his father a committed Sikh, he was known around town as the “Turban Cowboy.”

Vikram considers the Clintons close friends. According to the
New York Observer
, “‘I know him [Bill Clinton] very well,’ he said of the former President. He added that the two men have often sat down and talked about books and Gandhi, as well as, he said, ‘women and models I’ve dated. He, like any man in the world, appreciates beauty.’”
¹⁴

When Vikram got married in India in 2006, Bill Clinton attended the wedding. Guests “were welcomed by dancing eunuchs, elephants painted entirely white and whitewashed men wearing angel wings on white horses.”
¹⁵
The Clintons also
attended Sant Chatwal’s other son’s wedding, a more calm affair at Tavern on the Green in New York in 2002.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Sant Chatwal has a history of legal trouble involving financial transactions and has declared bankruptcy on at least one occasion. In 1995 he came under a cloud of legal suspicion concerning the bilking of millions from Indian banks. In the United States he was chased by the IRS and the New York State government for $30 million in unpaid taxes.
¹⁶
In a visit to India with Clinton in May 2001, Chatwal was arrested and charged with defrauding the New York City branch of the Bank of India out of $9 million he borrowed in 1994. “He posted bail equivalent to $32,000, then fled India, boarding a flight to Vienna, despite an attempt by authorities to detain him” reported the
New York Daily News
.
¹⁷

In 1997 the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) “sued Chatwal over his role as a director and a guarantor of unpaid loans at the failed First New York Bank for Business,” the
Washington Post
reported. Regulators were frustrated that Chatwal claimed he couldn’t repay the money (reported to be “in excess of $12 million”), despite the fact that he continued to live in a New York penthouse worth millions of dollars.
¹⁸

Three years later, with no settlement on the horizon, Chatwal entertained guests in his lavish penthouse for Hillary’s Senate campaign, raising $500,000.
¹⁹
On December 18, 2000, just a few months after the fundraiser (while the Clintons were still in the White House), the FDIC “abruptly settled” the case against Chatwal, according to the
Washington Post
, allowing him to pay a mere $125,000 and walk away.

The Chatwals undoubtedly enjoyed the perks and access that came with contributing and raising money for politicians like the Clintons. But what Sant Chatwal wanted for all that money extended far beyond the ordinary transactions that take place
in Washington. He wanted to influence American policy toward India, particularly as it related to the sensitive area of nuclear technology. He openly admitted that he “spent tons of money, time and effort to make sure that the [Indian-US] nuclear deal goes through.”
²⁰
Some of that money was spent in India, where, according to a leaked diplomatic cable between the US embassy in Delhi and the US State Department, at least two ministers and several members of parliament were claimed to have been paid off, with reports of “two chests containing cash” ready for use as “pay-offs” to win support for the Indian-US nuke deal. Chatwal was alleged to be involved, but he maintains the allegation is baseless.
²¹
What we do know is that millions were spent on cultivating the relationship with the Clintons, who not only received money directly through lucrative speaking deals, but also reaped millions in donations to the Clinton Foundation.

O
n July 18, 2005, President George W. Bush and visiting Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh signed a letter of intent at the White House to allow India access to US nuclear technology. The agreement was part of a Bush administration policy to work closely with India to serve as a counterbalance to China. But the agreement required Congress to amend US law and make a special exception for India.

The plan met immediate criticism on Capitol Hill. Democrats and Republicans both argued it would lead to greater nuclear proliferation by rewarding a country that had violated the NPT. Remarkably silent during this debate was Hillary Clinton, who not only sat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, but was also a senior member of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, which dealt specifically with nuclear proliferation issues.

In September 2005 Bill Clinton flew on Frank Giustra’s plane from Uzbekistan to Lucknow, India. The capital city of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow was not Mumbai or any of India’s other cosmopolitan cities. Clinton’s visit set off an intense flurry of local interest and activity. The road from the airport to his hotel was “freshly tarred” for his arrival and party workers hung banners along the road praising Clinton’s visit. Along for the ride were Giustra, Doug Band, fundraiser Tim Phillips, and Sant Chatwal, who had made the arrangements.
²²

Clinton and his companions checked into the Taj, a palatial hotel with graceful pillars on the banks of the Gomti River in the heart of the city’s business district. Bill’s six-person delegation had two entire floors to themselves and enjoyed a large feast with evening entertainment. Before the festivities began, Clinton joined Chatwal for a private meeting where he was introduced to an obscure member of the Indian parliament named Amar Singh.
²³

Amar Singh has an easy swagger and a broad grin, marking a flamboyant manner and a combative attitude that has suited him well in the sharp-elbowed world of Indian politics. (He once got into a fistfight on the floor of the Indian parliament.) Heavyset, with thick glasses and thinning hair, Singh has another notable quality. His “access to big money is . . . legendary,” according to the Indian press.
²⁴

Singh would be implicated in a number of financial and vote-buying scandals in Indian politics. In 2011 he was indicted on charges that he bought votes in parliament to secure the nuclear deal.
²⁵
A trial was never held.

What Singh discussed with Clinton and Chatwal was never made public. They met for about an hour, but in that short span of time a close collaboration and friendship between the Indian politico and both of the Clintons began.

After the meeting, the three men headed off for a big bash at the state chief minister’s bungalow. According to reports, the “bullet proof dining hall” was outfitted with twenty-six air conditioners and the event included 150 members of India’s elite—including Bollywood stars, industrialists, and politicians—who dined on delicacies while enjoying live performances.
²⁶
There were dancers and music from jazz fusion to a song titled “Sexy Rocksy Chicago Girl.”
²⁷

Despite having only just met, Clinton and Singh offered immediate and enthusiastic praise for one another. Singh took to the podium to praise Clinton for his “immense love for India” and proposed that he be granted Indian citizenship.
²⁸
Clinton then rose and talked about his love for India and addressed the host as “friend Amar Singh.” The former president then publicly extended an invitation for Singh to attend the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in New York in a few days as his guest.

Clinton spent fifteen hours in Lucknow and then left. Opposition parties denounced the lavish party and criticized Singh and state officials for, in the words of one Indian newspaper, “hosting a mega bash for former U.S. President Bill Clinton at a time when hundreds were dying in the State due to Japanese encephalitis.”
²⁹
Singh was openly triumphant, explaining to the media how Clinton’s visit helped his party “score over its rivals.”
³⁰

Clinton’s visit was a major coup for Singh. Asked later how he managed to get Clinton to visit his town, Singh said, “I would say he is a charming man and very kind to lesser mortals like me. I don’t see any other reason for him to take this trouble.”
³¹

Following their brief meeting Singh was immediately—and mysteriously—elevated in Clinton World. Singh took Bill Clinton up on his invitation to attend CGI in New York. The massive gabfest was attended by thousands of politicians, entrepreneurs, and so-called deep thinkers. During the Cold War, the Soviet
hierarchy was reflected in its arrangement on Lenin’s Tomb during the annual May Day parade. In the Clinton universe, the hierarchy was reflected in the seating chart at CGI; it allowed people to figure out who was in and out of the Clinton orbit. In 2005 Singh not only attended the Global Initiative, he was granted a place at the head table. It was a remarkable elevation for a man who was in all other respects a complete unknown. As one Indian-American publication put it when they interviewed him after the Initiative meeting, Singh “could not explain why the Clintons gave him space at the head table.” He told them,

If they let me to sit on the head table, the same question was asked to me by the prime minister of Mauritius—which country are you heading? I said I belong to Uttar Pradesh and am a humble political worker. They were also astonished. . . . So, I don’t know what it is. [Bill] Clinton is the best person to answer this question why he gave me that kind of honor.
³²

Following the Clinton confab, Singh had a private dinner with the Clintons at their home in New York. When asked, Singh refused to say who else was at the dinner. During the visit Singh said he cultivated his relationship with Hillary Clinton. “I met Madame Clinton and in spite of her busy schedule, she was kind enough to give me considerable amount of time on one-on-one meeting,” said Singh.
³³
(Apparently he came bearing gifts; he gave the senator from New York perfume oils in a Taj Mahal presentation case.) Singh’s relationship with the Clintons also drew the interest of the Indian media, which was well aware of his antics, and noted that he “seems to dote on the Clintons.”
³⁴

In 2006 a bill was introduced in Congress called the Henry J. Hyde United States–India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006. Its purpose: to finalize an agreement that would
gradually lift restrictions on nuclear trade with India. Hillary was both a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a cochair of the Senate’s India Caucus, which a group of senators formed to work together with Indian government officials to improve US-India ties. But she showed no immediate favor for the Hyde Act as it started to make its way through Congress. The
Times of India
noted in 2006 that “India could be looking at the possibility of a Democrat presidency, Hillary Clinton, Obama, or anyone else—friends of India doubtless, but perhaps opponents of the nuclear deal.”
³⁵

H
illary supported a series of amendments that would impose stricter terms on the Indian government. These included three amendments offered by Senators Barbara Boxer, Byron Dorgan, and Russell Feingold. One was a “killer amendment” that would have effectively gutted the bill by capping India’s fissile production. But that amendment failed. The initial legislation passed, but there would be additional legislation that would need to be signed, and Hillary’s role was central in getting that approved. Hillary was still a reluctant and questionable supporter of the bill, prompting a headline in the Indian American media that the community was “upset” with her stance on the issue.
³⁶
As the
New York Times
reported, it was Hillary “whose support is viewed by Indian-American leaders as crucial to winning broader Democratic backing for the plan.”
³⁷

Up to this point the Clinton Foundation had experienced only limited public success in securing contributions from Indians. But now, those with a keen interest in seeing the nuclear deal approved began steering money to the Clintons.

Indian industrialists and elites, who could not contribute to Hillary’s political campaigns, much less vote for her, started
making highly publicized appearances at Clinton campaign fundraising events. In June 2007 Chatwal put together a dinner for Clinton featuring Indian billionaires Srichand Hinduja and Lakshmi Mittal. The fundraisers targeted Indians who were now American citizens or who had permanent status. “They [Hinduja and Mittal] can’t give money,” noted Chatwal. “It’s to bring a little attraction.” The attraction of course was for Indians in the United States who could donate, and who might want to do business with these industrialists.
³⁸
These introductions are worth a great deal to those in a position to exploit them.

Hinduja and Mittal couldn’t donate to Hillary’s presidential campaign, but they could and did write large checks to the Clinton Foundation. (Mittal contributed between $1 million and $5 million.) Indeed, India quickly became a rich vein of Clinton Foundation support. In Washington, the Confederation of Indian Industry hired lobbyists to push for a nuclear deal; at the same time, they sent the Clinton Foundation a check for between $1 million and $5 million.
³⁹
(These donations were revealed only after Hillary’s nomination as secretary of state, and while the foundation is no longer required to disclose donors since she left office, once the nuclear deal was sealed such donors appeared to cease their generosity.) The Hindustan Construction chairman and managing partner, Ajit Gulabchand, donated money while in New York in late September 2007.
⁴⁰
Today Hindustan Construction is involved in several nuclear-power construction projects in India. And there were mysterious donations never really accounted for—as we will see.