Junior Doval, the Question of Conflict of Interest and the Saudi Connection

The recent story by The Wire about the conflict of interest in a think tank run by NSA Ajith Doval’s son Shaurya also points towards the opaque picture of its financial structure. Shaurya Doval, who runs the India Foundation is also the Chief Executive Officer of Gemini Financial Services (GFS), managing the company’s India operations.  The Chairman of company, Prince Mishaal is a member of the House of Saud who rule the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

According to the company's website- it is a group of financial services businesses specialising in transactions and capital flows between the OECD and the emerging Asian economies. It further states that GFS was formed in 2016 through acquisition of a strategic stake (by its principals) in the operations of ZeusCaps (India) and setting up of regulated business in Singapore (Torch Investment).

Conflict of Interest

The Economic Times report called junior Doval ‘an increasingly influential player in shaping Modi sarkar’s policies’. The report also points that India Foundation hosts weekly closed door sessions with the higher ups in the government. The foundation had played an important role in organising Modi’s foreign rallies, including the one at New York’s Madison Square in 2014, according to the Caravan.

Given the highly influential status of Shaurya Doval in India’s power circles and his father’s powerful grip at PMO, Shaurya’s role at Saudi prince partnered investment company raise some questions about lobbying.

The company’s website informs its prospective clients that ‘we get involved as strategic advisers for our core relationships on a case-by-case basis.” On GFS’s mandate and its conflict with his role in India Foundation, Shaurya insists that “there is no conflict of interest as India Foundation does not conduct any commercial transactions either on its own or on behalf of anybody”, reports The Wire.  

The Saudi Connection

Prince Mishaal Bin Abdullah Bin Turki Bin Abdullaziz Al-Saud, a member of the Saudi ruling family and son of Prince Abdullah bin Turki bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. House of Saud is the royal family who rules Saudi Arabia.

Prince Mishaal merged his company Torch Investment with GFS is currently the Chairman of the Board comprising of Shaurya Doval and Syed Ali Abbas. Both Shaurya and Prince Mishaal are founding partners of GFS.

The House of Saud had been accused by Qatar and other countries of funding Islamic State (IS/ ISIS) militants. Both Saudi Arabia and Islamic State practice the radical version of Islam- Wahhabism.

Recently in July, Qatar has revealed documents which show Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) support al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorists in Yemen. The documents bring to light details about the activities of the two top al-Qaeda leaders as well as Saudi intelligence chief Khalid bin Ali al-Humaidan’s direct financial support for Ali Abkar to purchase required equipment and deliver it to ISIS members.

In 2016, Wikileaks released leaked emails of Hillary Clinton from 2014, which draws from western and US intelligence sources saying that Saudi Arabia is providing clandestine funds and logistical support to the ISIS, which at the time of writing was butchering and raping Yazidi villagers and slaughtering captured Iraqi and Syrian soldiers.

According a report in 2014 by Washington Institute, Saudi individuals continue to represent a significant funding source for Sunni groups operating in Syria and have funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Syria in recent years, including to ISIS and other groups.

The Saudi have long been attempting to expand their influence in India via various channels. The Wikileaks documents released in 2015 indicate how Iran's engagement with India and its Shia community was worrying Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi connection to India Foundation’s head and his investment company is worrying especially as junior Doval and IF’s writ runs deep in Indian political system. 

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